Montana: Stories of the Land

Chapter 15 - Progressive Montana, 1900 - 1924

For simplicity's sake, the textbook separates the intertwined histories of radical political movements (discussed in chapter 15) and the conservative response, particularly as represented by the lynching of Frank Little and the passage of the Montana Sedition Act (discussed in chapter 16). However, these stories are clearly interconnected. Ideally, then, this chapter will be taught in tandem with Chapter 16, "Montana and World War I." Equally, educators may find links listed on Chapter 16's companion web pages of use when teaching this chapter.

Educational Trunks

East Meets West: The Chinese Experience in Montana, from the Montana Historical Society. This trunk explores the lives of the Chinese who came to Montana, the customs that they brought with them to America, how they contributed to Montana communities, their struggles with anti-Chinese prejudice, and the reasons they left Montana.

Takeaways

Inspired by reading specialist Tammy Elser, who was in turn inspired by SKC graduate Taylor Crawford, we've created a "Takeaway" bookmark for every chapter of Montana: Stories of the Land. Before starting a chapter, print and cut out these bookmarks and distribute them to your students. Ask them to use the Takeaway to summarize the GIST of what they learn from reading assigned sections of the chapter. Remind them that they don't have much room, so they'll need to think before they write down the most important idea they want to take away from the section. Learn a little more about the GIST strategy.

Even though we've created Takeaways for every chapter, we don't recommend you have your students complete a Takeaway for every section of every chapter they read. That would be exceedingly tedious. However, used appropriately, they can be a useful tool for encouraging reflection and teaching students how to summarize information.

Websites and Online Lesson Plans

The Learning from Historical Documents unit created to accompany Chapter 14 also works well with this chapter. The unit features the "Report of Investigation of Sanitary Condition in Mines, and of the Conditions under Which the Miners Live in Silver Bow County," a study conducted by Silver Bow County health officials, who examined the sanitary conditions in the mines and above ground from 1908 to 1912, in an effort to explain Butte's high incidence of tuberculosis.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has information about the 1918 influenza epidemic nationally and in Montana.

Several organizations have created lesson plans on analyzing cartoons that can be adapted to the political cartoons in this chapter. They include the Library of Congress, "It's No Laughing Matter: Analyzing Political Cartoons"; PBS.org, and the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, "Political Cartoons." 

Jean Luckowski and James Lopach, the authors of Jeannette Rankin: A Political Woman (Boulder, CO, 2004) have created a timeline of Rankin's life, illustrated with quotations by and about her. Page 15 of the document includes a list of excellent discussion questions.

Learn more about the role of Montana's woman's clubs in education, civic improvement efforts and the fight for woman suffrage. 

Discover more about Butte's rich labor history in "When Toil Meant Trouble: Butte's Labor Heritage," by George Everett. Find a national labor history timeline - with links to curriculum information - here.

"Children at Work, 1908-1912, The Photography of Lewis Hine" is another excellent Progressive era-related site. Despite its national focus it is worth examining.

Nebraskastudies.org has more on the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act. 

The National Archives has created a lesson surrounding Butte's anti-Chinese boycott and the lawsuit Butte Chinese merchants filed in response. A simpler lesson on prejudice against the Chinese is on page 39 of the footlocker user guide for "East Meets West: The Chinese Experience in Montana."

You can find digital versions of Frank Linderman's Indian Why Stories here.

The University of Montana Special Collections Library has created an online exhibit: Immigrant Montana.

"Danger, No Smoking" asks students to investigate a historical artifact (a sign that once stood at the head of a Butte mine), and draw conclusions about the development of Butte.

"Montana's Landless Indians and the Assimilation Era of Federal Indian Policy: A Case of Contradiction" is a week-long primary-source based unit designed to introduce high school students to the history of the landless Métis, Cree, and Chippewa Indians in Montana between 1889 and 1916, while giving them an opportunity to do their own guided analysis of historical and primary source materials.

"Butte's Industrial Landscape" is an incredibly informative and detailed PowerPoint presentation focusing on the environmental consequences of industrial mining. Professor Fred Quivik created it for a teacher's workshop but it can be easily adapted for use in the classroom.

Videos or DVDs

Chapter One, "When Copper Was King," (22 minutes) of Montana Mosaic: 20th Century People and Events.  (Check your library. OPI donated a copy of this DVD to every public school in Montana. The DVD is also available as streaming video.)

Remembering the Columbia Gardens - 60 minutes.

American Experience: Influenza 1918 - 60 minutes.

Back From The Brink: Montana's Wildlife Legacy - 120 minutes.

From the Far East to the Old West: Chinese and Japanese Settlers in Montana, Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs - 29 minutes. (Check your library. Copies of the video and study guide were distributed free of charge to all Montana public schools.)

Pauper's Dream: Tribute to the Montana Hard Rock Miner, Joseph Campanella - 58 minutes.

Hidden Fire: The Great Butte Explosion - 60 minutes. (This film can now be viewed online.)

Possible Fieldtrips

World Museum of Mining, Butte 

Montana State Capitol, Helena or take a virtual tour.
 

Alignment to Content Standards and Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians (EU)

Tests and Answer Keys