Activity Title: Maps Provide Information Through Visual Drawings

Grade Level: 3-9th

Introduction of Maps
Discuss the parts of a map: compass, scale, title, legend or key, notations. Review types of maps: topographic, political, military, bird’s eye and raised relief.

Activity Overview:
Abraham Lincoln was elected during a time of conflict and constant debate about several different issues. One of the major divisions within the United States was slavery. The Reynolds political map was created for the Republican Party to be a piece of election propaganda, designed to Exhibit the Comparative Area of the Free and Slave States and the Territory Open to Slavery or Freedom by the Repeal of the Missouri Compromise, ca. 1856. The map shows several different important issues like the growing sectionalism, congressional representation by state, and the number of slave owners. The activity will look at the map as a visual demonstration of how the United States was divided on the slavery issue.

Maps: Exhibition Reynolds’s Political Map of the United States
http://myloc.gov/Exhibitions/lincoln/rise/TheNewLincoln/KansasNebraskaAct/ExhibitObjects/ReynoldsUSPoliticalMap.aspx

Goal of the Activity:
The students will take an active role in the activity by acting as historians. They will ask questions to discover the secrets the map holds. The students will use analysis worksheets to guide their investigation.

Learning Objectives:
Gain an understanding with one of the issues Abraham Lincoln faced at the start of his presidency.
Understand how maps can give a visual representation of a historical issue.
Learn how to read a map
Analyze maps as primary sources.
Understand the regions of the United States

Investigative Questions:
How does the map represents the individual states position on slavery?

Primary Sources Learning Practices:
Use a map analysis sheets

Tips for reading the political map:
The Free states are in red
The slave states are in black
The territory open to slavery or freedom are in green

Additional research:
If possible, allow time for further research with supplemental resources from your library: biographies, non-fiction, on-line resources from the Library of Congress.

Assessment:
Teacher observation of critical thinking.
Evaluate the student analysis sheets.