Lincoln, Abraham. Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833–1916: Abraham Lincoln to Congress, January 12, 1948 (Speech regarding Mexican War). 1848. Manuscript. Library of Congress Manuscript Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/mal0007400/.
First, students need to attempt to read page 1 of the correspondence. What words do they recognize? What can they read? When do they think it was written and in what context? We want students to have a productive struggle with a letter/speech written in a different time period. While there are 40 pages in the source, teachers can look at the translation and choose the most appropriate pages to pair with instruction.
When Abraham Lincoln was a first-term congressman, he gave a speech requesting President Polk to submit evidence to Congress that the land on which the initial battle occurred was, indeed, American territory. The House never acted on Lincoln’s resolutions. Lincoln felt the annexation of Mexico (now Texas) was not pursued legally.
Source: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/speech-on-the-war-with-mexico/
- What words can you read?
- Why do you think Abraham Lincoln wrote this?
- What is the topic of this letter?
ELA Standard
7.6E. Interact with sources in meaningful ways such as notetaking, annotating, freewriting, or illustrating.
Social Studies Standard
7.3B. Explain the roles played by significant individuals during the Texas Revolution, including George Childress, Lorenzo de Zavala, James Fannin, Sam Houston, Antonio López de Santa Anna, Juan N. Seguín, and William B. Travis.
Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
- Students will read through the source, engaging first with the script-written one and then by comparing the letter to the translation PDF, both of which you can download from the Library of Congress site above.
- Students can practice different annotation skills with this source.
- How did their translation differ from the official one? Why do they think the transcribers made some of the mistakes they did?
- Pair this source with an online American History site that gives even more context to the letters: TeachingAmericanHistory.org. This site extends the ideas and offers some informational texts in relation to the letters and speeches from the Library of Congress.
- This site uses footnotes. Use this as an opportunity to show why authors would use footnotes.
- Encourage students to further research information in the footnotes.
- Pairing this letter with any of the Seeds of America Trilogy: Chains, Forge, or Ashes. This will allow students to make comparisons between two different times of conflict in the US. Laurie Halse Anderson’s work is fiction, but the research of the time period is impeccable. Students can write a letter from main characters Isabel to Ruth or vice versa, paying close attention to the language used at the time and referencing different historical events.
- Students could then add footnotes to their letters, marking where the different pieces of historical references came from for the reader. This would combine letter writing (correspondence), research, and cross-curricular instruction.
Robinson, Henry R. Houston, Santa Anna, and Cos. 1836. Photograph. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. https://www.loc.gov/item/2008661295/.