This year, our annual Statehood Day celebration honors the 175th birthday of the Great Lakes State. Come join the fun—and come early: The first 100 visitors receive a piece of birthday cake!

Our Statehood Day celebration offers costumed interpreters, craft demonstrations and musical performances for the entire family. There will be games and displays highlighting reinvention points in Michigan’s history.

Reenactors from the Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors demonstrate how early surveyors marked straight lines through Michigan’s swamps and forests.

Also today, take advantage of the rare opportunity to view statehood documents from the Archives of Michigan, including Michigan’s first constitution and a letter from President Andrew Jackson.

Look for more details soon!

Background Notes

Settlers began coming to Michigan from the east between 1800 and 1830. They came first by wagon and horseback, and then after the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, many came by barge to Buffalo and then by steamboat to Detroit. From there, they again used land transportation to travel further inland. Many settlers also sailed by boat on the Great Lakes and settled in towns along the shores. After 1830, the population of Michigan grew very fast. See the growth in this chart:

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Settlers began to move to the Northwest Territory of Michigan from the East for many reasons.  Some came to buy inexpensive farm land, others to join relatives already here. A sense of adventure brought young and single men. Later (1840s+), they came to fill jobs (for example, recruiters went to large eastern cities or advertised in eastern newspapers for men to work in the mining and lumbering industries).

Objectives

• Students will make choices based on reason and practicality.
• Students will measure various objects and fit them into a defined space.

Materials Needed

Removable tape or chalk; yard stick or ruler; objects that can be found in the classroom, brought from home, around the school–backpacks, lunchbags, jackets, shoes, desk chairs, basketballs, class pet, etc.

Directions

Divide students into groups of 4-8, depending on the size of the class and the space available to work with.  You will need enough space for each group to mark an area on the floor approximately the size of a wagon bed-about 10 to 12 feet long by 4 to 6 feet wide by 2 feet high. Use removable duct or masking tape or chalk to outline the area.

Ask the students imagine that they are members of a pioneer family coming to Michigan to buy a farm in 1830. Have students make up a family profile. How many people are in the family? What are their ages and sizes? Who does the most work, and who does the least?  Who needs to eat the most, and who needs to eat the least?

Create a list of roles for each group.  Different roles will have different decision-making tasks about what to bring. Each member might make up a different list, e.g., household items (coats & backpacks), tools to start farm (pencils, rulers?), children’s things, clothing, etc. After lists are made, have groups report back and write lists on chalkboard.

Divide the items into three lists:

1. Absolutely necessary—must take
2. Things we would take if there is room, useful but could do without (e.g., a special piece of furniture);
3. Fun items, toys, “extra” clothes.

With the measured area in sight, the class should come to an agreement on what will be included. What is a necessity? Do you need to bring your desk chairs? Or would a basketball be more appropriate?  How about the class pet? Why? What things on the list can be left behind? Estimate the measurement of household items, tools, or measure similar items at home. Decide what will be taken so that all will fit, including people. Will everyone ride?

Questions for Discussion or Research

1.     How did you go about choosing what to take? If members of the group disagreed, how did you make the decision? How do you think the members of an early settlement family made their decisions?

2.     Would settlers have taken livestock with them to Michigan?

3.     Choose a year in settlement times (e.g., 1840). Find out how far people traveled in a day at that time. Decide how long it would have taken you then to travel the same distance you would cover on a field trip from your school to the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing.

• Besides bringing things with them, settlers brought their ideas, language, religions, styles of clothing and other ways of life with them to Michigan. Identify unique aspects of your community that may have come with early settlers. What do recent newcomers to our communities bring that enhance our lives?
• Notice the articles that were brought to Michigan by settlers, e.g., cradle, spinning wheel, farm tools. On the bus trip home, compile a list of those items with the students. Discuss what other items might the settlers have made after they arrived in Michigan. Why didn’t they bring them (e.g., too large, didn’t anticipate their need)?
• Try the “plank road ride.” Discuss how it would feel and sound to ride over Michigan’s plank roads for many hours. What were the advantages of plank roads over dirt roads in different types of weather?
• If you were moving to a Michigan town at a later time in history, what would you bring? How might those things differ from what the early pioneers brought? Why?

Vocabulary

• Erie Canal: A waterway around 360 miles long constructed across central New York state from Albany to Buffalo used for travel and shipping. It is now part of the New York State Canals.
• Necessity: Something that cannot be done without.

Michigan Social Studies Curriculum Content Standards

This lesson presents an opportunity to address, in part, these standards:

• 2.3.3. GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE: Identify people, goods, services, and ideas in their community which have come from other places, and describe why they moved.
• 2.3.5. GEOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE: Describe the causes, consequences, routes, and movement of major migration in the United States.
• 3.4.2. CIVIC PERSPECTIVE: Describe fair ways for groups to make decisions.

References

• Andrist, Ralph K. The Erie Canal (An American Heritage Junior Library Book). Mahwah, NJ: Troll Associates, 1964.
• Dunbar, Willis F., and May, George S. Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State (Revised Ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980.
• Millis, Wade. When Michigan Was Born. Michigan History Magazine, 36 (December, 1952), pp. 321-50.

When the Toledo War took place in 1835 and 1836 between Michigan and Ohio, the conflict over the Michigan-Ohio Border was already nearly fifty years old.  From what essentially boils down to a misunderstanding, both Michigan and Ohio claimed a certain 468-sq-mile pi ece of territory, in which lies what we now know as Toledo, Ohio. In 1835, this cold conflict came to a head when both Michigan and Ohio, each spurred on by the other, tried to pass official legislation claiming the territory under their governing authorities.  At the time this war took place, Ohio was already a state, while Michigan was merely a territory. In 1787, the Northwest Ordinance had been passed, providing for the division of the Northwest Territory into states by extending “an east and west line drawn through the southerly or extreme end of Lake Michigan.” The problem developed because Michigan and Ohio interpreted that line differently. Michigan citizens believed that Toledo belonged in their state; Ohioans believed Toledo was theirs.

The bloodless battle over the disputed “Toledo Strip” finally began in April 1835. Raids continued through the summer of 1835. Eventually, in December 1836, a compromise was accepted by Michigan, which gave Toledo and the disputed territory to Ohio and the western Upper Peninsula to Michigan. Acceptance of this compromise was necessary before Michigan could enter the Union. On January 26, 1837, President Andrew Jackson signed the legislation that made Michigan a state.

The Goal

Studying the Toledo War will help students to understand the process of becoming a state, including gains, losses, pros, cons, and the compromise that is/was needed in order to become official, and of course students will be much more knowledgeable on Michigan history after studying this war.

Materials Needed

Worksheet: The Toledo Strip [PDF]; pencil, and paper;

Powerpoint: ToledoWar [ppt]

Directions

Hand out the Michigan Boundaries & Toledo Strip map (pdf under Materials Needed). Display the questions for discussion on the board prior to and during the lesson. Show the powerpoint presentation, visually explaining the territories that surrounded Michigan and how those territories changed over time. Visit the websites listed to get a thorough understanding of the Toledo War; decide what information to include in your presentation. Following the presentation, ask students to think about the information they were presented and initiate a class discussion on the questions from above.

Talk About It: Discussion Questions

• What were some of the natural resources gained by adding the western Upper Peninsula to the state of Michigan? Were people aware of these resources in 1837?
• Find Toledo on a map of Ohio. For which Great Lake, bay and river is it a port? (Lake Erie, Maumee Bay, Maumee River) How would having Toledo have helped Michigan’s trade with states south of the city?
• How would Ohio have fared if Michigan had been given the Toledo strip?

Vocabulary

• Compromise: The settlement of an argument by mutual concessions
• Dispute: An argument, a controversy, a difference of opinion; often relating to facts
• Legislation: Law, or a group of laws that have been/are enacted
• Ordinance: Law: public regulation for or against something

At the Michigan Historical Museum

Look at the display entitled “The Great Toledo War.” Slide the knob to see the areas of land affected by the resolution of the “war.”

Find Out More

These websites have a bounty of further information on the Toledo War. In order to teach this lesson, both teacher and students should be well familiar with the events that led up to and followed the actual war.

Geo.Msu.Edu; The Toledo War

OhioHistoryCentral.org; The Toledo War

Dept. of Military & Veterans’ Affairs; The Toledo War

Michigan Social Studies Curriculum Content Standards

This lesson presents an opportunity to address, in part, these standards:

• SOC.II.3. Location, Movement, and Connections. All students will describe, compare, and explain the locations and characteristics of economic activities, trade, political activities, migration, information flow, and the interrelationships among them.
• SOC.II.4. Regions, Patterns, and Processes. All students will describe and compare characteristics of ecosystems, states, regions, countries, major world regions, and patterns and explain the processes that created them.
• SOC.IV.5. Trade. All students will describe how trade generates economic development and interdependence and analyze the resulting challenges and benefits for individuals, producers, and government.

References:

• Baker, Patricia J. (1986). Stevens Thomson Mason. Great Lakes Informant, Series 1, Number 5. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of State, History Division.
• George, Sister Mary Karl (n.d.). The Rise and Fall of Toledo, Michigan. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of State, History Division.
• Grimm, Joe, Editor (1987). Michigan Voices, Our State’s History in the Words of the People Who Lived It. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press (pages 44-47).
• Stapler, Harry (1985). Pioneers of Forest and City, A History of Michigan for Young People. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of State, Bureau of History (pages 79-80).
• Without the “Toledo War,” do you think Michigan would have received the western Upper Peninsula? Why or why not?

This lesson helps students become familiar with field research projects by asking the question, Can we find information about Civil War soldiers who may have lived in your neighborhood? Through trying to answer this question, students will learn about Civil War history of their community, the soldiers who lived there, and the value of knowing how to conduct independent research by examining resources such as the library, historical societies, cemeteries, archives, etc. Students will also have the opportunity to conduct on the ground interviews with family members and other individuals relevant to the Civil War.

*This lesson will require leaving school grounds; be aware that you will need to plan for parental permission in advance.  If that is not an option, you can try to provide in-class resources to use, such as a speaker, journals from the time period, and online resources.

*It is up to the teacher to decide how much Civil War background students should have when going into this lesson; that level will vary based on grade.  We do suggest students have at least a general understanding of the conflict between the North and South before this lesson is given.

Outline:

Students will:

• learn where to find resources that help research a topic
• explore local resources (library, archives, cemeteries, monuments) to seek information
• conduct personal interviews, if possible, to gain perspective
• write a response to the question documenting their findings

Teacher Background:

Before beginning this unit, take time to familiarize yourself with your community’s resources such as the local library, historical records and archives, cemeteries, monuments, members of your local historical society (they can be invaluable).  Find out what materials are available for you and your students to use.  Inquire whether there are any Civil War aficionados in your community that might be willing to speak to your class.  There are of course a plethora of resources online, but try to encourage using resources that allow hands-on research. The teacher can engage and develop students’ confidence in doing historical research by giving their students the time and guidance to use those resources. From older students, more independent work can be expected; with younger students, the teacher may take a leading role and be more directive. Work can be completed individually, in partners, or in small groups.  For younger students, class discussion and activity may be more productive.  However, regardless of grade level, each student should be able to write a concluding response to their historical study during this unit.  Because volunteers came from all areas of Michigan, it is expected that students will be able to answer the focus question in the positive.

Project Stage 1:  Commence the Quest

When a person volunteered for enlistment, he became registered as a soldier.  His name, age, hometown, and photograph were documented.  Places like the Archives of Michigan and other historical societies have many of these kinds of documents available to researchers.  There can also be journals or letters available to the public. Introduce students to the concept of researching available materials to find an answer to the initial prompt.  List the kinds of things that you would like students to search for.  These search criteria are yours to decide; things like family & occupation, nationality, perhaps religion, etc. in addition to the standard name and age.

Project Stage 2:  Embarking on an Investigation

The investigative activities for this lesson will depend on the local resources of your community.  Listed below are some possibilities.

Civil War Monument Investigation

• Look in a city park or near a courthouse to locate possible war monuments. If veterans’ names are listed on the monuments, students can then determine on their visit to the local cemetery if any of these veterans are buried there.
• Buildings, streets, or parks are sometimes named after war heroes.  Perhaps there are buildings or streets or parks in the community that carry the names of a Civil War hero.  Having a list of veterans’ names becomes helpful for further research.

Cemetery Investigation

• You can probably find maps to cemeteries online; you may want to contact the sexton in advance to see if he or she will be available to direct your cemetery tour.
• Have students explore cemetery and gather information.  Suggest they take notes, record dates from tombstones and grave markers, and record ages of those buried there.  Are there markers that show death between the dates of 1861-1865?  If so, there is a possibility that the soldier died during service. (Note that a majority of soldier deaths were due to illness and disease, not the direct result of war injuries.) Have students form groups and let them determine who will be responsible for each part of recording information for the project. http://michigan.gov/images/mhc_mhm_cw_monument_44405_7.jpg
• Instruct students to look for U.S. flags. They will see that they mark where soldiers have been buried. Metal markers that read G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) honor soldiers from the Civil War. If you have the available resources, take photographs of the graves, draw pictures, or (if you have prior permission) do rubbings of the tombstones. Have them take notes on what is written on the stones, draw a map of the cemetery and record what they found.
• ­ Ask students to record answers to the following, if possible:

1. What is special about the grave markers of people who fought in the Civil War?

2. What kinds of military designations are there on the Civil War grave markers?

3. Are there any drawings or decorative carvings on the grave markers?

4. How large or small are the markers?  What condition are they in?

5. Where are the soldiers’ graves in relationship to the graves of family members?

6. How many different companies did these soldiers represent during the Civil War?

Library or Historical Archive Investigation

• Contact your local library, historical society or archives ahead of time. Arrange a time to take students to one of these locations to talk with staff.  Instruct students to take notes.  Assist them in exploring the reference section to see if it includes a genealogical or local history section of the community to find further information about the names they’ve learned.
• Help them find the set of books Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865-commonly referred to as “The Brown Books”.  These books include the history and roster of infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineers and mechanics and “colored troops”.   Students can use the index guide to find information regarding specific soldiers.
• Jonothan Robertson’s 1882 book Michigan in the War includes tables and charts with such information as the number of years soldiers served, the number of troops furnished by each state and the number of troops who served in different categories.

Personal Interview Investigation

• Instruct students to check with their families and friends to see if any of their relatives lived in the community at the time of the Civil War. If so, have them find out if any relatives fought in the Civil War.  Families may have family trees that they are willing to share with the class.  Many times war stories are passed down through generations.  Be cautious, however, as stories are many times, just that, stories!
• Perhaps families or friends have access to journals, photographs, or letters that may be shared.
• Instruct students to record information that they acquire.

Guest Speaker

When possible, invite knowledgeable members of the community into the classroom to present and answer student questions.

Project Stage 3:  Putting Pen to Paper

Once research has been completed, students will write a response to the question:  Did Civil War soldiers come from your neighborhood, and if so, what information can we find out about them?  Students should use their notes to write a summary of the findings of their exploration.  Encourage students to be thorough in the documentation of their research.

As an extension, have students write a letter imagining they were a character living at that time such as a young boy or girl writing to their father who went off to war, or a parent of a soldier, or a soldier who went off to war writing to a girlfriend, a parent, a spouse, a son or daughter.

Teachers may wish to develop a rubric for students to use when writing and for teacher evaluation; we have not included one because the same qualifications are not applicable to the entire grade range.

References:

• Record of Service of Michigan Volunteers in the Civil War, 1861-1865, compiled by George H. Turner, Assistant Adjutant General, State of Michigan. Published by Ihling Bros.& Everard Stationers, Printers and Publishers, Kalamazoo, Michigan, under Act 147, Public Acts of 1903.
• Michigan In the War compiled by Jno. Robertson Adjutant General. Published by W. S. George & Co., State Printers and Binders, 1882.
• The American Civil War Coloring Book. Ocala, FL: Action Publishing, 1994.
• Mason, Philip P. From Bull Run to Appomattox: Michigan’s Role in the Civil War. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University, 1961.
• Michigan. Adjutant General’s Department. Michigan in the War. Lansing, MI: W. S. George & Co., 1882.
• Smith, A.G. Union Army Paper Soldiers. NY: Dover, 1995.
• Truesdell, Barbara. Oral History Techniques: How to Organize and Conduct Oral History Interviews. Indiana University Oral History Research Center.
• Williams, Frederick D. Michigan Soldiers in the Civil War, Fourth Edition. Lansing, MI: Michigan Department of State, 1998.

Objective:

This lesson pushes students to reach a more definitive understanding of the Civil War by evaluating primary documents such as letters, journals, articles, and photographs from the era and then writing an essay to answer this prompt:  Did the cause of the Civil War justify the risks that Michigan soldiers had to face in order to join the Union Army?

*Going into this lesson, students should already have some background on the American Civil War and be  familiar with writing a position paper.

Note: before this lesson, we suggest students complete the lesson on Understanding History, which tries to familiarize students with how to use primary documents and make them feel comfortable doing so.

Outline:

Students will:

• examine a variety of primary documents from the Civil War era
• discuss opinions with classmates in debate type setting
• develop a thesis in direct response to the prompt based on their findings
• write a short research paper supporting their thesis with citations from documents, and explanations about why they chose their position
• develop a better understanding of the issues and causes of the Civil War, the role Michigan families played during this time period, and the risks encountered in war

Materials Needed:

A small collection of Primary Documents, included below

The Position Analysis Worksheet, included below:

(Multiple copies of the Position Worksheet may be needed to cite evidence as students complete research.)

Stage 1:  Presentation and Interpretation of Civil War Documents

Begin the lesson by introducing the prompt: Did the cause of the Civil War justify the risks that Michigan soldiers had to face in order to join the Union Army? Discuss some background of the Civil War to refamiliarize students with the topic. Each student should receive a packet of the included documents and the Position Analysis Worksheet with the instruction to look through the documents and take notes on whatever comes to mind.  Be sure to communicate to the students that the purpose of examining the documents is specifically to be able to answer the question based on opinions they form about the documents. Emphasize the importance of trying to put themselves in the time period; ask them to imagine what they would think, feel, want, etc. if they were asked to join the Union Army.  This activity stage can generally take as much time as the teacher allows; we recommend two class periods for this stage.

Stage 2:  Classroom Discussion and Debate

Students should have the opportunity to share opinions and findings through purposeful discussion in the classroom.  As the moderator, the teacher is responsible for setting the stage for appropriate sharing of ideas. We recommend prefacing class discussion by cautioning students against taking arguments personally and emphasizing the importance of learning to listen to opposing positions. It is important that the teacher communicate that there is no correct answer to the prompt question.

Students should use their filled in Position Worksheets as well as the primary documents themselves to engage in discussion. Ask specific questions about individual documents; in response to the questions, students should support their verbal arguments by directing the rest of the class to the document that helped them form that opinion.  Demonstrate that differing opinions can be valid.  Encourage students to take further notes on their Position Worksheet(s) throughout the debate; they may find other students’ arguments compelling and want to use others’ points to support their own argument.  Notes taken on the Position Worksheet are what the students will primarily be using to support the thesis of their paper.

Stage 3:  Writing the Position Paper

Students will develop and support a thesis statement in a short research essay.  This activity is meant to show how well students can identify passages that support their thesis as well as assess the students’ general understanding of the political, social, and economic issues the nation faced during the Civil War.

Instruct students to use their Position Worksheet, copies of the primary documents, and notes from the previous debate to write a position paper in response to the prompt.  Emphasize the importance of citations from the documents to support their position, and be sure to give the students a format for citing sources.  This part of the assignment can either be an in class exercise or a take-home project.

*It’s recommended that the Position Analysis Worksheet be graded as well as the paper itself, to insure that students will take all portions of the assignment seriously.

Reading a Photograph from Mark Harvey on Vimeo.

At the Archives of Michigan, we do our best to preserve an abundance of collective historical commentary by compiling as many photographs of the cities, streets, businesses, and people of Michigan as we are able.

Deur, Lynne. A Lumberjack’s Story: A Chapter from the Great Lakes Past. Spring Lake, MI: River Road Publications, 1982.

Entine, Lynn. Our Great Lakes Connection: A Curriculum Guide for Grades Kindergarten Through Eight. n.p.: Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System (UW–Extension Environmental Resources Center), 1985.

Historical Society of Michigan. Immediately Michigan: Ready-to-Use, Award-Winning, K-12 Michigan Lessons. Available for purchase from The Historical Society of Michigan Center for Teaching Michigan History, 2117 Washtenaw Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4599, (313/769-1828).

Barrett, Katharine, et al. Investigating Artifacts: Making Masks, Creating Myths, Exploring Middens Teacher’s Guide. Berkeley, CA: Lawrence Hall of Science (Regents of the University of California), 1992 (REV. 1996). (grades K-6)

McCabe, Jean S. Learning About Michigan Indians: A Study Unit for Early Elementary Grades. Spring Lake, MI: River Road Publications, Inc., 1981.

McConnell, David B. Teacher’s Guide for Forging the Peninsulas. Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale Educational Publishers, 1990.

McConnell, David B., and Elizabeth B. Dewey. Michigan Activity Masters for Discover Michigan. Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale Educational Publishers, 1985.

Reed, Elaine Wrisley. Helping Your Child Learn History (with activities for children aged 4 through 11). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement, n.d.

Roberts, Patricia L. Literature-Based History Activities for Children, Grades 4-8. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997.

Rockford Public Schools Fourth Grade Teachers. Explore Michigan: An Adventure Packed Thematic Unit. Rockford, MI: Authors, 1992. Published by the Rockford Middle School, Rockford Public Schools, 397 E. Division, Rockford, MI 49341. (Cost: $100.00)

Silverman, Jerry. Mel Bay Presents The American History Songbook. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay Publications, Inc., 1992. (Songs to sing in the car or bus on your way to the museum and all the way home!)

Cleaver, Joanne. Doing Children’s Museums: A Guide to 225 Hands-on Museums. Charlotte, VT: Williamson Pub., 1988.

Falk, John H., and Lynn D. Dierking. The Museum Experience. Washington, DC: Whalesback Books, 1992.

Finn, David. How to Visit a Museum. NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Publishers, 1985.

Gartenhaus, Alan. Minds in Motion: Using Museums to Expand Creative Thinking (2nd edition). San Francisco, CA: Caddo Gap Press, 1993.

Green, Bob, and D. G. Fulford. To Our Children’s Children: Preserving Family Histories for Generations to Come. NY: Doubleday, 1993.

Greene, Wilma Prudhum. Museums and Learning: A Guide for Family Visits. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement and Smithsonian Office of Education, April 1998.

Grinder, Alison L., and E. Sue McCoy. The Good Guide: A Sourcebook for Interpreters, Docents and Tour Guides. Scottsdale, AZ: Ironwood Publishing, 1985.

Hein,George E. and Mary Alexander. Museums: Places of Learning. Washington, DC: American Association of Museums, 1998

MacDowell, Marsha (Editor). Folk Arts in Education: A Resource Handbook. East Lansing, MI: Michigan State University Museum, 1987.

Mann, Kenny. Observe and Deduce: An Artifacts Game. Creative Classroom, 8(3) (Nov./Dec. 1993), pp.70-72.

Metcalf, Fay D., and Matthew T. Downey. Using Local History in the Classroom. Nashville, TN: The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), 1982.

Michigan History for Kids and The Mitten. Published by Michigan History magazine and used in fourth grade classrooms. Previous issues may be purchased from Michigan History or download free PDFs of the issues and teacher’s guides online. Contact Michigan History for more information.

Neal, Arminta. Exhibits for the Small Museum: A Handbook. Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History, 1976.

Nichols, Susan K. (Editor). Museum Education Anthology,1973-1983. Washington, DC: Museum Education Roundtable, 1984.

Schlereth, Thomas J. Artifacts and the American Past. Nashville, TN: American Association for State and Local History (AASLH), 1980.

Tunnell, Michael O., and Richard Ammon (Editors). The Story of Ourselves: Teaching History Through Children’s Literature. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1993.

Voris, Helen H., Maija Sedzielarz, and Carolyn P. Blackmon. Touch the Mind, Touch the Spirit: A Guide to Focused Field Trips. Chicago, IL: Department of Education, Field Museum of Natural History, 1986. (Published by the Department of Education, Field Museum of Natural History, Roosevelt Road and Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60605.

Waterfall, Milde, and Sarah Grusin. Where’s the Me in Museum: Going to Museums with Children. Arlington, VA: Vandamere Press, AB Associates, 1989. (Chapter Five–”History Museums: The Saving Place”)

Happy touring!

Archaeology for Kids: Uncovering the Mysteries of Our Past by Richard Panchyk. Chicago Review Press, 2001.

The Archaeology of North America by Dean R. Snow. NY: Chelsea House Publishers, 1990.

Collect It! Making collections–From Fossils to Fakes by Elizabeth Newbery. London: A & C Black, 1991.

A Day in the Life of a Museum Curator by Judith Tropea. Mahwah, NJ: Troll Associates, 1991.

A Visit to the Sesame Street Museum (A Random House picturebook) by Liza Alexander. NY: Random House/Children’s Television Workshop, 1987. (Bert, Ernie and Grover introduce young children to the concept of a museum. Ages 4-8)

Discover: Investigate the Mysteries of History with 40 Practical Projects Probing Our Past by Katherine Grier. Royal Ontario Museum, 1989; Published by Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., Reading, MA, 1990.

Diving to the Past: Recovering Ancient Wrecks by W. John Hackwell. NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1988.

Do People Grow on Family Trees? Genealogy for Kids and Other Beginners (The Official Ellis Island Handbook) by Ira Wolfman. NY: Workman Publishing, 1991. Ages 4-8

Ella’s Trip to the Museum by Elaine Clayton. NY: Crown Publishers Inc., 1996. (Ella, on a field trip to an art museum with her class, interacts with the paintings and statues in a magical way. Ages 3-8)

The Field Mouse and the Dinosaur Named Sue by Jan Wahl (Bob Doucet, illustrator. NY: Cartwheel Books, Scholastic, Inc., 2000. (The Field Mouse loses his home under one of Sue’s bones during the archaeological excavation, accompanies the T. rex’s bones to Chicago and explores the Field Museum looking for his special bone. Ages 4-8)

From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg. Dell Publishing Co. paperback printed 1997. (1967 Newbery Medal. Twelve-year-old Claudia and her younger brother Jamie discover the Metropolitan Museum of Art, solve a mystery, and grow up a little. Ages 9-12)

Going to the Getty by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1997. (This creative book about the Getty will give you ideas for new ways to look at any museum! Ages 4-8)

How to Take Your Grandmother to the Museum by Lois Wyse and Molly Rose Goldman. NY: Workman Publishing, 1998. (Grandma usually takes Molly to “Interesting Places,” but this time Molly takes Grandma on a tour of the American Museum of Natural History. Ages 4-8)

I Can Be an Archaeologist by Robert B. Pickering. Chicago: Children’s Press, 1987.

Inside the Museum: A Children’s Guide to the Metropolitan Museum of Art by Joy Richardson. NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1993. Ages 9-12

Let’s Go to the Art Museum by Virginia K. Levy. NY: Henry N. Abrams, Inc., 1988.

Mastodon Hunters to Mound Builders: North American Archaeology by Peter and Belia Nichols. Austin, TX: Eakin Press, 1992.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Activity Book by Osa Brown. NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1989.

My Family Tree Workbook: Genealogy for Beginners by Rosemary A. Chorzempa. NY: Dover Publications, Inc., 1982.

Right Here on This Spot by Sharon Hart Addy, illustrated by John Clapp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1999. (Picture book provides a wonderful introduction to archaeology and concept of history for the youngest readers. Ages 4-8)

Visiting a Museum by Althea Braithwaite. Over, Cambridge, England: Dinosaur Publications, Ltd., n.d.

Visiting the Art Museum by Laurene Krasny Brown and Mark Brown. NY: E.P. Dutton, 1986.

Who Came Down That Road? by George Ella Lyon (Illustrated by Peter Catalanato). NY: Orchard Books, 1992. (Picture book explains the concept of history to the youngest child. Ages 4-8)

Who Put the Cannon in the Courthouse Square? (Discover It Yourself Book) by Kay Cooper. NY: Avon/Camelot Book, 1993. (Ages 10-12)

Working at a Museum (Working Here Series) by Arthur John L’Hommedieu. CT: Children’s Press, 1999. (Ages 4-8)

You Can’t Take a Balloon into the Metropolitan Museum by Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman and Robin Preiss Glasser (illus.). (No words, just delightful line drawings of museum exhibits and complementary New York City scenes as a little girl tours the museum while her yellow balloon, an escapee from the museum guard, scoots about the city. Ages 4-8)

The Young Scientist Book of Archaeology by Barbara Cook and Sturand Reid. Tulsa, OK: EDC Publishing, 1987.

Each book on this list was hand-selected by a group of historians who were in turn hand-selected by the Department of History, Arts and Libraries for their essential understanding of not just history, but Michigan’s history in particular.  They were aided in their selection process by Randy Riley, the Special Collections Manager for the Library of Michigan.

Armour, David A. and Keith R.Widder. At the Crossroads: Michilimackinac During the American Revolution. Mackinac Island, MI: Mackinac Island State Park Commission, 1986.

Bogue, Margaret Beattie. Fishing the Great Lakes: An Environmental History, 1783-1933. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2000.

Brehm, Victoria, ed. The Women’s Great Lakes Reader. Duluth, MN: Holy Cow! Press, 1998.

Buley, R. Carlyle. The Old Northwest: Pioneer Period, 1815-1840. 2 vols. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society, 1950.

Carson, Gerald. Cornflake Crusade. New York: Rinehart, 1957.

Catton, Bruce. Waiting for the Morning Train: An American Boyhood. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1987.

Cleland, Charles E. Rites of Conquest: The History and Culture of Michigan’s Native Americans. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992.

Clifton, James A., George L. Cornell, and James M. McClurken. People of the Three Fires: The Ottawa, Potawatomi and Ojibway of Michigan. Grand Rapids, MI: Grand Rapids Inter-Tribal Council, 1986.

Clive, Alan. State of War: Michigan in World War II. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1979.

Darden, Joe T. Detroit, Race and Uneven Development. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1987.

Dunbar, Willis F. All Aboard! A History of Railroads in Michigan. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1969.

Dunbar, Willis F. and George S. May. Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State. 3rd rev. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: W. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1995.

Dunnigan, Brian Leigh. Frontier Metropolis: Picturing Early Detroit, 1701-1838. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2001.

Eckert, Kathryn Bishop. Buildings of Michigan. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.

Fine, Sidney. “Expanding The Frontiers of Civil Rights”: Michigan, 1948-1968. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2000.

Fine, Sidney. Frank Murphy. 3 vols.Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1975-1984.

Fine, Sidney. Sit-down: The General Motors Strike of 1936-1937. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1969.

Fine, Sidney. Violence in the Model City: The Cavanagh Administration, Race Relations, and the Detroit Riot of 1967. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1989.

Formisano, Ronald P. The Birth of Mass Political Parties in Michigan, 1827-1861. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1971.

Gilpin, Alec R. The Territory of Michigan, 1805-1837. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1970.

Gilpin, Alec R. The War of 1812 in the Old Northwest. East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 1958.

Gray, Susan E. The Yankee West: Community Life on the Michigan Frontier. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1996.

Halsey, John, ed. and Michael Stafford, assoc. ed. Retrieving Michigan’s Buried Past: The Archeology of the Great Lakes State. Bloomfield Hills, MI: Cranbrook Institute of Science, 1999.

Holli, Melvin G. Reform in Detroit: Hazen S. Pingree and Urban Politics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969.

Hyde, Charles K. and colored photographs by Ann and John Mahan. The Northern Lights: Lighthouses of the Upper Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995.

Jager, Ronald. Eighty Acres: Elegy for a Family Farm. Boston: Beacon Press, 1990.

Karamanski, Theodore J. Deep Woods Frontier: A History of Logging in Northern Michigan. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989.

Katzman, David M. Before the Ghetto: Black Detroit in the Nineteenth Century. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1973.

Kestenbaum, Justin L., ed. The Making of Michigan, 1820-1860: A Pioneer Anthology. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990.

Kilar, Jeremy W. Michigan’s Lumbertowns: Lumbermen and Laborers in Saginaw, Bay City, and Muskegon, 1870- 1905. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990.

Klunder, Willard Carl. Lewis Cass and the Politics of Moderation. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 1996.

Lankton, Larry D. Cradle to Grave: Life, Work, and Death at the Lake Superior Copper Mines. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Lewis, David L. The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1976.

Lichtenstein, Nelson. The Most Dangerous Man in Detroit: Walter Reuther and the Fate of American Labor. New York: Basic Books, 1995.

Mason, Philip P. Rumrunning and the Roaring Twenties: Prohibition on the Michigan-Ontario Waterway. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1995.

May, George S. A Most Unique Machine: The Michigan Origins of the American Automobile Industry. Grand Rapids, MI: W. E. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1974.

Nevins, Allan and Frank E. Hill. Ford. 3 vols. New York: Scribner, 1954-1963.

Peckham, Howard H. Pontiac and the Indian Uprising. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1994.

Romig, Walter. Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1986.

Sugrue, Thomas J. The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.

Tanner, Helen Hornbeck, ed. Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.

Thomas, Richard W. Life for Us Is What We Make It: Building Black Community in Detroit, 1915-1945. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1992.

Thompson, Mark L. Steamboats and Sailors of the Great Lakes. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1991.

Thurner, Arthur W. Strangers and Sojourners: A History of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1994.

Vander Hill, C. Warren. Settling the Great Lakes Frontier: Immigration to Michigan, 1837-1924. Lansing: Michigan Historical Commission, 1970.

Vinyard, JoEllen McNergney. For Faith and Fortune: The Education of Catholic Immigrants in Detroit, 1805-1925. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1998.

Weeks, George. Stewards of the State: The Governors of Michigan. 2nd rev. ed. Detroit: Detroit News; Ann Arbor: Historical Society of Michigan, 1991.

White, Richard. The Middle Ground: Indians, Empires, and Republics in the Great Lakes Region, 1650-1815. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991.

Woodford, Arthur M. This Is Detroit, 1701-2001. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2001.

Zunz, Olivier. The Changing Face of Inequality: Urbanization, Industrial Development, and Immigrants in Detroit, 1880-1920. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982.

The panel of reviewers who selected this list includes Dr. William M.Anderson, Director of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries; Dr. Frank Boles, Director of the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University; Sandra Clark, Director of the Michigan Historical Center; Dr. Brian Dunnigan, Curator for the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan; Dr. Sidney Fine, Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Michigan; Dr. Charles Hyde, Director of the Great Lakes Series for the Department of History at Wayne State University; Dr. Larry Lankton, Professor of Social Science at Michigan Technological University; Dr. Russell Magnaghi, Professor of History at Northern Michigan University; Dr. Philip P.Mason, Distinguished Professor of History at Wayne State University; Larry Massie, Historian and Storyteller from Allegan; Robert M.Money, Professor of History at Lake Superior State University; Gordon Olson, City Historian for Grand Rapids Public Library; Randy Riley, Special Collections Manager for the Library of Michigan; Dr. Roger L. Rosentreter, Editor of Michigan History magazine; Dr. Jo Ellen Vinyard, Professor of History at Eastern Michigan University; Larry Wagenaar, Director of the Historical Society of Michigan; Dr. Robert M. Warner, Professor Emeritus of History and Information Studies at the University of Michigan; Dr. Benjamin C.Wilson, Director of Africana Studies at Western Michigan University.