The American Future

If you look at the subject divider for the part of the course dealing with Native Americans you'll see that there's a quote from a British historian, Simon Schama. The clip above is from a BBC series set to coincide with the US Presidential election in November. This is one programme you should try to avoid missing.

How much do you know?

Test your knowledge of the Westward Expansion of the USA here.

Coursework, Indeed

Click here to visit 'Coursework, Indeed'. This companion site has been set up to help A2 students complete their independent investigation. Some good titles this year: native American indians, the third Crusade, Henry VII's foreign policy and Charles Stewart Parnell, among others.

Parnell - 'uncrowned King of Ireland?' or just a very naughty boy?

Trains

The links below will help you with a piece of work we are about to cover in class as a case study on the railroad as a key factor in the opening up of the Western frontier.

• good history of the Transcontinental Railroad—and how it changed California - here.
• very detailed history of the Union Pacific railroad.
• link your knowledge of the railways to Lewis/Clark here.
• this Google link lets you read an American textbook on railways and the West.
• this BBC history site refers to the Transcontinental as one of the 'seven wonders of the industrial world.'

Pubs: A Social History

The UK is currently witnessing the closure of 57 pubs each month. You can see this reflected in the number of pubs that have bitten the dust in Barrow and Dalton over the past year.

Pubs have a fascinating social history, not least the names that they were originally given - 'The Strawberry'? 'The Ambrose'? 'Robin Hood'? - what was the motivation behind these names?

COMPETITION! (with a prize!)

Briefly explain the historical origins of the following popular pub names, all of them in Barrow.

• The Cross Keys
• The White Lion
• The Crystal Palace
• The Sheffield (currently closed)
• King's Head
  

Best pub names of all time? 'Help the Poor Struggler' (Oldham) - Albert Pierrepoint, the last official UK executioner, was the landlord. 'Trip to Jerusalem' (Nottingham) - oldest pub in England. 'Peveril of the Peak' (Manchester) - named after a Walter Scott novel.

Longest pub name - The Old Thirteenth Cheshire Astley Volunteer Rifleman Corps Inn (Stalybridge)

Most popular pub name? 'The Crown'.

Completion of the Californian Railroad

Promontory Summit, Utah - the location where the United States' first Transcontinental Railroad was officially completed on May 10, 1869, with the driving of the Golden Spike, joining the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads. Trains, they're brilliant.

Federal Government and the Opening up of the West

What if you got this question in an exam?

To what extent was Federal government involvement in communication developments the most important factor in westward expansion?

In the earlier section of the course we looked at the extent to which developments in communication – farming, railroads, telegraphs, trails and roads and steamboats – contributed to the opening up of the West. We will now look at the ways in which FEDERAL government encouraged and assisted developments in these areas.

THE CUMBERLAND ROAD
Look at the websites listed below:

http://www.swetland.net/cumberland.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumberland_Pike

Use the heading ‘Federal Government and the Cumberland Road’ to provide evidence for the two statements below:

· The Cumberland Road played a key role in the opening of the West.
· The involvement of the Federal Government was an important development.

THE US MAIL
Read the ‘History’ section of the website below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Postal_Service

Use the heading ‘Federal Government and the US Mail’ to provide evidence for the two statements below:

· The US Mail has always been a part of the Federal Government (clue here – think back to what we said earlier in the course about the ‘executive’ branch of government.
· The development of the US Mail system has strong LINKS with the growth of the US railroad system.

THE RAILWAYS
Browse the websites listed below and make notes on the SCALE and SIGNIFICANCE of Federal involvement in developing the US railways. The main piece of legislation to focus on is - The First Pacific Railroad Act (1862)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tcrr/
http://law.jrank.org/pages/8984/Pacific-Railroad-Act.html

www.tcrr.com

Homework

Congratulations to everyone for submitting the first piece of homework set. There have been some excellent posters and we will try to display as many of them as possible in and around the classrooms. Well done, everyone!

Inside the Medieval Mind

This excellent series was first shown on BBC 4 earlier in the year. Catch it again this Saturday at 18:00 - 19:00 BBC Two.

Local History

Second year History students are currently deciding which topics they are going to investigate for their coursework essay. Our exam board, OCR, bemoan the fact that very few students do essays based on local investigations. The problem with local studies used to be the availability of sources yet the internet actually provides excellent access to a whole range of local materials. You can investigate the Cumbrian history pages of the BBC here and here, or, for the secessionists amongst you, check out the pages for Lancashire.

Big Bang Experiment: Update

World didn't end. All History lessons will take place as timetabled.

The Battle of Towton

This excellent article appeared during the summer break - it's well worth reading. Almost forgotten now, the 1461 Battle of Towton was the most savage and bloody conflict ever to take place on British soil. The 28,000 who died in the snow on Palm Sunday represented over 1% of the population of England at the time and Gill's piece shows how events from centuries ago can continue to haunt the land. Some places wear their history heavily.

They're off!

Lessons begin today at 1:00pm. Good luck everyone!

Moodle

All class materials and extra reading are now available on 'Moodle'. Follow the 'AS HISTORY' link and ignore the Modern/Sixteenth Century pages that are still on the system.

Here we go . . .

Welcome to the AS History blog for all History students at Barrow Sixth Form College who will be studying the new A Level qualification from September 2008.