Settlement of Timbuctoo: Evaluating the Impact

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Suggested Teaching Instructions

Students can complete this activity through the questions on Consider the Source, or use this google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AJb53-g4UIplJaMph8vFbySS1reE1U6XY7qJyfh5l3E/edit

Historical Context: Timbuctoo is deep in the land of the Adirondack Mountains. This mountain range is synonymous with rough weather and tough terrain. After New York State passed a law requiring African American men to posess $250 in real estate in order to vote, Gerrit Smith divided up his 120,000 acres into 40 acre lots and began inviting African American families to live and farm on his land. Gerrit Smith was a very wealthy land owner who invited roughly 3,000 African Americans to come and work on his 40 acre plots where these families could have new oportunities. The lands are in North Elba, New York.

 

Title: Settlement of Timbuctoo- Success or Failure

Overview: Using an analysis of primary and secondary sources provided by PBS, John Brown Lives, and the NYS Archives, students will investigate and evaluate the ultimate success of the Timbuctoo settlement created via land grants by Gerrit Smith in North Elba, NY in the mid 1800s. Students will examine sources to learn about the experience of black settlers, and the challenges they faced in the Adirondacks. 

Goal: To invite students to investigate the settlement of Timbuctoo in North Elba, NY via an analysis of primary sources.  

Objectives:

1. Students will examine and analyze primary sources to determine the experience of settlers of Timbuctoo and the challenges they faced. 

2. Students will evaluate the success or failure of the Timbuctoo settlement using an analysis of the sources provided.  

3. Students will create an evaluative argument in essay or google slides presentation format. 

Investigative (Compelling) Question: Was the Timbuctoo Settlement in North Elba a success or failure? 

Time Required

• 3-4 40-minute class periods

• Class 1: Introduction and Geography

  • Intro Article, Timbuctoo from Adirondack.net and questions

  • PBS Searching for Timbuctoo clip and questions

  • Adirondack photos- Impact of geography on Timbuctoo

• Class 2: Examining Timbuctoo Settlers

  • Analyze Article from the North Star- Lewis and Smith Lands

  • PBS Searching for Timbuctoo clip and questions (Henderson)

  • Analyze Lyman Epps Obituary, 1897

  • PBS Searching for Timbuctoo clip and questions (Lyman Epps)

• Class 3: Constructing Your Argument/Reflection

  • Students will have time to construct their argument in essay or google slides

  • Reflection question: Why don’t we know more about Timbuctoo?

• Optional- Class 4: Presentation of Argument/Debate

  • Students will present, question, and debate the various perspectives

Recommended Grade Range

• 9-12

• 7-8- modify as necessary

Subject: Social Studies 

Standards: 

NYS Social Studies Framework- 9-12

-11.3 b Different perspectives concerning constitutional, political, economic, and social issues contributed to the growth of sectionalism.

-Students will investigate the development of the abolitionist movement, focusing on Nat Turner’s Rebellion, Sojourner Truth, William Lloyd Garrison (The Liberator), Frederick Douglass (The Autobiography of Frederick Douglass and The North Star), and Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom’s Cabin).

NYS Next Generation Literacy Standards

RH1: Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, connecting insights gained from specific details to an understanding of the source as a whole.

RH7: Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

WHST1: Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

WHST5: Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self generated question), analyze a topic, or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

Credits: Kathy Bellows

PREPARATION 

Materials Used: 

1. Timbuctoo Article

2. PBS Searching for Timbuctoo clips: 26:53-30:46, 32:59- 35:17, 50:21-52:00

3. Photo of Keene, NY

4. Photo of Lake Placid

5. Photo of Adirondack Mountains

6. Newspaper Record: Communications Mr Waite J. Lewis and the Smith Lands: North Star 16, February 1849, p3. PDF file

7. Newspaper record. Lyman Epps of North Elba Dead. Elizabethtown Post. 1 April, 1897. P 1. PDF file

8. Google doc-Evaluating Timbuctoo Inquiry 

Resources Used: 

1. Timbuctoo Article

2. PBS Searching for Timbuctoo clips: 26:53-30:46, 32:59- 35:17, 50:21-52:00

3. Photo of Keene, NY

4. Photo of Lake Placid

5. Photo of Adirondack Mountains

6. Newspaper Record: Communications Mr Waite J. Lewis and the Smith Lands: North Star 16, February 1849, p3. PDF file

7. Newspaper record. Lyman Epps of North Elba Dead. Elizabethtown Post. 1 April, 1897. P 1. PDF file

PROCEDURE

Description of Procedure: 

1. Connect- Setting the Stage- Students will read the Timbuctoo article and view a clip of the PBS documentary, Searching for Timbuctoo to gain insights about the background of the Timbuctoo settlement. Students will gain context of the wider politics of slavery in New York and the United States as a backdrop for the creation of Timbuctoo. Who was Gerrit Smith, and why did he cede land grants for Timbuctoo? What was it like for early settlers? Introduce the compelling question. 

   1. Evaluating Timbuctoo Inquiry- contains all supporting questions and culminating task

   2. Timbuctoo Article

   3. PBS Searching for Timbuctoo clips: 26:53-30:46

2. Wonder- Examine the Geography- students will analyze three photos of the Adirondacks to determine questions and challenges settlers would have faced in the mid 1800s. Students will formulate 3 questions and 3 challenges. 

   1. Photo of Keene, NY

   2. Photo of Lake Placid

   3. Photo of Adirondack Mountains

 

3. Investigate- students will analyze documents of two Timbuctoo settlers, the Henderson family and the Epps family. Students will close read and answer supporting questions for all sources. Students will also analyze the racial element of Timbuctoo. 

   1. Newspaper Record: Communications Mr Waite J. Lewis and the Smith Lands: North Star 16, February 1849, p3. PDF file

   2. Newspaper record. Lyman Epps of North Elba Dead. Elizabethtown Post. 1 April, 1897. P 1. PDF file

   3. PBS Searching for Timbuctoo clips: 32:59- 35:17, 50:21-52:00

   4. Evaluating Timbuctoo Inquiry

4. Construct- students will synthesize all sources and analysis to develop an argument that answers the compelling question: Was the settlement of Timbuctoo a success or failure? Students will write an essay or google slides presentation. 

   1. Evaluating Timbuctoo Inquiry- Culminating task

 

5. Express- students will prepare their argument to present to the class and further discuss and debate the compelling question. 

 

6. Reflect- Students will Explain 3 insights gained about the settlement of Timbuctoo. Students will also discuss the question: Why do you think Timbuctoo is not well known? Explain. 

Extensions- How are the challenges and successes of black settlers at Timbuctoo reflected in today’s society and/or your community? 

EVALUATION

Evaluation: Students will complete the culminating task. Using evidence and analysis of the sources, construct an argument that answers the following question: Was the settlement of Timbuctoo a success or failure? The augment can be completed in essay form or in google slides. Students will present, discuss, and debate with the class.