| Lesson 8: Deerfield Matures:
Deerfield's Changing Economy
2 class periods (85 minutes each)
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| Key Content Ideas Taught in this Lesson and
Teacher Background |
Improvements in the economy, transportation,
and communication brought about increased awareness of the world
beyond Deerfield and Western Massachusetts. As a consequence, Deerfield
opened itself to greater sophistication and change.
Teacher Background Essays: Deerfield Matures
and About Account Books
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| Intended Learning Outcomes |
Understandings
Students will understand:
- Deerfield became prosperous because of the
river trade and improved agricultural practices. This prosperity
led to increased refinement.
- Transportation and communication were improved.
The central government in Boston expanded the "world view" of
Deerfield, heightening their interest in consumer goods and republican
ideals
Skills
Students will be able to:
- Use information gained from this and other
periods to develop a continuum showing the growth of the Deerfield
community.
- Articulate the varied roles typical for the
support of a small New England town.
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| In Preparation for Teaching |
1. Read Teacher Background Essay: Deerfield
Matures and About Account Books
Further Background Reading:
Brown, Richard. Knowledge is Power: The Diffusion
of Information in Early America, 1700-1865. New York: Oxford,
1989. (Especially the introduction and chapter 6.)
Rice, Kym S. Early American Taverns: For
the Entertainment of Friends and Strangers. Chicago: Regenery
Gateway, 1983.
Clark, Christopher. The Roots of Rural Capitalism:
Western Massachusetts, 1780-1860. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1990.
Steingberg, Theodore. "The Transformation
of Water." Nature Incorporated: Amherst, University of Massachusetts
Press, 1994.
Garrison, J. Ritchie. Landscape and Material
Life in Franklin County, MA 1770-1860. Knoxville: UP of Tennessee,
1991.
Anderson, Fred. The People's Army: Massachusetts
Soldiers and Society in the Seven Years' War. University of
North Carolina Press, 1996.
Clark, Christopher. The Roots of Rural Capitalism:
Western Massachusetts, 1780- 1860. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1990.
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Primary and Secondary Sources:
(Unless otherwise noted, these can be found on
the American Centuries website.)
- "Stall-fed
oxen"
- Newspaper advertisements from the Hampshire
Franklin Gazette
- Historical Maps from the Digital Collection,
conduct a search.
- Land Use maps from the Digital Collection,
conduct a search.
- Account book of Elihu Williams (accounts books
of Consider Dickinson and Elihu Hoyt can be found in the PVMA
archives)
- Account
book of Zebulon White and James Strathern
- Account books of Elijah Williams: Ledger
B, Vol. 3, Ledger
C, Vol. 4, Volume
2
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| Activities |
Materials in Context |
| Class Period 1: Economic Transformation
of Deerfield
Divide students into three groups, choosing
one of the following topics to read and explain to others
using newsprint.
- Group 1
Ask students to read materials on mill development and control
of water as a resource. Search for Historical Maps and Land
Use maps from the Digital Collection. (Use dates to narrow
your search.)
Assume the identity of a member of your research family.
You are about to build a mill for the community. Describe
the factors that must be considered as you determine what
the mill will be and where it will be located. Tell about
your investment.
- Group 2
Ask students to read material on communication and transportation,
and its implication for change in a community. See Newspaper
articles from the Digital Collection at this website, specific
to taverns, transportation, and newspapers. Use a general
search of the Digital Collection to locate further information
about communication, newspapers, and transportation.
Assume the identity of a member of your research family
member. You are a tavern keeper, a cleric, a newspaper owner,
or a merchant in the community. Describe the work involved
and your function in providing information in a community.
Describe your enterprise.
- Group 3
Ask students to read material on agricultural changes in
Western Massachusetts and how they impacted the Connecticut
River Valley. See "Tis Sixty Years Since. The Passing
of the Stall-fed Oxen and the Farm Boy," and Land
Use maps from the Digital Collection. Seek additional
information from a general search of the Digital Collection
on agriculture in New England during the early 1800's.
Assume the identity of a member of your research family.
You have lived in your house for 10 years. Now you have
decided to sell it. Write a real estate ad to appear in
a Boston paper. Your ad should contain 40 to 60 words and
should use information gathered from the articles above
and your own research about Deerfield.
Assignment:
Discuss changes in agriculture, industry,
communication and transportation and the implications for Deerfield,
economically, socially, and politically. Tell how Deerfield
was being connected to the wider world.
Class Period 2: Economic Exchange in the Connecticut River Valley
Share in a discussion of the importance
attributed to account books in this period, based on the
teacher essay.
Invite students to transcribe an account book, telling
what they can learn from close examination of the document.
After the initial study, have students work in pairs to
share their insights.
Assignment:
Develop an account book filled with transactions relative
to your life, pretending that there is no available cash.
Be prepared to display and share it with the class in one
week.
Read: Kerber, Linda. "Why Should Girls
Be Learned or Otherwise?: Education and Intellect in the Early
Republic." Women of the Republic. Chapel Hill:
UP North Carolina, 1980.
|
"Stall-fed
oxen"
Newspaper advertisements from the Hampshire
Franklin Gazette found in the Digital Collection.
Historical Maps and
Land Use maps from the Digital Collection.
Account
book of Zebulon White and James Strathern
Account books of Elijah Williams: Ledger
B, Vol. 3, Ledger
C, Vol. 4, Volume
2
Account book -- Elihu Williams
(Consider Dickinson's and Elihu Hoyt's
account books from the PVMA archive)
|
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For class 1 activity:
Written response to change in Deerfield.
For class 2 activity: Evaluation of the Account
Book (1 week later).
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