Teddy Roosevelt in Palo Alto

Materials:
·      Computer lab or access to a computer and the internet.
·      The 6 Cs document analysis worksheet
·      Image from SVHO
·      Template for Postcards from the Past.
 
During a California campaign swing for the Republican Presidential nomination, Theodore Roosevelt stopped in Palo Alto and the University of California, among others. Roosevelt lost the nomination to Taft and tried, unsuccessfully, to gain the office running on the Progressive Party.   His VP candidate was California Governor Hiram Johnson (who stayed in the Republican Party).
 
Procedure:
1.    Theodore Roosevelt visited California in March, 1911, before he decided to split from the Republican Party and make a run for the Presidency with the Bull Moose Party.  Students should view the picture and read the newspaper article from the following day.
2.    Divide students in to pairs and have them choose an A and B. “A” students will read the article, “B” students will read the speech only.  Students will use the 6Cs to aid their understanding of the speech from the newspaper article.
3.    After completing the reading students will share the results of their understanding with their partner.  Using their understanding they will complete Postcards from the Past.
4.    Explain the directions for Postcards from the Past.
5.    Download the template for Postcards from the Past to every computer.  For this lesson, each student will use the Certificate of Residence, 1892.
6.    A completed Postcard is the student’s ticket out the door.
 
Resources:
·      Image from SVHO: Colonel Roosevelt speaking to the people, Palo Alto, 1911
·      Text of Theodore Roosevelt’s speech in Palo Alto on March 24, 1911.
·      The 6Cs Document Analysis Worksheet
 
Directions for using the 6C’s:
Using the 6 C’s with Calisphere
Dave Walters
History-Social Science Coordinator
The six C’s are a way of looking at historical resources.  The six Cs are: content, citation, context, connections, communication, and conclusions.  The six Cs are from the California History Social Science Project.
 
Content
What is the main idea? Documents:  List important points, phrases, words, or sentences Images:  Describe what you see
Citation
Who created this?  When was it created?  What type of source is this?
Context
What is going on in the world, country, region, or locality when this was created?
What other sources might help provide answers to this question?  What else do we need to know to better understand the evidence in this source?
Connections
How does this connect to what you already know?  Keep in mind: nothing happens out of its own time.
Communication
What is the author’s bias or point of view?  Who is the intended audience?  Why was the source created?  What is the tone of the document or image?
Conclusions
What contribution does this make to our understanding of history?  How did you come to these conclusions?  How does this document or image help answer our essential or research question?
Putting it all together
Remember most primary sources were never intended for our school audience.
This tool is designed to help students explicitly dissect a source.  The overall goal is to get the sense of its meaning.  Our purpose is to understand how a resource contributes to understanding an issue in its own time.
 
Directions for Postcards from the Past:
Teddy Roosevelt Speech PowerPoint
Teddy Roosevelt Speech PDF