Historical Period
| | Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
The Development of Industrial United States (1870-1900)
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Sustainable
Development Topics | | Intergenerational responsibility, government policy choices,
land and water use, and equity issues
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| Purpose | | To show students that the General Mining Act of 1872, passed
to serve western expansion, also led to environmental and
social problems which persist today, and to have the students
in a mock Congressional committee hearing analyze some
proposed legislative reforms of the 1872 Law in terms of a
sustainable future.
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| Objectives | | Students will be able to:
- Analyze primary source accounts of life in the western
mining era in the 1849-1890 period in terms of the
effects of western mining on the people and on the
environment.
- Analyze three reforms of the General Mining Act of
1872 proposed in 1993 in terms of concern for future
generations (intergenerational sustainability).
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| Time Required | | Homework and 2 class periods. (If students have not had
previous lessons on the concept of sustainable development,
they will need more than a quick review. In that case, the
lesson will require an extra class period.)
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Materials Needed
(Handouts) | |
- Three Historical Perspectives on the Gold Rush Era
- 1872 Mining Law: Meet 1993 Reform
- Three Legislative Proposals
- Legislative Analysis Sheet
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| Teacher Background
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| Procedure | | To set the context:
Assign for homework the textbook section on the western
mining era and Handout 1: Three Historical Perspectives
on the Gold Rush Era. Tell students to write down three
questions they have about the readings for class discussion.
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| Procedure | | Day 1 Analyzing the Historical Documents
- Begin by conducting a discussion about the issues raised
in the handout. Start with the questions the students
bring. Questions can be grouped and categorized (there
might be duplication or similarities). The student
questions may be answered in the course of the
discussion or be future research questions if answers are
not immediately available.
Some sample questions to structure the discussion:
a) What were some of the environmental concerns in the
readings? List on board.
b) What were some of the equity issues? List.
c) Which effects do you think would not have been seen
as problematic in the 1870s? (Indicate on the list.) Why?
d) In your judgment, which of these effects were
problematic? (Indicate on the list.) Why? Do you think
they are still problematic today?
- Review the concept of sustainable development by
asking students for the definition: development that
meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their needs. Discuss briefly. (If students have not
had previous exposure to sustainable development
concepts, they will need more background work. See
the lesson What Is Sustainable Development? The
Chair.)
a) Which of these concerns and issues compromised the
ability of future generations to meet their needs? How?
(E.g., Native Americans who could no longer fish)
- Tell the class that tomorrow they will serve as a
Congressional Advisory Committee. Distribute
Handout 2: 1872 Mining Law: Meet 1993 Reform
and Handout 3: Three Legislative Proposals, and
assign for homework. Tell students they will need to be
familiar with the information in the readings to be able to
advise Congress wisely.
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| Procedure | | Day 2 Mock Congressional Advisory Committee Hearing
- List any questions students have. Discuss briefly. If
answers are not readily available, save for future
research.
- Divide the class into groups of four. Tell students that
they are being asked to serve on a congressional
committee to advise the legislature on reforms to the
General Mining Act of 1872. Each group will need to
pick a recorder to keep the group's notes.
- Distribute Handout 4: Legislative Analysis Sheet, to
the group recorders.
(The correct answers for question 3 are:
1. 0,
2. $240 million,
3. $150 million,
4. $60 million.)
- Ask all to read again the three legislative reform
proposals which they received for homework and, as a
group, to analyze the reform proposals in terms of
working toward a sustainable future using the legislative
analysis sheet. (Allow 15-20 minutes.)
- Each group decides which legislative proposal they want
to support and writes a one-paragraph statement of
support for their choice. Each group picks a reporter
who presents the group's statement.
- The teacher records the groups' choices.
- Discussion:
a) What are the areas of agreement among the student
groups?
b) Where are the areas of disagreement?
c) Can students make the case that their choices take
future generations into account?
- Conclude by having everyone in the class vote
individually, by paper ballot, on which reform proposal
they would advise Congress to adopt.
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| Student Assessment | | Students can be asssessed on the basis of their class
participation. They can also write a paragraph supporting their
final vote on a preferred reform proposal.
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| Lesson Extensions | | Students may be encouraged to send their analysis and
statement of support for a particular legislative reform proposal
to their local Congressperson or to the congressional
committees that have a bearing on the legislation, i.e.,
Agriculture, Commerce, and Resources with its Subcommittees
on Energy and Mineral Resources and on Fishing, Wildlife and
Oceans. The telephone number for general information in
Congress is 202-225-3121. Set a report-back time to see how the congressional process is
working on reform of the General Mining Act of 1872. You
may want to bring this up in the Progressive Era or our
contemporary time frame. Contact your local
Congressperson's office or the Mineral Policy Center, Room
550, 1325 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
20005, (202-887-1872) for an update on the General Mining
Act of 1872.
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Sources
| | Letto, Jay. "1872 Mining Law: Meet 1993 Reform,"
E Magazine. September-October 1993. Todd, John. The Sunset Land. Boston: Lee and Shepard, 1870.
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