Lessons on Ft. Heileman and the Seminole Wars
Part I: Using Primary Sources
1.
Read through the “Primary Source” documents at this website to learn
about the events and actions relating to Ft. Heileman. Pick three of the
documents to evaluate using the questions below. Write a paragraph for
each document analyzing and summarizing the answers to these questions.
Evaluating the reliability of Primary Sources
First, ask some basic questions:
1.
What is it?
2.
Who wrote or made it?
3.
When was it written or made?
4.
Where was it written or made?
5.
How was it written or made?
6.
What evidence does this source contribute?
Then ask questions to describe, define, and identify the meaning of the primary source:
1.
Why was this document/object written or made?
2.
Who was the intended audience/user?
3.
What questions does this source raise? What is not known about this
source?
4.
What other information is available about this document or object?
5.
What other sources are like this one?
6.
What other sources might help answer questions about this one?
7.
What else is needed to understand the evidence in this source?
8.
What have others said about this or similar sources?
9.
What kind of research questions does this source address?
10.
How does evidence from this source alter or fit into existing
interpretations of the past?
Credit: Library of Congress, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/primary.html
http://www.dohistory.org/home.html
2.
Using the Primary Source Documents from the Library of Congress
included with this website, describe the impact the settlers’ migration to the
fort imposed on the resources and infrastructure at the fort. Describe “life”
at the fort. Add to your research: Explain the status of medicine during the
first half of the nineteenth century. Describe a typical military hospital.
What medicines were common? What training did physicians and nurses
have? How does the situation at the fort compare to the impact of Hurricane
Katrina on New Orleans?
Part Two: Expand the knowledge base
1.
In the 1800s the United States grew from thirteen states clinging to the
east coast, to a huge country stretching from sea-to-shining-sea and from the
tropical Gulf of Mexico to the ice and snow of Alaska. Americans believed
it was God’s will, their “manifest destiny” that they should control all this
land. Investigate the origins of the term “manifest destiny,” and create a
color-coded map showing the various land acquisitions during the nineteenth
century. How did the British, French, Spanish, and Russian maps differ
from the American maps prior to each acquisition? Write a paragraph
explaining the circumstances of each acquisition. Describe the mental map
Americans carried in their heads in the nineteenth century.
2.
Describe the evolution of transportation during the first half of the
nineteenth century. When the century started, the only modes of transport
were powered by humans or animals. What changes and inventions
occurred? What roads served Whitesville and North Florida? Where did the
roads lead? Where did water connections lead? What limitations were there
on ferry transport? Why did the area around Gerry’s Ferry become home the
largest cluster of settlers in the county by the time Clay County was created
in 1858?
3.
Explore the Congressional discussions during the three phases of the
Seminole Wars. Who has the power to declare war? Was “war” ever
declared? Who has the power to move and command the troops? What did
the Supreme Court say in the Cherokee cases about the relationship between
the Native Americans, the State of Georgia and the Federal government?
What Andrew Jackson’s response to the Supreme Court ruling? What is the
legal relationship between the reservations and the states and the Federal
government today? When and how did Native Americans become
American citizens?
4.
How does the story of Ft. Heileman fit into the history of army forts in
the US? What other forts were built during the Seminole Wars? How many
forts were built during the Indian Wars later in the nineteenth century? How
did western forts differ from forts elsewhere? The US is currently
considering building a military base on the Iran-Iraq border. How will the
functions of this fort compare to Ft. Heileman and to the western forts?
5.
What happened to the Seminoles in Oklahoma? Who is their leader?
Characterize the legal, social, and political relationship between the
Oklahoma and the Florida Seminoles. What is the relationship today
between the Black Seminoles and the Oklahoma and Florida Seminoles?
Frame of reference. People interpret the world around them through the
rules of their own culture. In American culture, for example, dogs are pets
and a means of security. In Native American cultures of the past, and Asian
cultures today, dogs are also food.
6.
Explore information about The Indian Wars found at this website:
http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0825127.html
Explore these websites for information about the Battle of Lake
Okeechobee.
http://all-biographies.com/presidents/zachary_taylor.htm
http://www.globalblacknews.com/KatzChristmas.html
http://www.johnhorse.com/trail/02/d/16.htm
If the Native Americans were to write an article on the wars with the
Americans, would they call it “The Indian Wars”? What would the natives
call the three centuries of warfare with the Americans? Write a paragraph
describing the Indian Wars from the Indian perspective. Imagine you were a
Seminole telling the history of the Second Seminole War. How would you
describe the Battle of Lake Okeechobee? Imagine you were an American
soldier at the battle. Write a paragraph describing the battle from the
Seminole side, and another paragraph describing it from the American side.
7.
General Jackson used Indian guides to help him in the First Seminole
War. What divisions existed among the Native Americans regarding
relations with the Americans? Which groups were considered friendly to the
Americans? Why would some natives cooperate with the Americans while
others preferred to fight? How were Native Americans portrayed in TV
shows and movies fifty years ago, and today? Characterize the relationship
between Native Americans and Americans today.
8.
Create a timeline of the Seminole Wars. Include the dates when
fighting started and stopped, and the significent events and battles in the
wars. When did the Seminole Wars start and end? Regarding the First
Seminole War, the U.S. Army Infantry history says 1814, and ended in
1819. The U.S. Navy Naval Historical Center says 1816-1818. The unit
history of the 1st Battalion, 5th Field Artillery it started and ended in 1818.
What do the Seminoles say? How many Seminole Wars does the Seminole
Tribe acknowledge? Go to this website to find out:
http://www.seminoletribe.com/ Click on the “History” section and
read the material there. In the History section, click on the timeline and look
at the dates of the wars. What dates will you use? Why did you choose
those dates?