A Bank, a Library, and a Hospital



The Legacy of Joseph Kuhn

Peggy Christensen

Summer Fellowship 2008

Abstract: Joseph Kuhn was a prominent resident of Champaign, Illinois in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Students will study aspects of the lives of Joseph Kuhn; his son, Isaac Kuhn; and Isaac Kuhn’s daughter, Ruth Kuhn Youngerman. Students will analyze primary and secondary sources to better understand how information about an individual is gathered and will note how this information contributes to and reflects the history of the period.

Essential Questions / Enduring Understandings:

• How does an individual’s history reflect the history of a particular period?

• How does studying the life of an individual help us better understand moments in history?

• How do primary and secondary sources differ and what are some of their limitations?

• How can the use of multiple sources contribute to a more accurate understanding of a particular situation?

• How is historical fiction enriched by studying individuals and the ways their lives were influenced by and impacted historic events?

*Assessments: Students’ worksheets, essays, and contributions to class discussions will be assessed throughout the unit. Once all lessons have been completed, students will submit their final project.

Setting the Purpose: The purpose of this unit is for students to learn how primary and secondary sources can be used to develop an understanding of history and to reflect that understanding by creating short pieces of historical fiction.

*Duration: The entire unit will take eight to ten days.

Lesson 1: Students need to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources as well as some of the limitations of each.

Lesson 2: Students will continue investigating key questions raised by Isaac Kuhn’s memoir. In this lesson they will focus on conditions he described in Champaign in 1870s and compare them to conditions they observe in a photograph of Champaign taken in the 1890s.

Lesson 3: Fires often destroyed homes and businesses as Champaign was growing. In this lesson students will note how the growth of Joseph Kuhn’s business was impacted by fire.

Lesson 4: Isaac Kuhn mentioned having typhoid fever in his memoir. Students will have an opportunity to briefly investigate this and a few other illnesses mentioned in some of the primary sources used in this lesson. This information will help students add relevant details when creating short pieces of historical fiction. This lesson is designed to be used in a location where students have Internet access.

Lesson Five: Isaac Kuhn spent the years following his father’s death successfully building Joseph Kuhn & Co. while dealing with changing conditions and events at the state and national levels.

Lesson Six: The national bank crisis of 1933 offered unique challenges for Isaac Kuhn and his company. In this lesson students will refer to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address delivered March 4, 1933 and his March 12, 1933 fireside chat broadcast on radio from the White House.

Lesson Seven: Ruth Kuhn Youngerman attended Avenue School in the early 1920s. In this lesson students will study two photographs, read an article from another 1920s Avenue School student, and listen to some of Mrs. Youngerman’s memories recorded on July 19, 2008.

Final Project: Students will pretend that they have just discovered a box of mementos stored in the attic of one of Isaac Kuhn’s homes. Amid financial records from Joseph Kuhn & Co., family pictures, and assorted souvenirs from events and places attended in the Champaign/Urbana community, they discover an artifact from a list of choices. Their job is to create the artifact so that it reflects the interaction between events in history and the people who experienced and molded them.

Lesson 1: Students need to understand the difference between primary and secondary sources as well as some of the limitations of each.

Duration: This lesson will take two class periods.

Analysis of Local Primary Sources: The memoir of Isaac Kuhn is a local primary source as are the obituary of Joseph Kuhn and his estate’s final report. Detailed information about these sources is listed below.

Ties to a National Primary Source: The 1880 United States Federal Census is a national primary source.

List of Materials and Attachments:

• Worksheet 1: Investigating Sources

• Obituary of Joseph Kuhn printed in the December 28, 1915 issue of the Champaign Daily Gazette and found in the Kuhn Family Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Final Report of Executor from the Joseph Kuhn Estate File #4722, dated 2/8/1917, and found at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• 1880 United States Federal Census searched online at the link to provided by the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Page 1 of the memoir of Isaac Kuhn is in the possession of Ruth Kuhn Youngerman, his daughter. She generously made it available to others by granting permission for it to be scanned.

• Pages 1 and 2 from Jos. Kuhn & Co., a record of the establishment of Joseph Kuhn’s clothing store, found at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois. The date of publication and the author are unknown.

• document analysis worksheet.pdf

(Alexis, please attach the documents mentioned above.)

Procedures:

• Divide the class into groups of two or three so that students can help each other gather information and determine source types. Give each student the Written Document Analysis Worksheet. As a class discuss how it might be completed for the two pages from Jos. Kuhn & Co. Within each group, one person should analyze the obituary and another individual should complete the form for the census document. If there are three students in a group, the third individual should analyze the executor’s final report.

• Distribute: worksheet 1, the obituary of Joseph Kuhn, the page of the 1880 United States Federal Census that deals with Joseph Kuhn and his family, the executor’s final report, and pages 1 and 2 of Jos. Kuhn & Co.

• Read orally and briefly discuss all information on worksheet 1 preceding the list of questions.

• Complete, discuss, collect, and assess worksheet 1 and the Written Document Analysis Worksheets.

Name ______________________ Date ________

Worksheet 1

Investigating Sources

“In 1878-79 my dear parents sent me to Cincinnati to be Bar Mitzvah. It must have been a considerable hardship for them because of their very small earnings and the primitive conditions that prevailed in Champaign in those days. My dear mother had to care for seven children without help. Once six of us came down with typhoid fever and we had no nurse or any of the modern conveniences.”

From a memoir written by Isaac Kuhn found in the papers saved and held by his daughter, Ruth Kuhn Youngerman

Isaac Kuhn’s memoir is considered a primary source because he wrote it, and he experienced it; however, it is only a glimpse of what his life was like in the late 1800s. As with many primary sources, it suggests some key questions. Among them are:

• Were the seven children mentioned all offspring of Joseph Kuhn and his wife?

• Who was Isaac Kuhn’s mother?

• What primitive conditions prevailed in Champaign in 1878-79?

• What is typhoid fever? Was it the only illness that plagued residents of Champaign as the community was growing?

To answer these questions, additional primary and secondary sources are needed. Remember that a primary source is a firsthand account or document produced by a person who was there at the time. A secondary source includes interpretation because it is a retelling of the oral or written information found in primary sources.

Directions: Use the 1880 United States Federal Census, the executor’s report for the Joseph Kuhn estate, Joseph Kuhn’s obituary, and the record on pages 1 and 2 of Jos. Kuhn & Co. to answer the following questions. Use the words in bold type to indicate what source(s) you used to determine each answer. Put a “P” for primary or an “S” for secondary after each source you list to tell what type of source it is.

1. Who was Isaac Kuhn’s mother? _______________________________________ Source(s) and type(s): _______________________________________________

2. Was she younger or older than her husband? _____________________________

Source(s) and type(s): _______________________________________________

3. Was his wife still alive when Joseph Kuhn died? ____________________ How did you determine this? ______________________________________________

Source(s) and type(s): _______________________________________________

4. When did Joseph Kuhn and his wife marry? _____________________________ Approximately how many years were they married? _______________________

Source(s) and type(s): _______________________________________________

5. Who were Isaac Kuhn’s siblings? List them in order from oldest to youngest.

a. Isaac Kuhn

b. ________________________________________________________

c. ________________________________________________________

d. ________________________________________________________

e. ________________________________________________________

f. ________________________________________________________

g. ________________________________________________________

Source(s) and type(s): _______________________________________________

6. Did Isaac Kuhn have any sisters who married? ________ If so, add their married names next to their maiden names.

Source(s) and type(s): _______________________________________________

7. Were Isaac Kuhn’s siblings all still living at the time their father died? ______ How do you know? _______________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

Source(s) and type(s): _______________________________________________

8. Where was Joseph Kuhn born? ________________________________________

Source(s) and type(s): _______________________________________________

Worksheet 1 – Continued

Now that you are familiar with the type and format of information found in each source, answer the following questions.

9. What difficulties did you encounter when using the primary sources?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. What advantages are there in using primary sources instead of secondary sources?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. What are some disadvantages of using secondary sources?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. What advantages are there in using secondary sources?

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13. What conclusions have you reached about the use of primary and secondary sources when investigating a person’s life? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 2: Students often rely on a Google search to gather information and miss the opportunity to investigate primary sources that would add another dimension to their understanding of a situation or time. In this lesson they will be analyzing a photograph as well as other primary and secondary sources.

Duration: This lesson will take one class period.

Analysis of Local Primary Sources: The students will be using a photo analysis worksheet to study a picture of Main St. circa 1890 from the AHTC primary sources section on their webpage



Ties to National Primary Source: There is no national primary source in this lesson.

List of Materials and Attachments:

• Worksheet 2

• Photograph looking west on Main Street circa 1890 from the local primary sources section of the AHTC webpage @

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• “Parking Lot Historic Site” from the Kuhn Family Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• “Isaac Kuhn, 88 Saturday, Recalls Early Local Days” ” from the Kuhn Family Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

(Alexis, please attach the two articles which Chris scanned. [FYI: He mislabeled the Isaac Kuhn, 88, scan to read joskuhn88 0001 jpg. He has another scan that I’m not using listed as joskuhn88jpg. that’s actually about Isaac 82nd birthday.] I also need the link to the picture from the AHTC webpage and the photo analysis sheet.)

Procedure:

• Distribute the photo analysis worksheet sheet and either project or distribute the photo looking west on Main St. in Champaign circa 1890. If students are viewing the picture as a projected image, use the zoom feature to help students focus on the quadrants.

• Discuss their answers to the photo analysis sheet then collect and access the papers.

• Distribute the articles titled “Parking Lot Historic Site” and “Isaac Kuhn, 88 Saturday, Recalls Early Local Days.”

• Hand out Worksheet 2.

• Discuss, collect, and evaluate the worksheet.

Name __________________________ Period ______________

Worksheet 2

Words and Images

Directions: Read the “Parking Lot Historic Site” and “Isaac Kuhn, 88 Saturday, Recalls Early Local Days” articles and pay special attention to the descriptions given of conditions in Champaign in the early 1870s then fill out the graphic organizer below. You will also need to refer to the photo of Champaign circa 1890 that you analyzed.

Condition/Material of Streets

________________________________________________________________________

Parking Lot

________________________________________________________________________

Isaac Kuhn, 88

________________________________________________________________________

Photo

________________________________________________________________________

Condition/Material of Sidewalks

________________________________________________________________________

Parking Lot

________________________________________________________________________

Isaac Kuhn, 88

________________________________________________________________________

Photo

________________________________________________________________________

Condition/Material of Buildings

________________________________________________________________________

Parking Lot

________________________________________________________________________

Isaac Kuhn, 88

________________________________________________________________________

Photo

________________________________________________________________________

What improvements do you notice in the streets between the early 1870s and the time the picture was taken around 1890?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Give at least two specific reasons why you think these changes were made.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What improvements do you notice in the sidewalks between the early 1870s and the time the picture was taken around 1890?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Give at least one specific reason why you think these changes were made.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What improvements do you notice in the buildings between the early 1870s and the time the picture was taken around 1890?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Give at least two specific reasons why you think these changes were made.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson 3: In the last lesson students should have noted a change from wood to brick structures as Champaign grew. Fires were a serious problem which impacted many families often more than once. Students will be investigating how fire challenged Joseph Kuhn as he attempted to establish his business.

Duration: This lesson will take one class period.

Analysis of Local Primary Sources: Students will be using Joseph Kuhn’s obituary.

Ties to National Primary Source: There is no national source in this lesson.

List of Materials and Attachments:

• Worksheet 3: Fire

• Page 4 from Jos. Kuhn & Co., a record of the establishment of Joseph Kuhn’s clothing store, found at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois. The date of publication and the author are unknown.

• Obituary of Joseph Kuhn printed in the December 28, 1915 issue of the Champaign Daily Gazette and found in the Kuhn Family Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

(Alexis, please attach the new items mentioned above. I’ve also quoted two sources on worksheet 3. Do they need to be mentioned here as well?)

Procedure:

• Distribute page 4 of Jos. Kuhn & Co. and have students get out their copies of Joseph Kuhn’s obituary and pages 1 and 2 of Jos. Kuhn & Co. Divide students so that everyone is working with at least one partner.

• Give each group one piece of white or yellow construction paper. The students’ first task is to trace references to fire in the materials they have. The first date on their timeline should be 1860 followed by 1865. Once they have located the stories connecting Joseph Kuhn and fire for these dates, project or distribute worksheet 3.

• Students should add the information from worksheet 3 to their time lines then check the Joseph Kuhn obituary for information linking the store and fire in 1871. This fire is also mentioned on page 4 of Jos. Kuhn & Co.

Name ____________________________ Period ______________________

Worksheet 3

Fire!

Read the following passage from page 42 of Celebrating Champaign-Urbana History Second Edition by Alice B. McGinty published in 2006 by Quasar Strategies, Inc. Champaign,Il.

“ While the University grew, Champaign and Urbana changed too. There were big fires in both cities. Around 2 a.m. on July 4, 1868, a big fire began in downtown Champaign. Citizens helped the fire department. They made bucket lines and wet down buildings to keep the fire from spreading. Still, when the fire was over, 26 buildings had been destroyed.”

This fire was mentioned on July 10,1868 in an article found in the Fire Vertical File at the Champaign County Archives when headlines in the Illinois Democrat announced:

An Awful

CONFLAGRATION!!

At CHAMPAIGN

Nearly

$100,000 Loss

INSURANCE

Below $45,000.

Thirty-Seven Buildings Burned

Two Business Blocks Gone!

In the explanation that followed, Joseph Kuhn, clothier, was listed as one of the individuals who reported losses from the fire.

Directions: Add the above information to your timeline then check the Joseph Kuhn obituary for information linking the store and fire in 1871. This fire is also mentioned on page 4 of Jos. Kuhn & Co.

Once your timeline is complete answer the following question: What have you learned about Joseph Kuhn as a businessman after researching the way fires impacted the growth of his store?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What generalizations can you make about the impact of fires on the development of Champaign?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Bonus: Students might find the picture of the fire department found at the AHTC website helpful:

Lesson Four: In addition to fires, sickness was also a serious problem as Champaign was developing as a business and educational center. This lesson will give students some background information to incorporate in the historical fiction they write. It is designed to be used where students have access to the internet.

Duration: This lesson will take one class period.

Analysis of Local Primary Sources: The students will be reading a section titled “Miscellaneous” from The Avenue Weekly, a 1918 souvenir publication of the Avenue School in Champaign.

(Alexis, please attach this page from Chris’s scans.)

Ties to National Primary Source: The flu policy cited below refers to the state of Illinois

while some of the cures and prevention methods were used nationally.

List of Materials and Attachments:

• Worksheet 4

• “Miscellaneous” from The Avenue Weekly, a 1918 souvenir publication of the Avenue School in Champaign found in the Avenue School vertical file at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 20 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

The following links are all from the AHTC website @:

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Name ____________________________ Period ______________________

Worksheet 4

From Fire to Fever

Just as fires frequently challenged residents of Champaign as the city was growing into a business and educational center, illness was also a significant problem for residents. In this lesson you will be investigating sicknesses mentioned in primary sources of the period. Internet links are given to facilitate research.

In the quotation from Isaac Kuhn on worksheet 1, he mentioned that his mother had to care for six children who all came down with typhoid fever.



What causes this disease? ______________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

How serious is it? __________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

How is it treated? ___________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Is it still a problem in the United States? Why or why not? ____________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

One of the headlines announcing the death of Joseph Kuhn indicated that he died of apoplexy. The term used today for this illness is ___________________________.





What causes this illness? _______________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

Is it still a problem in the United States? Why or why not? ____________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

On pages 1 and 2 from Jos. Kuhn & Co. an account is given of Joseph Kuhn seeking shelter in a building where people were isolated because they had smallpox. He was fortunate that he wasn’t infected, but he did develop pneumonia.



How is smallpox transmitted? ______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

How serious is it? _______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Is it still a problem in the United States? Why or why not? _______________________

______________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________



What is pneumonia? _______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

How is it transmitted? _____________________________________________________

How serious is it? ________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

How is it treated? _________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Is it still a problem in the United States? Why or why not? _________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

In The Avenue Weekly, dated June 18, 1918, under the heading, “Miscellaneous,” several diseases are mentioned. Which one caused a serious epidemic in 1918? _________________________________________________________________________

There were also a few cases of: _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Another serious illness faced by the families of Joseph and Isaac Kuhn was influenza. There are several documents on the AHTC website that will give you background information about influenza and how it impacted residents of Champaign in 1918. They are listed below:















What were some of the methods used to stop the spread of influenza? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How do flu prevention methods today compare to what was done during the 1918 pandemic?____________________________________________________ ____________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Explain why you think the flu pandemic was not mentioned in the The Avenue Weekly list of illnesses. _______________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lesson Five: Isaac Kuhn spent the years following his father’s death successfully building Joseph Kuhn & Co. while dealing with changing conditions and events at the state and national levels.

Duration: This lesson will take one class period.

Analysis of Local Primary Sources: Students will be reading the article about raising sheep that Ruth Kuhn Youngerman shared from her father’s files along with an account of the sheep on page 10 from Jos. Kuhn & Co.. They will also learn about the connection between Isaac Kuhn and airplanes mentioned on pages 10 and 11 from Jos. Kuhn & Co.

Analysis of National Primary Source: There is no national source in this lesson.

List of Materials and Attachments:

• Kuhn sheep article from the papers of Isaac Kuhn supplied by and in the possession of his daughter, Ruth Kuhn Youngerman.

• Sound bite from July 19, 2008 interview between Ruth Youngerman Kuhn and Peggy Christensen.

• Pages 10 & 11 from Jos. Kuhn & Co., a record of the establishment of Joseph Kuhn’s clothing store, found at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois. The date of publication and the author are unknown.

(Alexis, Tiffany scanned the sheep article for me so it’s in the Mrs. Youngerman scans {Kuhn sheep}. Please attach it along with the two pages from Jos. Kuhn & Co.{Jos Kuhn book 10 & 11} scanned by Chris. The sound bite is on Audio 2 copy mov. starting at 41:10 [“When I was a child”] and ending at 41:50 [“wool for soldiers}Please attach that too. Thanks! )

Procedure:

• Lessons five and six will give the teacher additional opportunities to discuss:

o How does an individual’s history reflect the history of a particular period?

o How does studying the life of an individual help us better understand moments in history?

o How can the use of multiple sources contribute to a more accurate understanding of a particular situation?

• During our June 25, 2008 interview, Ruth Kuhn Youngerman explained that her father “bought ewes to distribute to girls and boys because there was a need for wool to make clothing for our soldiers.” Play the sound bite of her comments recorded on July 19, 2008. Hand out the sheet that explains the “More Sheep and Wool Club” along with page 10 from Jos. Kuhn & Co.

• Students should read the article and top paragraph on page 10 then write a paragraph that explains what caused the wool shortage and how Isaac Kuhn’s responded to it.

• Distribute page11 from Jos. Kuhn & Co. then have students read the bottom half of page 10 and the top paragraph on page 11. The community was invited to witness the plane’s arrival. Have students design either a display advertisement for the store that includes some type of illustration or write a press release for the newspaper that might have been used to advertise this historic event.

• Discuss and share then collect the paragraphs, display ads, and press releases.

Lesson Six: The national bank crisis of 1933 offered unique challenges for Isaac Kuhn and his company. In this lesson students will refer to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address delivered March 4, 1933 and his March 12, 1933 fireside chat broadcast on radio from the White House.

Duration: This lesson will take two class periods.

Analysis of Local Primary Sources: Students will study a letter written by Isaac Kuhn during the 1933 bank crisis.

Analysis of National Primary Source: Students will read President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address delivered March 4, 1933 and his fireside chat broadcast on March 12, 1933.





Background: The stock market crash in the fall of 1929 was followed by a period of instability for banks in the United States. Although Herbert Hoover tried to contain the growing alarm, he was a Republican president with a Democratic congress that did not support the solutions he proposed. By the time Franklin D. Roosevelt was sworn in on March 4, 1933, twenty-one states had closed their banks and alarm had given way to panic.

List of Materials and Attachments:

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address delivered March 4, 1933 and his fireside chat broadcast on March 12, 1933 @:.





• Letter written by Isaac Kuhn on March 9, 1933 found on Box 009 at at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 20 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Sound bites from July 19, 2008 interview between Ruth Youngerman Kuhn and Peggy Christensen.

(Alexis, the letter from Isaac Kuhn was scanned by Chris. Chris labeled the letter Jos Kuhn letter bank 1 and 2. Please attach these. The first sound bite is on Audio 2 copy mov. starting at 29:20 “You were 15 when….” and ending at 29:58 “Things were very tight.” The second one starts at 30:22 “I was in a private school” and ends at 30:46 “a lot of money in those days.” Thanks! )

Procedure:

• Read and discuss Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address delivered March 4, 1933. Points to consider:

o Have students highlight the words “the one thing we have to fear is fear itself” in the first paragraph. What was the American public fearing? Why?

o Roosevelt’s speech blends positives and negatives. Have students read paragraphs two-four then number the difficulties he mentioned in one color and the things he suggested citizens should be thankful for in another.

o In paragraphs four and five, what group did Roosevelt blame for the crisis? Why?

o Have students discuss Roosevelt’s explanation of the path to happiness in paragraph seven. Do they agree? Disagree?

o In paragraph nine Roosevelt calls for two things. What are they?

o Paragraphs 10-13 list Roosevelt’s priorities. Circle them and put brackets around the steps he outlined implement them.

o What did Roosevelt mean by “the putting of first things first” in paragraph 14?

o Read paragraphs 21 and 22 orally then encourage students to compare Roosevelt’s possible request to what happened in the United States following 9/11/01.

• Listen to Ruth Kuhn Youngerman discussing how the depression impacted her family.

• Distribute Isaac Kuhn’s letter dated March 9, 1933 then have students address the questions and activities below.

• Read the first paragraph then discuss the financial status of Jos. Kuhn & Co. as expressed by Isaac Kuhn.

• What action did Franklin Roosevelt take that led Kuhn to say “you know as well as we that no money can be secured from banks at present”? (paragraph 1)

• What did Isaac Kuhn hope that the letter’s recipient would do with checks he’d received? Why? (paragraph 2)

• Have students compare and contrast Kuhn’s call for action in paragraph four with Roosevelt’s comments in paragraph seventeen of his inaugural address.

• Isaac Kuhn identified two practices in paragraphs four and five which he opposed. What were they?

• In paragraph six Kuhn identified a group that was attacking the new administration. Who were they and what did Kuhn accuse them of doing?

• Since there is no name or inside address to indicate the identity of the gentleman to whom Isaac Kuhn wrote this letter, the reader must make an educated guess about his identity. Have students reread the letter looking for clues then discuss the information they found and see if the class can profile the individual.

• Divide the class into groups to address the questions below then distribute Roosevelt’s fireside chat broadcast on March 12, 1933. Group members will become authorities on one aspect of the speech and will share what they learn with their classmates.

o How did banks work in 1933 (paragraph 2) and what practices led to the banking crisis (paragraphs 3 and 4)?

o What were the three steps Roosevelt took to address the situation

( paragraphs 5 and 6)?

o What process was outlined for banks in the twelve Federal Reserve Bank cities to reopen? When were other banks scheduled to reopen? (paragraphs 7-10)

o What activity did Roosevelt identify as being unfashionable and how did he expect the public to respond to his plan? (paragraphs 13 and 14)

o Who did Roosevelt blame for the bank crisis? What did they do? (paragraph 17)

o How do you think Isaac Kuhn reacted to this fireside chat. Pull quotations from his letter to support your opinion.

Lesson Seven: Ruth Kuhn Youngerman attended Avenue School in the early 1920s. In this lesson students will study two photographs, read an article from another 1920s Avenue School student, and listen to some of Mrs. Youngerman’s memories recorded on July 19, 2008.

Duration: This lesson will take one class period.

Analysis of Local Primary Sources:

• Photograph of children reading at Avenue School

• Photograph of children sitting at their desks

• Article by Warren K. Deem titled Whatever Happened To All Those Third Graders?

• Sound bites from the July 19, 2008 interview with Ruth Youngerman Kuhn.

Ties to National Primary Source: There is no tie to a national source in this lesson.

List of Materials and Resources

• Worksheet 5

• Photograph of children reading at Avenue School from the Avenue School Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Photograph of children sitting at their desks from the Avenue School Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Article by Warren K. Deem titled Whatever Happened To All Those Third Graders? from the Avenue School Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Sound bites from the July 19, 2008 interview with Ruth Youngerman Kuhn.

(Alexis, please attach the following scans from Chris: Avenue School, children reading, Avenue School remembrance 1, Avenue School remembrance 2, and Avenue School remembrance 3. Please also attach the following sound bites: audio copy movie 2:20 [“The school year started…”] - 6:53 [ …”it was very competitive”] and 18:32 [“In each classroom..”] – 18:45 [“…that was interesting.”] From audio 2 copy please attach 13:30[What did students..] – 16:34[“voted against it.”]

Procedure:

• Distribute worksheet 5 .

• Project first one than the other picture while the students fill in their worksheets.

• Hand Warren K. Deem’s article.

• Play the sound bites from Mrs. Youngerman

Name ____________________________ Period ______________________

Worksheet 5

School Days

Fill in the chart below.

Describe the furniture in the classrooms.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Photograph 1 _______________________________________________________

(teacher standing) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Photograph 2 _______________________________________________________

(children reading) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Describe the boys.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Photograph 1 _______________________________________________________

(teacher standing) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Photograph 2 _______________________________________________________

(children reading) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Describe the girls.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Photograph 1 _______________________________________________________

(teacher standing) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Photograph 2 _______________________________________________________

(children reading) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

How old do you think the students are? Why?

_______________________________________________________________________________

Photograph 1 _______________________________________________________

(teacher standing) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Photograph 2 _______________________________________________________

(children reading) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

What do you notice on the walls? This will be easier to do if the pictures are projected from a computer so that items may be magnified or if students have magnifying glasses to use.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Photograph 1 _______________________________________________________

(teacher standing) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Photograph 2 _______________________________________________________

(children reading) _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Mr. Deem wrote his article decades after he attended third grade at Avenue School. What things did he mention that seem to be confirmed by the pictures?

_________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mrs. Youngerman was interviewed over eighty years after she went to Avenue School. What things did she mention that seem to be confirmed by the pictures?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

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List three things you learned from Mrs. Youngerman or Mr. Deem that you think reflect life in the United States in the early 1920s.

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Are Mrs. Youngerman’s and Mr. Deem’s accounts of Avenue School still considered primary sources even though they were produced a great many years later? Why or why not?

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Final Project

Directions: Pretend that you have just discovered a box of mementos stored in the attic of one of Isaac Kuhn’s homes. Amid financial records from Joseph Kuhn & Co., family pictures, and assorted souvenirs from events and places attended in the Champaign/Urbana community, you discovered:

• A letter written in 1872 from Joseph Kuhn to a friend in Indiana who is considering moving his business to Champaign

• A page from Rose Kuhn’s diary written in 1922

• A thank you letter from a WW I veteran to Isaac Kuhn

• A description of Avenue School classrooms and students written for the 1923 yearbook

• A newspaper article published in April of 1933 discussing the impact of the bank crisis on local citizens.

• A flier distributed to all school children in late 1918 discussing steps being taken to keep students healthy and suggesting things families can do to help

• A letter to Ruth Kuhn Youngerman following her father’s death praising him as an outstanding citizen

Select one of these “documents” to create. Look over the materials you have used for this unit to get ideas. You will be writing historical fiction that reflects a particular time, place and event or events. Some of the people will be real while others will not. You must include factual material, but you will be making up the content of your document. For example, the letter from Joseph Kuhn to his friend will be your words, but its contents will be based on facts you’ve learned. Since this is fictional, you will need to make up the friend’s name. There are at least two sources in this unit that will provide background information for each artifact. You are limited to no more than one page for your artifact so you will want to carefully design it to reflect as much information as possible. The format is up to you. The page from of Rose Kuhn’s diary might be ornate and include several short entries while the soldier’s letter might reflect his branch of the service. Your newspaper article will need headlines and perhaps a picture. Use your imagination, but focus on including factual background.

Your grade will be determined using this rubric:

Content: Possible Points Points Earned

Is the history of the period/person reflected in the content? 20 _____

Are the historical references accurate? 20 _____

Are there sufficient references to show an awareness of

the materials provided for this unit? 15 _____

Format

Is the artifact neat and easy to read? 15 _____

Did you use standard English and correct spelling? 10 _____

Did you use correct capitalization and punctuation? 10 _____

Is the material presented in a way that lets the reader quickly

determine which artifact project you selected? 10 _____ Total 100 _____

Complete List of Materials and Resources:

Books and Files:

• Final Report of Executor from the Joseph Kuhn Estate File #4722, dated 2/8/1917, and found at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Fire Vertical File, article in the July 10,1868 Illinois Democrat at the Champaign County Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• “Isaac Kuhn, 88 Saturday, Recalls Early Local Days” ” from the Kuhn Family Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Jos. Kuhn & Co., a record of the establishment of Joseph Kuhn’s clothing store, found at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois. The date of publication and the author are unknown.

• McGinty, Alice B. Celebrating Champaign-Urbana History Second Edition. Quasar Strategies, Inc.: Champaign,Il. 2006.

• McGinty, Alice B. Celebrating Champaign-Urbana History Second Edition. Quasar Strategies, Inc.: Champaign,Il. 2006.

• Memoir of Isaac Kuhn is in the possession of Ruth Kuhn Youngerman, his daughter. She generously made it available to others by granting permission for it to be scanned.

• “Miscellaneous” from The Avenue Weekly, a 1918 souvenir publication of the Avenue School in Champaign found in the Avenue School vertical file at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 20 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois

• Obituary of Joseph Kuhn printed in the December 28, 1915 issue of the Champaign Daily Gazette and found in the Kuhn Family Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• “Parking Lot Historic Site” from the Kuhn Family Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Photograph of children reading at Avenue School from the Avenue School Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Photograph of children sitting at their desks from the Avenue School Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

• Sheep article from the papers of Isaac Kuhn supplied by and in the possession of his daughter, Ruth Kuhn Youngerman.

• Whatever Happened To All Those Third Graders?, an article by Warren K. Deem from the Avenue School Vertical File at the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

Websites:

• document analysis worksheet.pdf

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• 1880 United States Federal Census searched online at the link to provided by the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

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These links were provided for student research.

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The following links are all from the AHTC website @:

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Interview: Ruth Kuhn Youngerman, daughter of Isaac Kuhn and granddaughter of Joseph Kuhn, graciously spent time with me discussing her family, sharing photographs and documents, and permitting several documents to be scanned. We met several times prior to our formal interview on July 19, 2008 which she permitted me to digitally record. Sound bites from this interview are used in this unit. I made contact with Mrs. Youngerman with the help of the staff of the Champaign County Historical Archives, Urbana Free Library, 210 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois.

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