#HistoryTime
A Newsletter for Kansas Educators
Textbook Interview With Executive Director Jennie Chinn
To honor the 100 th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Kansas Museum of History produced a new exhibit Upward to Equality: Kansas Women Fight to Vote .
The exhibit includes a video welcome by Governor Laura Kelly, never before seen letters by national suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt, a touch-screen quiz to determine “Who am I in the struggle for suffrage?,” and amazing artifacts documenting women’s suffrage campaigns. 

This exhibit is complemented by a FREE 32-page catalog. The catalog was made possible by generous donors interested in preserving and sharing the story of Kansas women who worked diligently for the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Curriculum Corner
How do we know our rights?

For decades women in the United States struggled to secure their right to vote. They campaigned, protested, and lobbied for a right they knew was not guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. Success arrived with the ratification of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution in 1920.

States also have constitutions, and it is important for citizens to know their rights. The Bill of Rights in the Kansas constitution guarantees civil rights and liberties to individuals. 

This Read Kansas! lesson familiarizes students with the Bill of Rights portion of the Kansas constitution. Students interpret one or more of the 20 rights specifically given to Kansas citizens in the state constitution as they study the Bill of Rights. 
 
Classroom Spotlight
This month’s Classroom Spotlight about using Traveling Resource Trunks was written by Jill Weber. Jill has taught both middle and high school social studies and was named the 2016 Gilder Lehrman Kansas History Teacher of the Year.
“I love to use historical artifacts in my classroom. There is something about an arrowhead, an old Civil War bullet, or a camera from the 1920s that can instantly bring history alive. Suddenly it isn't just words in a textbook...it's real . I believe that's why students enjoy going to museums; they enjoy witnessing history firsthand. They can feel it, smell it, and picture it in a whole new way. I love to bring that essence into my classroom.
One of my favorite methods to get artifacts into the hands of my students is by using traveling resource trunks. The trunks come right to my classroom and are filled with artifacts and historical lessons that are ready to use or easily adapted and modified. My favorite trunk to use with my 7th graders is the "Uses of the Buffalo” trunk. The lessons focus on the importance of the buffalo and how it was used for a multitude of purposes in the lives of Native Americans. I simply set out stations with artifacts placed around the room and ask my students to analyze the items and determine what they believe they are and what their intended purpose was. The conversations and inferences that come from this activity are awesome! These hands-on activities get my students thinking historically and problem solving without even realizing it! After their initial examinations, I can use the lesson plan and extension activities inside the trunk to add an additional depth of knowledge to our Native American unit. Some of the primary source texts can be difficult for a 7 th grader to comprehend, but because the texts are paired with artifacts the students can interact with, it helps them visualize what they have read.
 
Kids love to see history as more than old, dead people. Artifacts help bring the past to their fingertips!”
 
To learn how Jill uses this trunk in her class visit her blog at https://aviewoftheweb.blogspot.com/2017/09/kansas-historical-society-and-traveling.html

Due to COVID-19, visit our website for new ways to use the trunks.
From the Collections
Kerry Livgren, founding member of the band Kansas, donated this platinum album to the Kansas Museum of History. The band received it when the album Monolith reached the 1,000,000 sale mark. The album’s most popular single is “People of the South Wind,” the name of the Kaw (Kansa) tribe for which the state of Kansas is named.

In the early 1970s high school friends from Kansas formed this band. It soon became the state’s most commercially successful rock group. Guitarist and songwriter Kerry Livgren, bassist Dave Hope and drummer Phil Ehart added classically trained violinist Robby Steinhardt, vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh, and guitarist Rich Williams to create a six-piece band in 1972.

This combination of talents produced a different and remarkable sound. Over the decades their unique sound helped Kansas sell millions of records. “Three things made us unique,” Phil Ehart says, “The songs that Kerry wrote, Steve’s vocals and Robby’s violin.” 

Kansas is best known for their platinum albums of the 1970s: Leftoverture, Point of Know Return , and Monolith . Singles from each of these albums remain popular within the classic rock radio genre.
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The band’s debut album of 1974 highlighted John Steuart Curry’s Tragic Prelude , a famous mural at the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka. 
Make and Take
Is symbolism important?

Today’s news is full of stories about the removal of public statues across the nation. The symbolism conveyed in these statues was meant to evoke emotions in the viewer. The feelings people experience, however, are different depending on a person’s perspective.

The mural Tragic Prelude , featured on the second floor of the Kansas State Capitol in Topeka, is an example of a painting rich in symbolism. By painting abolitionist John Brown as oversized and wild-eyed, the artist conveyed Brown as an important figure but also a radical. 

Painting in the 1930s and 1940s, Kansas artist John Steuart Curry was highly criticized for the symbolism in his Capitol murals. For this reason, he left without completing the murals planned for the rotunda and refused to sign the two he completed. 

What other symbols do you see in the painting Tragic Prelude ? 
Ask a Historian
Next month one of our professionals will answer your question. What do you or your students want to know about Kansas history?
Virtual Kansas Day 2021
For decades students have visited the Kansas Museum of History to celebrate Kansas Day. In January 2021 this event will go virtual for the first time. Help us plan the best Virtual Kansas Day ever!
Shop online at our Museum Store and discover a variety of Kansas made items and historical resources .
Consider becoming a member of the Kansas Historical Society to receive free admission to the Kansas Museum of History and our 16 historic sites.