| Standards Compliance |
NCSS
Strand 1
Culture
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NCSS
Strand 6
Power, Authority, and Governance
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NCSS
Strand 10
Civic Ideals and Practices
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NCSS
Strand 3
People, Places, and Environments
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ISTE
Standard 6
Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
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Introduction:
In 1900 Lou and Herbert Hoover were living in Tientsin, China in an enclave of people who were not Chinese. The Hoovers were in China because the future president was employed as the Director General of the Department of Mines of the Chinese Government. In early June, the Hoovers heard reports of Boxers, a rebellious religious sect, nearing Tientsin and though considered dangerous, the Hoovers chose to stay. During the Boxer Rebellion Lou Hoover helped build barricades, volunteered and, for her work obtaining milk for children and the wounded was dubbed the “Chief Cowboy and Dairy Maid.”
Objectives:
In this lesson students will learn about the history of China during the Boxer Rebellion as well as the United States interventionist role.
Materials Required:
Access to the Internet and/or access to a public library, video camera, television and VCR
Procedures:
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Begin the lesson by notifying students that they are about to become foreign correspondents for the local television station.
Explain to students that the year is 1900 and reports have been heard of a rebellion in Tientsin, China.
Divide the class into pairs. Within the pair, one person will be the on-air personality and the other will run the camera.
Assign each pair one of the following questions to research and record a five minute on-air report:
What was the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1911)?
What was the Taiping Rellion?
What was the Tribute System in China?
Why did Westerners go to China?
Who was Li Hongzhang?
What was the Chinese response to Western incursions?
What were the Opium Wars?
What was the Sino-Japanese War?
What started the Boxer Rebellion?
Who and what were the Empress Dowager and Emperor?
Who were the Boxers?
What was the Boxer Protocol?
Who was Yuan Shik-k’ai?
Who were the Allies?
When each pair has made their five minute news report, together as a class review and discuss the reports making necessary connections.
Extending the Lesson:
To extend this lesson, make a second, larger video report incorporating all previous smaller reports. Together as a class write the report/script for the new report. Then assign co-anchors, foreign correspondents, and camera operators.
Sources & Resources:
Websites:
University of Washington, Internet Classroom: Boxer Rebellion
Fordham University, Modern History Sourcebook: The Boxer Rebellion, 1900
Naval History Center: Documents of the Boxer Rebellion
National Archive: U.S. Marines in the Boxer Rebellion
Books:
Bodin, Lynn E. The Boxer Rebellion. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited, 1979.
Dix, C. C.. R.N. The World’s Navies in the Boxer Rebellion (China 1990). London: Digby, Long and Company, 1905.
Esherick, Joseph P. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising. Berkley: University of California Press, 1987.
Harrington, Peter. Peking 1900: The Boxer Rebellion. Oxford: Osprey Publishing Limited, 2001.
Preston, Diana. Boxer Rebellion: the Dramatic Story of China’s War on Foreigners that Shook the World in the Summer of 1990. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2000.
Credits: This lesson was written by Debra L. Clark, Kent State University |