Germ Warfare: Bedford Unit 1 ~ 4

San Antonio College ~ HIST 1301
Dr. Carol A. Keller
Unit I: "Old World, New Worlds: Encounters & Formations "

Students often ask, when I tell them I want them to learn to think like an historian, what does that mean? Historians use evidence and a broad range of sources to craft history and create order out of an often chaotic and contradictory series of events. Contradictory historical evidence frequently suggests problems that pose learning issues for historians and students alike.

The Nation of Nations textbook used in our course tells a smooth, chronological story of the American past: Going to the Source: The Bedford Reader in American History, vol. 1 to 1877, 2e. offers a challenging alternative.

Using Problem Based Learning (PBL) techniques we will explore the limitations and possibilities embedded in different historical documents and items of material culture by using the broad range of sources in the reader, including articles in scholarly journals, photographs, paintings, court records, and correspondence. Students will approach the American story from different points of view, identifying the learning issues each problem poses, responding to probing questions related to featured materials, interrogating the sources, and discussing the material with peers in groups. Your will combine your study of the American past with the experience of the challenges and awards of thinking like an historian in order to reconstruct the past from primary document sources, as well as secondary sources and items of material culture.

One chapter / PBL is assigned for each of the three course units. Each chapter covers one topic or event illuminating the narrative found in the text and will help you think about the difficulties historians encounter in representing the past.

Germ Warfare on the Colonial Frontier (Bedford Reader, chapter 4)
An Article from the Journal of American History, March 2000

Map of Ft. Pitt
From the Collections of the Pennsylvania Department,
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

Resource Links

George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress - enter "smallpox" in the search box to review the Continental Army's experience with smallpox and Washington's work.
SAC Library and Media Services - go to Library and Media Services - select Articles and Reference - select Biography and History - next, scroll down to History Cooperative data base - type in "biological warfare" and select Journal of American History from the drop down menu , you will have full access to the Fenn article and be able to read portions of the text omitted from the Reader.
You may also search the data base for reviews of Elizabeth A. Fenn's book Pox Americana: The Great Smallpox Epidemic of 1775-82. (New York: Hill and Wang, 2001
Biography of General Jeffrey Amherst

Thinking about ~ Germ Warfare on the Colonial Frontier

"...the Fort Pitt incident, despite its notoriety, does not stand alone in the annals of American history."

Elisabeth A. Fenn, Duke University

Biological warfare is a "slippery topic," but the topic is not one of recent origin. Rules of warfare (today termed "rule of engagement" (ROE) date from the sixteenth century. With a continent at stake did the British use smallpox as a weapon against native Americans and their colonial allies? The story of the role that smallpox played in eighteenth-century warfare is complex and controversial. Did Gen. Jeffery Amherst order subordinates at Fort Pitt in 1763 to infect local Indians with smallpox?

Understanding how historians work with primary historical documents and sources, in this case to write a journal article, offers a window into an era, as well as an opportunity for readers to review the most recent scholarship on a controversial topic in American Colonial History. Analyzing a journal article introduces you to the conventions of historical research and writing. A careful reading of Elizabeth Fenn's article will provide you with clues o how historians organize their work, select supporting document evidence, and manipulate that evidence to their advantage. Evaluation and interpretation of these image sources is one aspect of practicing the historian's craft and understanding the shaping of public opinion. As you read Germ Warfare on the Colonial Frontier, think how Brown and Shannon ask you to consider Fenn's thesis, her persuasive powers, and the source evidence to illuminate this era in Colonial History

Instructions:

Read pages 64 - 71 for an overview and analysis of the source. Next read the abridged version of an article from the Journal of American History, March, 2000. Use the table on page 72 to organize the key components of the article and prepare for our group discussion (see online Bulletin Board Germ Warfare forum for group assignment).

As you read the introduction and the source article think about the following questions. Several will be assigned to each group for analysis and discussion.

1. What is author Elizabeth A. Fenn's thesis?
2. What are the advantages & disadvantages of working with journal articles?
3. Why is it essential to understand the historical context of events at Ft. Pitt in the summer of 1763 in order to answer the central question, Did he or didn't he?
4. Did the British use smallpox as a weapon against Indians and colonists, and if so, did they achieve their intended effect?
5. Judging from the evidence Fenn cites in her article which incidents of smallpox's use as a biological weapon can be confirmed and which remain open to question (page 77 - 83)?
6. In "The Rest of the Story " (page 87-88) how does historian Philip Ranlet counter Fenn's thesis?
7. How does one "Analyze Journal Articles" (page 87 assigned questions, 1 per group, group 1-#1, group 2 -#2, group 3- #3)?
8. List the learning issues the use of germ warfare in the 18th century and today raises (review definition of learning issues) to help your group generate a final list of learning issues to explore.

Problem Based Learning (PBL) Assignment:

1) Participate in the identification of learning issues and resources in class, see the problem case link for presentation of problem, learning issue grid, and assignment description. Complete the scheduled follow-up discussion by submitting your answers, and your response to the above questions assigned your learning group (use the BbV Discussion Board Germ Warfare group forum to exchange information).

2) There are two parts to your evaluation for your unit 1 Topic Analysis/PBL grade:

Group Grade (50 %): Develop a PowerPoint© (PP) presentation that explores aspects of the PBL problem and resolution. Include a list of resources based. All PP presentations are delivered by each group, in-class, on the assigned date (see course calendar). Groups plan and develop their PP using the discussion forum. When complete each is attached to a post in the forum for ease of in-class access. Your group grade is determined by instructor and peer evaluation (each student completes an evaluation form).
Individual PBL Report (50 %): in the BbV assignment box, upload a written report (3-4 pages). First summarize your group analysis, your learning issues, and your individual response to assigned questions as posted on the Discussion Board. Include your group and individual resource list as well as answers to questions 4, 5 & 6 of Analyzing Journal Articles (page 87) and a one paragraph summary of "The Rest of the Story" page 87-88 as a Word document). See the check list.
CAUTION: If you do not use Microsoft Word, then save your file in rich text format (rtf) prior to uploading - I will convert to Word and return your graded report, with comments, for you to download and review.

Last update August 2008