Ron Chernow’s history lesson on Hamilton went to Broadway—now he takes up President Ulysses S. Grant. We’ll talk about presidents past and present.
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Category: Teacher Toolbox
A Letter from Jourdan Anderson
Many of you have probably used the remarkable letter of a former slave by the name of Jourdan Anderson sent a letter to his former master. The roughly 800-word letter, which was a crafty response to a missive from Colonel P.H. Anderson, Jourdan’s former master back in Big Spring, Tennessee. Apparently, Col. Anderson had written Jourdan asking him to come on back to the big house to work. I created the timeline below from internet resources to set the historical context for my students.
Life in Tennessee 1823 to 1864
1823 General Paulding Anderson’s son Patrick Henry Anderson is born in Big Spring, TN (Wilson County)
1825 – Jourdan Anderson is born in December, some place in Tennessee.
1833 – Jourdan Anderson (age 8) becomes the slave of General Paulding Anderson and is given to his son Patrick Henry Anderson (age 10) as as playmate and personal servant
1844 – Patrick Henry Anderson (age 21) married Mary A. McGregor. She brought with her at least two servants, Amanda McGregor (age 15) and her mother, Priscilla McGregor (age 43). Patrick took several of his father’s slaves to his new home, including Jourdon.
1848 – Jourdan (age 23) married Amanda McGregor (age 19), Over 52 years of marriage theuy will have 11 children. The children born in Tennessee “seem” to have been Matilda, Catherine, Mildred (known as Milly) circa 1848, Jane circa 1851 and Felix Grundy, born on March 14, 1859. I use the word “seem” because there are no concrete records that prove Matilda and Catherine were Jourdon and Amanda’s children.
There was a Felix Grundy who served as a US Senator from Anderson’s home state of Tennessee in the 1830s who has a Tennessee county named after him
1860 – According to the 1860 census and slave schedules, Patrick Henry Anderson (age 37) has five ‘slave houses’ on his plantation totaling 32 people (19 males and 13 females) Before the start of the Civil War. P.H. Anderson had a personal estate valued at $92,000 (2.867 million in 2018 dollars)
1861 – April 12th Confederate artillery fired on the Union garrison at Fort Sumter marking the start of the Civil War ; June 8th Tennessee became the last state to secede from the Union. When the Civil War began in 1861, Jordan’s life changed very little and he still continued to dutifully work the plantation for his master with his wife.
1864 – Union Soldiers happened upon the Anderson plantation. Upon encountering Jordan, the soldiers granted him, his wife and children their freedom, making the act official with papers from the Provost Marshal General of Nashville
Upon being granted his freedom, Jordan immediately left the plantation which angered P.H. Anderson’s son Henry (age 18) to such an extent that he shot at Jordan as he was leaving, only ceasing to fire when a neighbor, George Carter, grabbed Henry’s pistol from him. Reportedly, Henry vowed to kill Jordan if he ever set foot on his property again.
Jordan and Mandy worked for a time at the Cumberland Military Hospital in Nashville under the surgeon in charge Dr. Clarke McDermont. Jordan and Mandy, with the help of Dr. Clarke McDermont, relocated to Dayton, Ohio in August of 1864
Life in Dayton, Ohio 1865 to 1905
1865 – Following his departure from the plantation, Jordan worked briefly in a Nashville field hospital, becoming close friends with a surgeon called Dr Clarke McDermont. When the Civil War ended in 1865, McDermont helped Jordan and his family move to Dayton, Ohio and put him in contact with his father-in-law, Valentine Winters, an abolitionist who helped him secure work in the town.
For the most part, Jordan’s life in Dayton was uneventful, with his time spent working with a stoic sense of quiet dignity, supporting his family and making sure his many children received a good education, something the illiterate Jordan was never given the opportunity to have. (In fact, it was noted that while still a slave, when an unspecified white girl tried to teach one of his children to read, the girl was beaten for it and forced to stop.)
The Letter
As it turns out, following the Civil War, the Anderson Plantation had fallen into complete disrepair, as is wont to happen when your entire workforce leaves pretty much all at once.
Deeply in debt, in a desperate attempt to save himself from total financial ruin, Henry reached out to the only man he knew who not only had the skills needed for the harvest, but also potentially the clout to convince some of the other slaves to return for paid work- Jordan Anderson. The letter also promised that Jordan would be paid and be treated as a free man if he returned.
He is a list of the payments requested by Jourdan from his former master and the 2017 equivalents:
Jourdan – $25.00 ($400.00 in 2017 dollars) per month for 32 years
Mandy – $8.00 ($120.00 in 2017 dollars) per month for 20 years
$11,600.00 ( $175,000 in 2017 dollars) with interest
1867 – A penniless Colonel P.H. Anderson dies of heart attack at age 44
1870 – Census records show Jordon Anderson living in Ohio with Mandy, four children (Jane, Felix, William, and Andrew). Jordan will find work as a janitor, coachman, laborer and sexton.
1905 – The Dayton Daily Journal publishes Jordan Anderson’s obituary. He was 79 years old.
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Impact of the Cotton Gin
The power of 50
Before the Cotton Gin
It takes 1 day to clean a 1 pound of cotton; The south relies on slaves to pick and process cotton on huge plantations. Eli Whitney invents the Cotton Gin in 1793
Mass production of clean cotton using a machine (Cotton Gin) transforms America and the world. The Cotton Gin MAKES SLAVERY PAY!!!!!
After the Cotton Gin
1 man can now process 50 pounds of cotton in a day.
By 1830 America produces 50% of the world’s cotton, by 1850 America produces 75% of the world’s cotton.
Each slave becomes 50 times more valuable
Southern states want to expand West and bring slavery with them. This leads to the Compromise of 1850
Additional U.S. History Resources
Prepare and Perform with History 360
Nativism in 3D
Antebellum Immigration “Nativism in 3D”
Distrust, Discrimination and Destruction
Were the Irish and German immigrants welcomed in Antebellum America? (Not really and not always).
Anti-Irish sentiment may refer to or include racism, oppression, bigotry, persecution, discrimination, hatred or fear of Irish people as an ethnic group or nation, whether directed against Ireland in general or against Irish emigrants and their descendants in the Irish diaspora.
An Anti-Immigrant movement develops. What began as the secret society – “Order of the Star Spangled Banner,” evolves into a political party – The American Party (AKA the Know – Nothing Party)
Distrust – Immigration causes anxiety and social disorder – All immigrants did was drink and steal.
Discrimination – The issue of anti-Irish job discrimination in the United States. Some insist that the “No Irish need apply” signs were common.
Destruction – In Louisville, Kentucky, election-day rioters killed at least 22 people in attacks on German and Irish Catholics on Aug. 6, 1855, in what became known as “Bloody Monday.” In Philadelphia in 1844, for example, a series of nativist assaults on Catholic churches and community centers resulted in the loss of lives and the professionalization of the police force.
Jacksonland
President Andrew Jackson, Cherokee Chief John Ross, and a Great American Land Grab
University of Tennessee
This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.
University of Tennessee “You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
On September 10, 1794, two years before Tennessee became a state and at a meeting of the legislature of the Southwest Territory at Knoxville, the University of Tennessee was chartered as Blount College. Tennessee has had several nicknames, but the most popular and well-known is “The Volunteer State,” a nickname earned during the War of 1812 (thousands of volunteer soldiers from Tennessee played a prominent role in this war, especially during the Battle of New Orleans).
This reputation for volunteering was reinforced during the Mexican War when the secretary of state asked for 2,800 Tennessee volunteers and got 30,000 respondents
Henry Clay Jr. (April 10, 1811 – February 23, 1847) was an American politician and soldier from Kentucky, the third son of US Senator and Congressman Henry Clay and Lucretia Hart Clay. He was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1835 and served one term. A graduate of West Point, he served in the Mexican-American War and was killed in 1847 at the Battle of Buena Vista.
Curriculum Connections: (Mascot) “The Volunteers”, War of 1812, Mexican War| Henry Clay Jr., The Civil War
Washington’s Farewell Address Mnemonic
In his farewell address Washington warned against evils of political parties and the danger of permanent foreign alliances (like treaty with France).
$.A.F.E
Stay Away from Foreign Entanglements. The “$” in this mnemonic is a dollar sign because Washington encouraged commercial ties to build the economy.
Isolationism became dominant U.S. foreign policy for next 100 years. We departed for this advice…
1898 – The Spanish American and War
1917 – Attempted isolation during World War I. The Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles and the U.S. did not join the League of Nations/
1945 – At the conclusion of World War II the United States joined the United Nations (1945) ending the
James Madison University
This post is part of the APUSH Gameday series.
James Madison University “Knowledge is Liberty”
Founded in 1908 as a women’s college, James Madison University was established by the Virginia General Assembly. It was originally called The State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg. In 1914, the name of the university was changed to the State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg. At first, academic offerings included only today’s equivalent of technical training or junior college courses; however authorization to award bachelor’s degrees was granted in 1916. During this initial period of development, the campus plan was established and six buildings were constructed. The university became the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg in 1924 and continued under that name until 1938, when it was named Madison College in honor of James Madison, the fourth President of the United States whose Montpelier estate is located in nearby Orange, Virginia. In 1976, the university’s name was changed to James Madison University.
I work the James Madison into my course when I cover the following topics:
Plain, Honest Men – Philadelphia 1787 In an atmosphere of crisis, fifty five delegate met in Philadelphia and forged a radically new of government through conflict, compromise, and fragile consensus.
Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution [1787-1788]The ratification debate, waged in the newspapers, through pamphlets, and on the floor of the state conventions, led to heated arguments about our new government’s structure and function.
“A Rope of Sand”
America’s First Constitution – “A Rope of Sand”
The Articles of Confederation, reflecting republican fears of both centralized power and excessive popular influence, leads to conflicts among the states that threaten the existence of the young nation.
No executive leadership
No national court system
One State, One Vote
No power to TAX
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
Shays’ Rebellion (1787)
The Logic of Resistance
The Logic of Resistance [1770 to 1774]
Colonial reactions to perceived threats from the British help unite the colonies and provide a training ground for young colonial politicians – a formative step toward organized rebellion.
Boston Massacre
Committees of Correspondence
Boston Tea Party
Coercive Acts (Intolerable Acts)
First Continental Congress
History Incubator 