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Educational
Activity
-- Eleanor's
Gift to Harry Truman
Grade Level: 7/8
Time:
45 minutes
Materials:
Student handout and Internet access
Goals:
Students will read and analyze primary sources (two letters)
Students will acquire knowledge of the creation and continued
use of symbols by political parties
- National
History Standards Historical Comprehension (Standard In
Historical Thinking-Standard 2)
-
Historical Analysis and Interpretation (Standard in Historical
Thinking-Standard 3)
-
Expansion and Reform (1801-1861, Era Four), Standard 3 -
The extension, restriction, and reorganization of political
democracy after 1800
-
The Development of the Industrial United States (1870-1900,
Era 6), Massive immigration after 1870 and how new social
patterns and ideas of national unity developed amid growing
cultural diversity
Teacher
Preparation
 Teachers
should have a basic knowledge of who Eleanor Roosevelt and
Harry Truman were and their life status in 1945 when the two
letters were written.
They should also be able to explain to students the use of
visual symbols by political parties, especially the donkey
and elephant
Background
information
A
few days after President Roosevelt's death in April 1945,
Eleanor Roosevelt gave Harry S. Truman a small donkey. This
symbol of the Democratic Party had sat on her husband's desk
and she wanted to pass it on to the new president.
Student
directions:
Go
to this web page to access the letters - www.trumanlibrary.org/eleanor/1945.html
and read Eleanor's April
20th letter to Harry and then read Harry's April
28th reply.
Why
does Eleanor say that she sent this small donkey to Harry?
What does this represent about the presidency?
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
In
Harry's "thank you" note back to Eleanor what does
he mean when he says the donkey is "…in a typical
mulish attitude"? ______________________________________
Why
does President Truman look at the small donkey when he has
a tough decision to make?
___________________________________________________
Student
directions:
Go
to www.democrats.org/about/donkey.html
web page of the Democratic National Committee and answer these
questions:
Explain
how the donkey was first used against Andrew Jackson in the
1828 campaign and how he turned this around as a positive
symbol?
_____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
Who
was Thomas Nast? _______________________________
How did he use the donkey as a symbol? _________________
Democrats
today like using the donkey as their party symbol because
they say it symbolizes what strengths?
______________________________________________________
Republicans
however like to point out what weaknesses in the donkey's
character?
________________________________________________________
If
you were running for a national office today on a party other
than the Democrats or Republicans what symbol (animal, logo,
graphic illustration, mythical character) would you create
as a symbol? Describe or draw it.
What
positive characteristics would this new party symbol represent?
_________________________________________________________
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