Unit 3: 20th Century Louisiana

Unit Description

After Reconstruction, Louisiana became a political battleground. Bourbon Democrats and Populists battled for power, simultaneously empowering some Louisiana citizens and disenfranchising many more. Louisiana citizens attempted to influence government through the Progressive Movement.

Louisiana also experience significant economic challenges in the 20th century, including the Flood of 1927 and the Great Depression. These economic conditions paved the way for Huey P. Long to dominate Louisiana politics and create the Share Our Wealth program.

During the 20th century, Louisiana also played an important role in WWII through specializing in boat and weapon production. After World War II, many white males returned to the American workforce. The brief respite from the racial discrimination faced by African-Americans in America came to an end when the soldiers returned home. In the 1950’s, laws challenging the racial status quo began to change America. By 1960, a full-blown social movement began demanding change and racial equality. Two major schools of thought emerged—Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolent civil disobedience to achieve integration and the Black Power Movement’s use of militarization to achieve equality. By the end of the 60’s, the Civil Rights Movement was declared a success. Now, 25 years later, we must look at our society with a critical eye to determine if all goals of the Civil Rights Movement were achieved and whether we need a new movement to further equality for all.

Essential Question

How did economic, social, and political changes of the 20th century redefine Louisiana's identity?

Themes

    • History is often told from the perspective of the oppressor, which eliminates the voices of the oppressed and promotes a single story. As a result, oppressed peoples fight back in different ways in an attempt to (re)claim their freedoms.
    • Land features create different societies and also create conflicts between people.
    • A region’s economy typically becomes reliant upon its resources and environment. However, people modify their environments in order to meet their diverse needs.
    • People create and further governing bodies in order to serve their various needs and interests.
    • All humans have fundamental rights and we must fight to protect them.
    • People enter conflicts to increase their power and defend their way of life.
    • Social and practical innovations affect how people live throughout the course of history.

Standards Addressed

    • 8.1.2- Construct and interpret a timeline of key events in Louisiana.
    • 8.2.3- Analyze push-pull factors for migration/settlement patterns of Louisiana’s inhabitants from French colonization to statehood in 1812.
    • 8.2.4- Explain how differences and similarities among ethnic groups in colonial Louisiana contributes to cooperation and conflict.
    • 8.2.5- Analyze causes and effects of major events and evaluate their impact on growth
    • 8.2.7- Explain major social, political, and economic changes that affected Louisiana during the Progressive, Great Depression, and Huey Long Eras.
    • 8.2.8- Investigate and describe the impact of WWII on Louisiana’s social, political, and economic system
    • 8.2.9- Describe the Civil Rights movement in Louisiana and analyze how it changed the course of Louisiana’s history.
    • 8.2.10- Predict ways in which Louisiana will continue to grow toward economic, cultural, and political diversity in the 21st century.
    • 8.8.1- Describe ways in which citizens can organize, monitor, or influence government and politics
    • 8.8.2- Explain the importance of being an informed citizen on public issues, recognizing propaganda.

Unit Outcomes

Students will know:

    • The political, social, and economic structures found in Louisiana following the Civil War.
    • The importance of the Mississippi River following the Civil War.
    • The causes, course, and consequences of the Civil Rights Movement.
    • The causes, course, and consequences of World War II.
    • The impact racism had on America.

Students will be able to:

Historical Thinking:

  • Annotate documents
    • Use the different steps for different types of documents when analyzing their contents
  • Source documents
    • Identify author’s point of view/position on a historical event
    • Identify author’s purpose in producing the document
    • Consider the source’s audience
  • Contextualize Sources
    • Understand how context influences content of the document
    • Recognize documents are products of particular points in time
  • Close read sources
    • Identify author’s claims about an event
    • Evaluate evidence and reasoning the author uses to support claims

Writing:

  • Strong body paragraphs
    • TOSEEC
    • Topic Sentences
    • 2 types of evidence
  • Strengthening evidence
    • Context
    • Extended Response
    • Introducing Text Evidence
  • Strengthening Elaboration
    • Elaboration
    • Concluding Sentence
    • Context pt. 2

Unit Vocabulary

  1. Bourbon Democrats - Louisiana political party that believed in white supremacy, limited government, and protecting rights of white property owners
  2. white supremacy - the racist belief that white people are superior to those of all other races and should therefore dominate society
  3. limited government - restricted government that only operates within the confines of the Constitution
  4. conservative- holding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation
  5. social conditions- the situation various groups have in society due to income, occupation or level of education, and/or race
  6. Populists - Louisiana political party that believed the government should better represent the interests of poor people
  7. populism- support for the concerns of ordinary people
  8. The Mississippi Plan- strategic election plan of the Bourbon Democrats to hold onto power by using economic threats, political tricks, and outright violence to intimidate voters.
  9. The Progressive Movement - a time between Reconstruction and the Great Depression when many people were focused on ideas to solve society’s issues (Ex: prohibition, women’s suffrage, child labor)
  10. urban- city
  11. Progressive reformers - also known as “Progressives”; activists who worked to address the nation’s problems and make the government more responsive to the needs of the people
  12. Prohibition- the time period when the sale and consumption of alcohol in the US was banned
  13. temperance- abstinence from alcohol
  14. child labor- the use of children in a workforce
  15. women’s suffrage- women’s right to vote
  16. The Flood of 1927 - a massive flood that hurt Louisiana’s economy and created political division between the poor and wealthy in Louisiana
  17. The Great Depression - worst economic crisis the nation has ever known; a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty
  18. economic depression- a time when there is high unemployment
  19. economy- the wealth and resources of a country or region
  20. The New Deal - federal policies created by President Roosevelt that provided jobs for unemployed people and aid to help Americans survive.
  21. Huey P. Long - an influential politician who fundamentally changed the role of government in Louisiana
  22. “Share Our Wealth” - Long's plan to help America's economy grow and get out of the Great Depression
  23. legacy - something that is passed after death, including one’s reputation; how people remember you
  24. World War II - a global war that involved the allied powers; revitalized the American economy and ended the Great Depression
  25. Higgins Boats - a boat used in WWII that was made in New Orleans
  26. specialization- producing or becoming an expert in a particular subject or skill.
  27. propaganda- biased advertisement, used to promote a political cause
  28. Jim Crow Laws- terms for laws that segregated the races and restricted rights for black people across the South
  29. Civil Rights Movement- a mass popular movement to secure equal rights for African-Americans.
  30. Martin Luther King Jr. - the leader of the Civil Rights Movement
  31. segregation- the action of setting someone apart from others based on race.
  32. desegregate- to end a policy of racial segregation
  33. activist- a person who campaigns for some kind of social change
  34. civil disobedience- to refuse to comply with certain laws as a peaceful form of political protest
  35. boycott- when a group of people refuse to buy from a company
  36. sit-Ins- to occupy a place as a form of protest
  37. Baton Rouge Bus Boycott- African Americans in Baton Rouge boycotted the segregated public bus system and influenced the Montgomery Bus Boycott
  38. Brown v. Board of Education- a Supreme Court ruling that ordered that public schools be desegregated; overturned Plessy v. Ferguson because “separate” was inherently “unequal”
  39. integrate- to bring people of different characteristics with equal participation or membership
  40. School Desegregation Crisis - Time after New Orleans schools were desegregated and white families either moved out of the city or put their kids in private schools to avoid desegregated schools
  41. disenfranchise- to deprive someone of the right to vote
  42. literacy tests- device used to prevent African Americans from qualifying to vote; did not actually test literacy
  43. poll taxes- extra money required to vote; device used to prevent African Americans from voting
  44. Civil Rights Act of 1964 - outlawed and criminalized discrimination and segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
  45. discrimination- unjust treatment of people based on race, age, or sex
  46. Voting Rights Act of 1965- Civil Rights law that eliminated literacy tests and poll taxes.
  47. Black Power Movement- a movement that grew out of the Civil Rights Movement that called for independent development of political and social institutions for Black people and emphasized pride in Black culture.
  48. Black Panthers- a militant political organization set up to fight for Black rights
  49. Black Lives Matter Movement- a movement created in response to the police killings of Black males.
  50. self-determination - the process by which a person controls their own life
  51. Stokely Carmichael - a prominent organizer in the Civil Rights Movement and leader of the Black Power movement