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Abenaki division of labor

1/31/2024

 
The contents of this article are summarized from a Cowasuck.org webpost that is no longer active. Some changes have been made to simplify or clarify language for young readers. Additional information regarding the role of women was added with the source listed below.
PictureWikimedia Commons
The division of jobs was based on a philosophy of life, a religious belief. In general, the men hunted for wild game and gathered fish. The women worked in the fields.

It is often assumed by many commentators that the life of the Native man was one of leisure, with the bulk of the heavy work done by the woman. The man was responsible for hunting, trapping, fishing, clearing trees, building the wigwam or long house, making the canoe, carving the household cooking and eating items, and instructing the young boys. Perhaps most importantly, he was also responsible for ensuring the safety of his family, clan, and band.

The women gathered water and wood. They prepared and cooked meals, picked all types of berries and nuts. They gathered lily roots, wild rice, onions, chives, wild garlic, mushrooms, mint, swamp cabbage among many of the wild plants. They gathered herbs for medicines and garnishes. Additionally, women cared for, raised, and educated the children. They tended to births and deaths. They prepared hides, made clothes and snowshoes, set up and tore down shelters, and after engaging in all these physical tasks, women were also the primary decision makers.  Women were involved in all major decisions involving their community. [Girouard, 2017]

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The women also planted the "three sisters" crops. On a big mound, they planted corn that grew upwards and provided natural poles for beans. Then squash or pumpkins were planted at the base where they spread all around the mound providing a cover to keep in the moisture and prevent weeds. All three were harvested at the same time. They were also dried to be used during the winter.

There could be no sustenance farming of the "three sisters" if there existed danger of enemy raids against the villages. Therefore, defense was an important aspect. In the historic period, it became necessary to erect perimeters of palisades around the village. Men were responsible for cutting down long trees, most likely pine, which were then sharpened on both ends and embedded several feet into the earth around the main village dwellings. Look-out towers stood high above, so that there would be a chance of early warning should danger threaten. To be a warrior meant that one had to endure without complaint cold, hunger, pain, and weariness. This was what the young boys aspired to, and with the help of their maternal uncles, they were trained from an early age to shoot the longbow and wield the tomahawk and knife. They learned to walk swiftly and silently through the forest, tracking animals or people with deadly skill.
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Public Domain image from Wikimedia Commons



Girouard, M. (2017, March 15). Wabanaki women - blog for Women’s History Month. Wabanaki REACH. https://www.wabanakireach.org/wabanaki_women_blog_for_women_s_history_month



Hessians

1/24/2024

 
PictureWikimedia Commons
During the American Revolution, Germany was made up of more than 300 small regions. These regions supplied soldiers to the British to fight against America. The largest group came from Hesse-Cassel. Because of this, all the German soldiers fighting with the British were called Hessians.

King George III of Britain paid for the services of the Hessians because he didn't have enough soldiers for his army in America. The German soldiers, although often thought of as mercenaries, didn't get much in return for their service. Most of them only received basic necessities. The Prince of Hesse-Cassel, Frederick II, made a good deal by selling the services of 12,000 Hessians to the English.

In total, around 30,000 German soldiers fought for the British in North America. When they arrived, they found a large German-American community of almost 200,000 people. Many Hessians were tempted to desert the British and stay in this new land with its growing German population, so about 5,000 Germans chose to remain in America, while the rest went back home.



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Wikimedia Commons

Pre-Revolutionary Maine

8/19/2023

 
This is a small excerpt of an article originally posted on the Penobscot Marine Museum website, which is no longer posted. It has been edited slightly with simplified vocabulary for young readers.
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Between 1675 and 1763 there was a nearly continuous series of wars in Maine between the British and the French/ Indians (the term at the time for the Native People and the origin of the name "French and Indian Wars"). Both groups wanted Maine’s land and resources. The wars were related to conflicts in Europe at the same time.

In King Philip's War (1675-78), the English fought the French and Native People for Castine.

During King William's War (1688-99), the French and English fought over Acadia—included Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and much of Maine. The treaty ending this war resulted in the Natives deeding more land to the English. It caused a long-lasting misunderstanding between the Native and non-Native people.

Queen Anne's War (1703-1713) : In 1713 the Treaty of Utrecht between France and England gave all of Acadia to English. This caused more disputes between the English and the Native People over land. The French still held Quebec.

More wars resulted over the next 50 years: Dummer's War (1722-1727), King George's War (1744-1751), and the French and Indian War (1754-1763).

These years were devastating to settlers and Native People alike. From 1689 to 1713, not a single English home stood in Maine north of Wells.

English treatment of the Native People worsened the situation. They forced tribal leaders to sign land deeds that were misunderstood. The French encouraged the Native People to attack English settlers. English retaliation against the Natives included bounties on scalps.

The French encouraged Maine’s Native People to form the Wabanaki Confederation, making the English even more worried about protecting their settlements in Maine.

The English captured French Quebec in 1759, which led to the signing of the Treaty of Paris ending the French and Indian Wars. It also ended the French presence on the Maine coast, resulting in slow, but increased settlement of midcoast and downeast Maine after 1760. All of Canada was given to England. The British issued a proclamation promising Native People the right to keep all the lands they held at the end of the war. Bad feelings between the English and the Native People still existed, however, because the English continued to gradually move into and take over Native lands for farming and hunting.

Throughout these wars, Europeans on the coast of Maine created sparse but determined settlements of fishermen, traders, and lumbermen who paid little attention to official developments and proclamations of the English and French nobility. These small settlements of Scotch-Irish fishermen and farmers were the origins of Maritime Maine.


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Journal entries from oregon trail travelers

8/18/2023

 
The following are actual quotes from people traveling the Oregon or California Trails. They appear exactly how they were written. Education was not as common in those days and spelling was not standard, so some words may be misspelled or the grammar may be incorrect.
James W. Nesmith, 1843
Sunday, September 24 - Trailed ten miles over the roughest county I ever saw, Burnt River being hemmed in by hills on both sides. Encamped in the bottom.

Tuesday, September 26 - Trailed ten miles. Passed another fork of Burnt River, with an Indian village close by. Encamped at a place where the trail leaves Burnt River near the spring.

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Esther Hanna, 1852
Wed. 18 (August) Came 19 miles over a rough, dusty road. Came to Powder River Valley. This is a delightful valley, fine grass and good water. Saw the Blue Mtns. in the distance covered with pine.

This evening we had a severe hail storm just before we came to our encampment it had been raining, in the mountains all evening and as we neared them we got our share in ice. It is so cold since that we are all shivering with our thick clothes on. Have nothing for fire but green willow branches.

John Wood, 1850
June 14, 1850: Today we met a large company, homeward bound. Some of our company purchased two milch cows from them. They say we never can get through, because there is no grass ahead, and the cholera is getting worse. Their wagons are crowded with sick men. Now our hearts began to fail us again and when we reflect that we have hardly made an introduction to our journey, the task becomes harder and we almost get weary of life.

July 11, 1850: From 8 oclock in the morning until 4 in the evening there is a strong wind, blowing every day. From the west; this blows the sand and dust in our eyes so bad that we are forced to wear a scarf over our eyes all day.
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Mary Jane Smith, 1852
May 23rd: Today we had our first death, that of a small child from whooping cough. Bad Camp. Poor grass and no wood.

May 23rd: Today a division of opinion arose, some wanted to stay here, others to go on to a better place to camp so 6 wagons left including Hunt, Watkins, Craig, and Stroup who get out by themselves.

June 26th: This morning we overtook Mr. Hunt. He was by himself having been left by his company near Laramie. One of his children, Mr. Craig's wife, Mr. Watkins and a young man named Jones and a young man named Garrett had all died of Cholera. Garrett seems to have been traveling west with the Hunts.

Margaret A. Frink, 1850
Monday, July 8: It rained considerably during the night. Mr. Frink was on guard until two o’ clock, when he returned to camp bringing the startling news, that for some unknown cause, the horses had stampeded. We had no means of knowing whether it was the work of Indians or not, but it was useless to look for them in the darkness… (the animals were found the next morning) When we arose, we found the range of mountains covered in new-fallen snow. This is a beautiful valley, and when under settlement and cultivation, will be a delightful region… At half past ten we passed a village of Snake River Indians (Shoshone).
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Abigail Jane Scott, 1852
July 17: We came twenty two miles, traveling all day in the Bear River valley. The valley and mountains are covered with grass and the summits of the latter are adorned with splendid groves of fir making the scenery beautiful. We passed a (small) stream every few miles. The water runs very swiftly and is perfectly clear and very cold with a pleasant taste. A horse ran away today causing a train ahead of us to stampede.


J.T. Kerns, 1852
July 18 Traveled up Thomas’ fork of the Bear river, twelve miles to the ford and encamped on the west bank. Country nice and streams full of fish. Some good farms might be made along here, as the valleys are rich and the mountains high enough to preserve an eveness of temperature and supply of sufficiency of timber.
July 19 This day drove 25 miles over a mountainous, picturesque country, possessed of rich valleys, beautiful springs, and streams abounding with fish. Timber is, however, scarce for to supply the demands of a farmer.

Medorem Crawford, 1842
May 16 Left camp at 1 o'clock E. drove 15 mi. and camped at 7 o'c. E. on the Sanafe rout, found water pleanty, wood & pasture scarce. In our company were 16 waggons & 105 persons including children & men over 18 years of age.

May 21 Mrs. Lancaster's only child a daughter 16 months old died
10 o'clock M the Doctor called the disease symptomatick fever accompanied with worms." After burying child we started and drove 6 miles.
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Mnemonics

8/16/2023

 
Memory Tricks
Mnemonic—pronounced ni-mon-ik, the ‘M’ is silent—are memory devices or strategies to help you remember information. Below are some examples. Creating your own “memory tricks” will come in handy in a variety of situations (e.g., tests, trivia bowls, spelling, remembering lists). Everyone processes information differently so when formulating mnemonics, get creative and determine what works best for you.

Rhyming or poetry mnemonics

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A mnemonic for remembering how many days are in each month:

Thirty days hath September
April, June and November.
All the rest have thirty-one,
But February, it is great
And brings to us twenty-eight,
Unless it steps out of line
And brings to us twenty-nine (leap year occurs every four years)

“When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.”
This means that when there are two vowels in a row, the first usually has a long sound and the second is silent. That's why it's team, not taem; coat, not caot; and wait, not wiat. Remembering this rule will help you to put vowels in the right order.

The popular cheer  "'S' 'U' 'C' 'C' 'E' 'S' 'S' that's the way we spell success."

Acronyms as mnemonics

An acronym is a word or phrase that is made from the first letter of each word or phrase you are trying to remember.

RICE is a mnemonic for treating a sprain: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

HOMES is a mnemonic for the five Great Lakes—Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

ROY G. BIV is a mnemonic for the seven colors of the rainbow—Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet.

A mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets is: My Very Excellent Memory Just Summed Up Nine Planets (this was used before Pluto was downgraded to no longer being a planet)


Mnemonics for spelling

Desert vs. Dessert 
Desert is the hot, dry place where cacti grow. Dessert is the sweet treat you have at the end of a meal. You may want more than one dessert and it has more than one s. That will help you remember how to spell it. 

Foul vs. Fowl
It may be helpful to remember that the word fowl—birds raised with the intent to be used as food—contains the word ‘owl’. Since an owl is a bird and since the word fowl contains the word owl, associating it in this way may help you remember to write the word fowl and not foul when referring to birds.  

Principal vs. Principle
To distinguish principle from principal think of "the principal is your pal." 

Hear vs. Here
When you remove the ‘h’ in hear you are left with the word ear. As you know, your ear is what allows you to hear. You hear with your ear. 

Made vs. Maid
When you remove the ‘m’ in maid you are left with the word aid. Think of your maid as your aid, someone who helps you cook, clean, etc.  

Heal vs. Heel
When you remove the ‘thy’ in healthy you have the word heal. Since heal means to regenerate healthy tissue, it may be helpful to associate the word healthy with heal.
Heel (the bottom back part of the foot). Heel contains two consecutive vowels of the same letter ‘e’ and ‘e’. (Heal does not.) Foot also contains two consecutive vowels of the same letter, ‘o’ and ‘o’. It may help you to remember this so that you always associate the word heel with foot.      

Other mnemonics

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Here’s one for remembering what term to use for the front and back of a boat. When a person bows he bends forward (not backward). The bow is the front of a boat; the stern is the back.

When remembering which way to change your clocks for daylight savings time: Spring forward, Fall back. You move clocks forward an hour in the spring and back an hour in the Fall.

HAMBURGER & HOTDOG FOLDING

8/16/2023

 



Hamburger folding:
fold in half from top to bottom like a short, fat hamburger


Hotdog folding:
fold in half from side to side like a long, skinny hotdog

Hamburger fold

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Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik

hotdog fold

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Image by rawpixel.com on Freepik

family relationships

3/24/2023

 
The parents of your father and/or mother are your grandparents (your grandmother and/or grandfather) and their parents are your great grandparents. Your parents' brothers and sisters are your uncles and aunts. The brothers and sisters of your grandparents are often called your great uncles or great aunts, but this is incorrect. They are actually your grand aunts and grand uncles. The brothers and sisters of your great grandparents are your great grand uncles and great grand aunts.
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What about the cousins?

You may have heard some cousins referred to as your 1st cousin, or 2nd cousin. You may have even heard of them referred to as your 2nd cousin once removed. These relationships aren't as difficult to figure out as it seems.
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voting rights

3/24/2023

 

Winning the right to vote

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During the early years of the United States, voting rights were limited to a small percentage of the population. Despite having over 4 million citizens, only about 120,000 were eligible to vote, with the privilege usually reserved for free white men who owned property. However, by 1860, most states allowed all white men above the age of 21 to vote.

Following the Civil War in 1861-65, voting rights were granted to men of all races with the passing of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. Women were later granted the right to vote in 1920 through the 19th Amendment, while 18-year-olds were given the right to vote with the 26th Amendment in 1971. The government has implemented federal laws to ensure that Americans can exercise their voting rights, including those with disabilities and those who speak languages other than English.

In the early days of voting in the US, ballots were not private. Voters would often announce their votes out loud or raise their hands to indicate their choices. Printed ballots became more common after the Civil War, but they were distributed by individual candidates or parties and often had distinctive colors or shapes that made it easy to see how someone voted.
It wasn't until the 1890s that voting became truly secret, with the government issuing ballots that showed the names of all candidates. These ballots were distributed only at polling places, and voting was done in private booths to ensure that every voter had the right to a secret ballot.

Voting rights of the 1960s

In 1957 and 1960, laws were passed by Congress to safeguard African American voters. Despite this, during the 1964 presidential elections, they still faced difficulties in registering to vote, encountering opposition and even brutal violence during voter registration drives. In March 1965, Martin Luther King Jr. organized a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to draw attention to the issue. Following this, President Lyndon B. Johnson sent a voting rights bill to Congress, which was passed and became the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The Act empowered the U.S. attorney general to dispatch federal examiners to assist with African American voter registration and abolished literacy tests in certain states. It had an immediate effect, with around 250,000 new African American voters registered by the end of 1965. The Act was subsequently strengthened in 1970, 1975, and 1982, and was extended for 25 years in 2006 by President George W. Bush.

However, in 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a crucial provision of the Act in the Shelby County v. Holder case. The Court determined that states with a history of voter bias no longer required federal pre-approval to amend their election laws, affecting mainly Southern states. Chief Justice John Roberts cited improvements in voting conditions in these states as the reason for the Court's decision. President Barack Obama criticized the ruling, calling for new legislation to safeguard equal access to the polls for all voters.


Mnemonics

3/10/2023

 
Mnemonics (the first m is silent) are tricks or strategies to help you remember information. A mnemonic can be a word, phrase, a rhyme, a song, or anything else you use to help you remember something. One mnemonic you know already is the alphabet song. This help kids remember the letters of the alphabet. Below are some other examples:

HOMES

Knowing the mnemonic H.O.M.E.S. can help you remember the names of the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Eerie, and Superior. This mnemonic uses the first letter of each lake to create another common word.

spring forward, fall back

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This mnemonic helps us to remember to move our clocks forward in the spring for daylight savings time and backward in the fall. It uses the double meanings of spring and fall—it makes sense that a coiled spring would move something forward, and when you fall, you tend to fall backwards.

knuckle mnemonic

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This mnemonic uses your knuckles to remember which months have 30 days and which have 31 (or 28). The higher bumps of your knuckles let you know a higher number should match, while the dips between your knuckles are lower, helping you remember a lower number corresponds with the dips.

Dessert  vs  desert

A dessert is something sweet you typically have at the end of a meal. Desert (pronounced the same way) is to abandon someone or something.

When trying to decide which spelling to use, you can remember that you want seconds of dessert so you will need a second s, while "desert" has abandoned one of its s's.

Even though the geographical place that doesn't get much rain (desert) is pronounced differently, this mnemonic can help with its spelling, too!
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tarring and feathering

1/11/2023

 
The practice of tarring and feathering as punishment began in the 1100s when Richard the Lionheart began using it to punish thieves. It consists of removing a person's clothing, pouring hot tar on them and then covered with feathers that would stick to the tar. As you can imagine, the hot tar caused severe blistering and was incredibly painful to remove. The feathers made this even more difficult.
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This image is of a German farmer who was tarred and feathered in 1918 for not supporting WWI war bond drives. Image from the National Archives and Records Administration
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This image is of a journalist tarred and feathered in 1862 for supporting the South in the Civil War. Public Domain image from Wikimedia Commons.

Why tar and feathers?

This form of intimidation and punishment was used extensively during the American Colonial Period, especially the 1760s when Patriots used it against Loyalists and British officials. Tar could easily be found in shipyards. Pine tar was applied between the boards in ships to make them water-proof. Most pillows of the time were stuffed with feathers, so they, also, were easy to obtain.

Tarring and Feathering was not usually fatal. The tar was painful and the feathers were intended to make the person appear comical. It was designed to embarrass and humiliate the victim. Sometimes, a person's clothing was left on when they were tarred and feathered as a lesser punishment or warning. Because the tar was heated to make it spreadable, it often caused blistering when applied to bare skin. When a victim tried to remove the tar, their blistered skin was also removed. This was, of course, incredibly painful, but the beatings and other tortures that frequently went along with tarring and feathering were often more life-threatening.

Did it work?

Tarring and feathering was successful. Tax collectors were often threatened. Though there are no records of a stamp commissioner being tarred and feathered, the threats were enough that when the Stamp Act tax went into effect in 1765, there were no stamp commissioners left in the colonies to collect it.

It was also successful in protesting the Townshend Duties which included the tea tax that led to the Boston Tea Party.

Other materials were used to exact the same punishment such as syrup instead of tar or cattails instead of feathers. John Robert Shaw described a tarring and feathering in his autobiography:
in this excursion, among other plunder, we took a store of molasses, the hogshead being rolled out and their heads knocked in, a soldier’s wife was stooping to fill her kettle, a soldier slipped behind her and threw her into the hogshead ; when she was hauled out, a bystander then threw a parcel of feathers on her, which adhering to the molasses made her appear frightful enough;–This little circumstance afforded us a good deal of amusement.
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Public Domain image from Wikimedia Commons



“ A New Method of Macarony Making, as Practised at Boston in North America.” Wikimedia Commons, British Museum, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_New_Method_of_Macarony_Making,_as_practised_at_Boston_in_North_America_(BM_J,5.67).jpg. Accessed 11 Jan. 2023.

Bell, J. L. “5 Myths of Tarring and Feathering.” Journal of the American Revolution, 28 Aug. 2016, https://allthingsliberty.com/2013/12/5-myths-tarring-feathering/.

Brainard, Jennifer. “Tarring and Feathering .” History Wiz, 2008, http://www.historywiz.com/didyouknow/tarringandfeathering.htm.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190309190342/http://www.historywiz.com/didyouknow/tarringandfeathering.htmBurns, Janet. “A Brief, Sticky History of Tarring and Feathering.” Mental Floss, Mental Floss, 6 Aug. 2015, https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/66830/brief-sticky-history-tarring-and-feathering.

“John Meintz, Punished during World War I.” Wikimedia Commons, U.S. District Court for the Second (Mankato) Division of the District of Minnesota, 2016, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Meintz,_punished_during_World_War_I_-_NARA_-_283633_-_restored.jpg. Accessed 11 Jan. 2023.

Leslie, Frank. “1862 Kimball of Essex Democrat Haverhill from FrankLeslies.” Wikimedia Commons, Frank Leslie's Pictorial History of the American Civil War, 2012, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1862_Kimball_of_Essex_Democrat_Haverhill_from_FrankLeslies.jpeg. Accessed 11 Jan. 2023.

“Liberty! . The Stamp Act Riots & Tar and Feathering.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, https://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/popup_stampact.html.

Seaver, Carl. “The Strange History behind Tarring and Feathering.” History Defined -, 22 July 2022, https://www.historydefined.net/tarring-and-feathering/.

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    I often struggle to find websites with thorough explanations in simple language to help kids understand historical events or scientific concepts, so I decided to create some of my own!

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