Update Nov. 12

Bellwrite: None

Students worked to respond in writing to the questions below (about Frontier America). As a class we began analyzing the "Gettysburg Address." We talked about how all language does work. For example, when someone proposes marriage, the work of forming an agreement for a wedding is accomplished. We read and annotated the historical background to the "Gettysburg Address", noting which parts of the background give us clues about the work the speech may be accomplishing.

Homework:

• Begin memorizing the Gettysburg Address. Due Monday, Nov. 18.
• Frontier America questions are due on Thursday.

Please respond to the following questions on a separate sheet of paper. Questions with an asterisk * should be considered carefully and answered with a full paragraph.

 “American Progress” by John Gast

1.       What is Gast’s argument in the painting?

2.       *How does Gast use color/lighting, spatial arrangement, and symbolism to communicate his message?

“The Significance of the Frontier in American History” by Frederick Turner

3.       According to Turner, how did the ever-shifting American frontier give Americans their unique identity?

4.       How has the land you have lived on shaped your identity?

Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose

5.       *How did Jefferson’s Northwest Ordinance of 1787 reinvent the concept of empire? 

6.       *What were Jefferson’s greatest achievements? Which do you believe was most important and why?

7.       What is secession? Who was considering secession early on in Jefferson’s presidency? Why?

8.       Explain why Ambrose quotes Donald Jackson on pp.54-55?

9.       Note the second full paragraph on p.55. Describe the syntactical structure of the paragraph. 

10.   How did Jefferson’s attitude towards Indians differ from his attitude towards Blacks? Explain. How did Jefferson plan to deal with the Indians living on the land east of the Mississippi?

11.   *How does Jefferson’s view of the land relate to Winthrop’s concept of a covenant land? 

Gettysburg Address” by Abraham Lincoln

12.   Where in this speech does Lincoln use rhetoric that indicates his vision of America extends beyond America?

13.   How does the Gettysburg Address relate to the excerpts from the Declaration of Independence?

14.   A friend of mine once suggested that the Gettysburg Address was a metaphorical baptismal service for the United States. What evidence do you find in the speech and in its historical context that would support this reading of the speech?

15.   *How is Lincoln’s speech an extension of Jefferson’s vision of an “Empire of Liberty”?