The Apprentice Historian

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The Apprentice Historian Historical Significance FOCUS This section will help you answer: a. What is historical significance? b. Why are criteria so valuable? c. How does a historian assess significance?

1 The Apprentice Historian Historical Significance FOCUS This section will help you answer: a. What is historical significance? b. Why are criteria so valuable? c. How does a historian assess significance? What is historical significance? Every day thousands of events happen across the country and around the world. As a historian you need to decide which ones are important. Which events will be remembered and written about in history books and which ones will become footnotes in history or forgotten altogether. This is a question about historical significance. Historical significance also raises the question of relevance. Relevance refers to how much importance different individuals or groups place on the actions of historical figures or on the consequences of historical events. Historical events become important to people on different levels. Also, some historical events may be relevant for a while, but lessen over time. As a historian, you need to be able to use a logical process to make determinations about the historical significance of historical figures and events. Why are criteria so valuable? When examining historical figures and events, a historian needs to have a plan to determine their historical significance. A historian needs to ask questions. These questions are called criteria. Criteria are a series of requirements that we expect a historical figure or event to meet in order to pass the test of being historically significant. These criteria can be put into a set of questions. For example, if you were interested in buying an automobile, you would have some criteria or requirements that would have to be met for you to go ahead and make the purchase. You could take these criteria and put them into a series of questions. You could ask:

2 What size is the engine? What is the fuel economy? What is the warranty? What options does the automobile come with? What colours are offered? What is the cost? If the answers to these questions were satisfactory to you, then you would purchase the automobile. These same questions would be used for every automobile that you investigated. Therefore, using the same criteria would allow you to make assessments that can be compared. How does a historian assess significance? In your own life, you have events that happen every day. However, if down the road you were to write your autobiography, you would begin selecting certain events that you thought were the most important. How would you decide? You would develop a set of criteria that you would use to assess your life events to determine if they were important enough to be included. Let s look at these life events. a) Jim received an award for writing the best new novel of b) Suni developed a new software program. c) Olivia led the city through a natural disaster. d) Jane was the first woman to be elected Prime Minister. e) Haleeka donated money to build a hospital in a local town. f) Mats led the fight for ending child poverty. Why do you think each would be considered important? a) b) c) d)

3 e) f) By determining why each event could be considered historically significant to an individual, you have developed a set of criteria that could be used to assess the significance of historical figures and events. As a historian, you will be called upon to assess the impact of historical figures in history. You will need to use criteria to do this. By using a set of criteria consistently, you will be able to assess and compare the impact of different people. What criteria should you apply when assessing the historical significance of important historical figures? Let s formalize the six that we have just discussed. Did the person come up with a new way of doing things? Ingenuity matters. People who do something that is completely different from the way it has been done in the past are historically significant. Think about an inventor like Marconi. Did the person show outstanding leadership? Strength of character matters. People who are able to rise above adversity and lead others in the right direction are historically significant. Think about a founding father like John A. Macdonald. Did the person accomplish something that led to great societal Making society a better place matters. People who are able to bring about positive change in a society are historically significant Think about Barack Obama becoming president.

4 The Apprentice Historian: Historical Perpsective 4. Has the person s accomplishments had long term significance? Long term consequences matter. People who bring about change or do things that have a lasting impact are historically significant. Think about a writer like William Shakespeare. 5. Are the person s accomplishments recognized by society? Awards matter. People who have had such an impact that they are given awards and other honours over time are historically significant. Think about a hero to millions like Terry Fox. 6. Are the person s actions unique for the time he or she lived? Activity Originality matters. People who do something in a way that goes completely against what the rest are doing are historically significant. Think about a philosopher with new ideas like Thomas Jefferson. It is important to now apply our criteria to real historical figures to determine if they are indeed historically significant. On the next page, you will find the six criteria with an exemplar for each. Each exemplar is an actual historical figure who embodied the criteria to a high degree. A brief description of the historical figure is provided. The biography of two historical figures are provided, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thomas Edison. For each, read the biography and summarize the person s life based upon each of the criteria. Then you need to evaluate each of them by giving them a score out of 10 for each criteria. Assume that the exemplar is a 10 and use the following scoring system: 10 is excellent, 8 is very good, 6 is satisfactory, 4 is limited and 2 is poor. Complete the assessment of Dr. King together as a class. Then in student groups complete the assessment of Edison. When you have finished evaluating each of them, complete the last part of the activity by comparing the two. Decide which figure best exemplifies the criteria by placing a checkmark in their column. Give a couple of reasons for your decisions.

5 Criteria Examplar Explanation Criteria 1: figure come up with a new way of doing things? Sir Frederick Banting Banting was a medical scientist who discovered insulin, a hormone that is used to combat diabetes. Insulin was able to be mass produced and is used to combat diabetes. It has saved millions of lives and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 192 Criteria 2: figure show outstanding leadership? Criteria 3: figure accomplish something that led to great societal Criteria 4: Has the historical had long term significance? Criteria 5: Are the historical figure s accomplishments recognized by society? Criteria 6: Are the historical figure s actions unique for the time period that he or she lived? Sir Winston Churchill Churchill was the Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1940 to 1945 and from 1950 to Churchill led the British empire and the free world against the Axis Powers in World War II. His dogged determination to fight on against tough odds led directly to victory. Abraham Lincoln Lincoln was President of the United States during the American Civil War from 1861 to He held the country together and he was responsible for the government officially ending over 200 years of slavery. The 13th Amendment made slavery illegal. Alexander Graham Bell Bell s invention of the telephone began a revolution in communication technology. It is hard to think of another device that has had a more profound effect on the world since its inception. The ability to instantly communicate around the world has changed our lives. Mother Teresa Mother Teresa s 45 years of devotion to the poor in India has been the subject of many honours. She has been awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize, all of the highest civilian honours in India and she will soon become a saint of the Catholic church. Mahandas Gandhi Gandhi was the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement from 1920 to His philosophy of non-violent protest against injustice gained him worldwide acclaim. Living through the most violent century in world history made his beliefs even more remarkable.

6 Teacher s Turn Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia on January 15, King received a doctorate in theology. He was the pastor at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. In the mid-1950s, King became involved in civil rights activities in the southern United States. African Americans were victims of prejudice and discrimination. Many were beaten or even killed by the white majority. In 1955, King took a leading role in leading a Black boycott against the city s buses in reaction to Rosa Parks being arrested for sitting at the front of a bus. Taking ideas from Gandhi, King believed in the use of non-violent protest. America would come to see how bad discrimination was when white southerners reacted violently against African Americans. The boycott was successful. King became a leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in The goal of the SCLC was to end racial segregation. Whites and blacks lived together, but led separate lives. Segregation existed in schools, transportation, recreation and most public facilities like hotels and restaurants. In the 1960s civil rights protests grew. In 1963, King and the SCLC organized large protests in Birmingham, Alabama. As protestors peacefully marched through city streets, they were set upon by police and attack dogs. National coverage soon showed these scenes across the United States and the world. There was an outcry against this behaviour. President Kennedy began passing civil rights laws to end discrimination. King organized a march on Washington, D.C., the nation s capital. Over 200,000 Americans arrived there in August, 196 At the Lincoln Memorial, chosen because President Lincoln had ended slavery, King gave one of the most famous speeches in American history. He said that he had a dream that one day all Americans would respect the rights and freedoms of each other. By 1964, the Civil Rights Act was passed by President Johnson who succeeded President Kennedy who was assassinated in late 196 This act declared that discrimination in public places and discrimination against African Americans in employment and education were illegal. For his hard work, King received the Nobel Peace Prize in Throughout 1965, King helped organize marches all across the American south. Many marches saw violent clashes between peaceful marchers and angry southerners who were against change. By late 1965, the American government passed the Voting Rights Act which guaranteed all African Americans the right to vote. In 1966, King began to organize marches and civil rights protests in the northern states. King wanted to improve the living conditions of African Americans in large cities. By 1967, he said that poverty had to be done away. It was poverty that was keeping African Americans from having a chance to improve their lives. Through all his work to promote equality for African Americans, King angered some Americans. Over the years he received many death threats. He was arrested on a number of occasions. On April 4, 1968, while organizing a strike of Black garbagemen in Memphis, Tennessee, King was assassinated on his motel balcony. He was only 39! King has become an American symbol in the fight against discrimination. He has been honoured as an American hero. Today, Americans celebrate Martin Luther King Day each January to remember the contributions of this leader.

7 Criteria King Summary Criteria 1: figure come up with a new way of doing things? Criteria 2: figure show outstanding leadership? Criteria 3: figure accomplish something that led to great societal Criteria 4: Has the historical had long term significance? Criteria 5: Are the historical recognized by society? Criteria 6: Is the historical figure s actions unique for the time period that he or she lived?

8 Criteria Examplar Score Explanation Criteria 1: figure come up with a new way of doing things? Criteria 2: figure show outstanding leadership? Criteria 3: figure accomplish something that led to great societal Criteria 4: Has the historical had long term significance? Criteria 5: Are the historical recognized by society? Criteria 6: Is the historical figure s actions unique for the time period that he or she lived?

9 Students Turn Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Edison was born on February 11, 1847, in Milan, Ohio. Edison received little formal education. His mother, a former teacher, home schooled him. By the time he was a teenager, he was working full time. When Edison was 15 he rescued the son of a telegraph operator. As a reward, the man taught Edison about the telegraph. He went to work for Western Union in Port Huron, Michigan. He soon moved to Boston and then on to New York City. While in New York, he began to make improvements to stock tickers and various telegraph devices. Edison started a stock ticker company and began working on other telegraph improvements. By 1874, Edison had successfully designed the quadruplex which allowed four messages to be sent on one telegraph wire at the same time. This invention established Edison in telegraphic communication. Edison then did something remarkable. In 1876, he built a research laboratory at Menlo Park, New Jersey. Edison put together a research team that was dedicated to improving and inventing technology. His full genius was about to be unleashed. In 1877, Edison improved Bell s telephone by designing a better transmitter that made the speaker s voice louder and clearer. In 1877, Edison and his team developed the phonograph which could record messages and play them back. When he demonstrated his device for the American president and writers from Scientific American, Edison was dubbed the Wizard of Menlo Park. Edison s next idea changed the world. In 1878, he began work on electric lighting. Edison wanted to produce incandescent lighting that could be used in every home and on every street. Edison s team tested a carbon filament that produced the light they sought. At first, the new light was interesting, but not very practical because most homes did not have electricity. So Edison moved to New York to begin the development of electric power plants. By the 1890s, hundreds of towns and cities had access to cheap electricity and therefore to electric lighting. In 1892, Edison formed the General Electric Company (GE). It is one of the most successful companies of the past 100 years. Edison then built a new research complex just outside West Orange, New Jersey. It was ten times the size of Menlo Park. This new industrial design park allowed for his team to design new technology. It was big enough where he could make all the new designs himself. In the 1890s, Edison turned his attention to moving pictures. Edison developed the kinetoscope which used film to capture a series of images. In 1893, Edison built his own film studio to begin making motion pictures with stories. Over the next 20 years Edison s company continued to develop new projectors. It then moved into filmmaking and the distribution of motion pictures across America. Edison went on to be involved in other important developments. He developed new technology to process low-grade iron ore into high-grade ore for steel mills. In the early 1900s, he designed batteries that were used to power railway signals and switches and keep new automobiles running. Edison s company also helped develop the production of portland cement and introduced poured concrete houses. Edison remained productive his entire life and was still working when he died in 1931 at the age of 84. Thomas Edison was an extremely respected and honoured man. He was given the French Legion of Honor in 1878 and the American Medal of Honour in His birthplace and research parks are now museums. At his funeral in October, 1931, President Herbert Hoover ordered all lights in America to be dimmed in his honour.

10 Criteria Edison Summary Criteria 1: figure come up with a new way of doing things? Criteria 2: figure show outstanding leadership? Criteria 3: figure accomplish something that led to great societal Criteria 4: Has the historical had long term significance? Criteria 5: Are the historical recognized by society? Criteria 6: Is the historical figure s actions unique for the time period that he or she lived?

11 Criteria Examplar Score Explanation Criteria 1: figure come up with a new way of doing things? Criteria 2: figure show outstanding leadership? Criteria 3: figure accomplish something that led to great societal Criteria 4: Has the historical had long term significance? Criteria 5: Are the historical recognized by society? Criteria 6: Is the historical figure s actions unique for the time period that he or she lived?

12 Criteria Dr. King Edison Explanation Criteria 1: figure come up with a new way of doing things? Criteria 2: figure show outstanding leadership? Criteria 3: figure accomplish something that led to great societal Criteria 4: Has the historical had long term significance? Criteria 5: Are the historical recognized by society? Criteria 6: Is the historical figure s actions unique for the time period that he or she lived? Final Verdict: Which historical figure had the most significance on world history?

Notes: Georgia from World War II to Modern Times

Notes: Georgia from World War II to Modern Times I. Atlanta A. Atlanta was a large city before WWII, but its growth really accelerated after the war. 1. Growth was caused by the three Interstate Highways