Unit 6 Model Organizer and Scoring Guide

Example:

1. Hope, Opportunity, and Democratic Expansion

• Document C (Immigrant letter)
• Document E (The County Election)
• Document G (Walden)

2. Protest, Reform, and Unmet Promises of Democracy

• Document A (Mill worker)
• Document B (Grimké)
• Document D (Seneca Falls)
• Document F (Douglass)

Examples:

Document A: Excerpt from a young woman working in the Lowell Mills (1830s-1840s)

Main Events Before: Industrialization introduced mechanized textile production, leading to the rise of factory towns like Lowell, Massachusetts, which employed large numbers of young women.

Social & Cultural Climate: Traditional gender roles were shifting as women entered wage labor; while reformers began advocating for labor rights.

Economic Conditions: Rapid industrial growth created jobs but also led to challenges in the workplace, including low wages and poor working conditions.

Political Climate: Early labor movements and calls for factory regulation began to emerge, though many workers had little political power.

Other: Religious and moral reformers sometimes viewed mill employment as a moral risk, because it expanded the role of women beyond their traditional role in the home. However, it was also seen as a chance for women’s empowerment through education and independence.

Document B: Angelina Grimké’s “Letter to Catharine Beecher” (1837)

Main Events Before: The Second Great Awakening encouraged social reform, including abolition and women’s roles in public morality; Grimké had left the South to join the abolitionist movement.

Social & Cultural Climate: Women were largely expected to remain in the private sphere, but some, like Grimké, pushed for public roles in moral reform and equality.

Economic Conditions: Industrialization and reform intersected as new economic roles and social problems emerged, often highlighting inequalities between men and women.

Document C: “Letters from an Immigrant” by Johan Schütz (1840s)

Main Events Before: Political upheaval and economic hardship in Europe, especially in Germany and Ireland, led to large waves of immigration to the U.S.

Social & Cultural Climate: Immigrants were often faced with discrimination, but they also found expanding communities and economic opportunities in the United States.

Economic Conditions: America’s growing industrial and agricultural economy relied on immigrant labor, and many immigrants found work building canals, railroads, or settling farmland.

Other: The ideal of the “American Dream” gained strength in the immigrant imagination, promoting the U.S. as a land of freedom and social mobility.

Document D: Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments (1848)

Social & Cultural Climate: Women were denied legal and political rights; they could not vote, own property after marriage, or access higher education.

Economic Conditions: Industrialization created new jobs for women but few economic rights; women were paid less and often excluded from professional roles.

Political Climate: The push for women’s suffrage and legal equality began to gain national attention, though it faced strong opposition.

Other: The document mimicked the Declaration of Independence, emphasizing equality and appealing to American foundational principles.

Document E: The County Election by George Caleb Bingham (1852)

Main Events Before: Jacksonian Democracy expanded voting rights for white men by removing property qualifications and promoted political participation.

Social & Cultural Climate: Civic participation among white males increased, especially in the West; elections were seen as social events.

Other: Bingham’s painting critiques and celebrates democracy, revealing both its vibrancy and its flaws.

Document F: Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852)

Main Events Before: The Fugitive Slave Act (1850) and Compromise of 1850 intensified national divisions over slavery; Douglass had escaped slavery and become a leading abolitionist.

Social & Cultural Climate: While white Americans celebrated liberty, African Americans remained enslaved and oppressed, creating a deep moral contradiction.

Economic Conditions: The Southern economy was built on slavery, while the North benefited from trade and goods tied to enslaved labor.

Political Climate: Growing abolitionist movements clashed with pro-slavery politicians defending the status quo and expanding slavery westward.

Other: Douglass used powerful rhetoric to shame the hypocrisy of American ideals and stir action for equality and justice.

Document G: Henry David Thoreau’s Walden (1854)

Main Events Before: Industrialization and growing consumer culture transformed American life, often at the expense of simplicity and reflection.

Social & Cultural Climate: Transcendentalist thinkers, including Thoreau, promoted individual conscience and harmony with nature.

Political Climate: Thoreau, like many Transcendentalists, distrusted large institutions and called for civil disobedience and self-reliance.

Other: Walden became a foundational American text in environmentalism, simplicity, and critique of materialism.

Examples:

Document A:

• The Lowell Mills employed young women in grueling factory conditions during the early Industrial Revolution, reflecting both new economic opportunities and problematic labor practices.

Document B:

• Angelina Grimké’s 1837 letter challenged traditional gender roles and called for equal moral and political rights during a time of expanding reform movements.

Document C:

• Johan Schütz’s letter expresses the hopes of many immigrants who came to America in the 1840s seeking freedom and opportunity amid rapid economic and social change.

Document D:

• The Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments (1848) demanded women’s rights in response to their exclusion from economic, political, and educational life during a period of reform and democratic expansion.

Document E:

• George Caleb Bingham’s The County Election (1852) illustrates the vibrant but limited nature of political participation during the Jacksonian era, when voting rights expanded for white men.

Document F:

• Frederick Douglass’ 1852 speech exposed the hypocrisy of American liberty celebrations in a nation that still enslaved millions of people.

Document G:

• Thoreau’s Walden (1854) reflected growing unease with industrialization and called for a return to simple, purposeful living in harmony with nature.

Document A: Excerpt from a young woman working in the Lowell Mills (1830s-1840s)

Voice: A young female factory worker

Intent: To describe the harsh working conditions and limited rewards of industrial labor

Environment: Industrializing New England; women were entering the workforce in large numbers for the first time

Who: Female mill workers, factory owners, labor reformers, and American families relying on new wage-earning opportunities

Document B: Angelina Grimké’s “Letter to Catharine Beecher” (1837)

Voice: Angelina Grimké, an abolitionist and early advocate for women’s rights

Intent: To argue for human equality and the moral foundation of reform efforts, especially in women’s participation

Environment: Rising debates over abolition, women’s rights, and religious influence in public life

Who: Women reformers and broader American society confronting shifting gender roles

Document C: Excerpts from “Letters from an Immigrant” by Johan Schütz (1840s)

Voice: Johan Schütz, a European immigrant to the United States

Intent: To express hope and appreciation for the freedom and opportunity found in America

Environment: A period of mass immigration and westward expansion; promise of economic and social mobility in the U.S.

Who: Immigrants seeking new lives, American citizens reacting to changing demographics

Document D: Excerpt from the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments (1848)

Voice: Women’s rights reformers, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Intent: To highlight women’s exclusion from economic and public life and to demand equal rights

Environment: A time of growing reform movements and industrialization, when women had limited legal and economic power

Who: American women and citizens being asked to support women’s equality

Document E: The County Election by George Caleb Bingham (1852)

Voice: George Caleb Bingham, an artist and politician

Intent: To portray and comment on democratic participation, especially the nature of local elections

Environment: Jacksonian Democracy; growing political engagement among white men, especially in the expanding West

Who: White male voters, local political figures, and a public engaged in the democratic process

Document F: Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” (1852)

Voice: Frederick Douglass, a formerly enslaved abolitionist and orator

Intent: To expose the hypocrisy of celebrating liberty in a nation that continues to enslave millions

Environment: Heightened tensions over slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War

Who: Enslaved people, abolitionists, white Americans unaware or indifferent to slavery

Document G: Henry David Thoreau’s Walden (1854)

Voice: Henry David Thoreau, a transcendentalist writer and philosopher

Intent: To reflect on simple, deliberate living as an antidote to the excesses of industrial society

Environment: Mid-19th century America, marked by industrial and economic growth

Who: American citizens influenced by industrial culture, readers seeking spiritual or philosophical guidance

Examples:

1. Americans responded to economic change by fighting for better working conditions and wages, especially in new factory jobs like the Lowell Mills.
2. Democratic institutions and reformers pushed for more equality by demanding rights for women, workers, and enslaved people during this time of rapid economic growth.
3. The growth of the economy in the early 1800s gave more people opportunities, but it also created unfair conditions that led Americans to speak out and demand change.
4. While economic growth brought hope to immigrants and new voters, many Americans noticed that democracy was still limited and worked to make it more fair.
5. Americans responded to industrial changes by forming new social movements, like the women’s rights movement and abolition to address social issues.

Clearly and directly answers the question with a strong, defensible claim.

Provides a clear, logical structure that outlines key points.

Clearly identifies the author, purpose, historical context, and audience for at least three documents. Provides insightful analysis of the document’s significance.

Provides accurate and appropriate historical context that explains the significance of the source and relates it to the time period.

Groups documents in a thoughtful and effective way that strengthens the argument.

Effectively integrates relevant evidence from documents to support the claim.

Thesis is clearly written, well-organized, and easy to understand.

Free of errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.