A Teacher's Guide to Ladies of Liberty

Common-Core Aligned Teacher Materials and a Sample Chapter

Cokie Roberts, Amy Jurskis

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9780062374301
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Historical Biographies
• Index: History

For teachers

We know that the Common Core State Standards are encouraging you to reevaluate the books that you assign to your students. To help you decide which books are right for your classroom, each free ebook in this series contains a Common Core–aligned teaching guide and a sample chapter.

This free teaching guide for Ladies of Liberty by Cokie Roberts is designed to help you put the new Common Core State Standards into practice.

"Roberts weaves a colorful story of the trials and triumphs of the women of the post-Revolution. . . . Ladies of Liberty is not only informative but entertaining."—Denver Post

Recounted with insight and humor, and drawing on personal correspondence, private journals, and other primary sources, many of them previously unpublished, here are the fascinating and inspiring true stories of first ladies and freethinkers, educators and explorers.

Featuring an exceptional group of women—including Abigail Adams, Dolley Madison, Rebecca Gratz, Louise Livingston, Sacagawea, and others—Ladies of Liberty sheds new light on the generation of heroines, reformers, and visionaries who helped shape our nation, finally giving these extraordinary ladies the recognition they so greatly deserve.

Teacher’s Guide

ABOUT THIS BOOK:

---

Cokie Roberts’ Ladies Of Liberty continues the story where Founding Mothers left off: detailing the stories of the fascinating women who influenced the Founding Fathers, starting with America’s second First Lady, the strong-willed and opinionated Abigail Adams, and ending with the election of her son and daughter-in-law, John Quincy and Louisa Adams. Ladies of Liberty introduces readers to a cast of historically significant and interesting women, including Thomas Jefferson’s fiercely loyal daughters, Martha and Maria, the vivacious “Queen Dolley” Madison, and heroines like Sacagawea, the young Native American guide of the Lewis and Clarke expedition and Rebecca Gratz, the real life inspiration for the novel Ivanhoe. Ladies of Liberty meets the standard for Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity for all high school grade levels. Schools are encouraged to adopt the text at the grade level where it best fits with ELA and Social Studies curriculum. It is an excellent anchor text for courses in American history and American literature.

ABOUT THIS GUIDE:

---

The questions and activities in this teaching guide were written to support standards-based instruction and are directly linked to many of the Common Core State Standards for ELA and Social Studies. The primary areas of connection are in the ELA standards for Writing and Reading: Informational Texts for grades 11–12 and in the literacy standards for Key Ideas and Details and Craft and Structure in History/Social Studies. A complete list of the Common Core State Standards can be found at http://www.corestandards.org/the-standards.

This Teacher’s Guide is divided into two sections. The first, “Guided Reading Questions,” will help students with reading comprehension and understanding. The second section, “Research and Writing Topics” will encourage students to engage in significant research and writing projects related to the text.

BEFORE YOU READ:

---

In the Acknowledgments and Author’s Note, Cokie Roberts explains that Ladies of Liberty “is not the story of everyday women in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century, many of whom had much harder lives than the elite women who had the ears of the Founding Fathers”(xi). Research what life was like for these “everyday women”, including women that were in bondage (a general overview of women’s lives can be found pages xxi and xxii). If possible, trace your own family history back to the early nineteenth century. Would your ancestor’s experience be similar to that of an “elite woman” or an “everyday woman”? Present your family tree to the class, highlighting the significant women in your own family.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.11-12.7-8 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.7

---

Guided Reading Questions

---

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.1

INTRODUCTION

---

1. According to Roberts, what roles did American women play at the beginning of the nineteenth century? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

2. Explain the historical difference between the correspondence of men and the correspondence of women. Do you think these differences still exist? Explain your answer. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

CHAPTER ONE: THE PRESIDENCY OF JOHN AND ABIGAIL ADAMS 1797–1801

---

1. Why would the death of George Washington be considered a “national tragedy”? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

2. What evidence suggests that John Adams valued the opinion and contributions of his wife, Abigail? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

3. What reasons did John Adams have for fearing a war with France? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

4. Contrast the personalities of the Martha Washington and Abigail Adams. How did each of these women contribute to their husband’s presidencies? How did each woman view the role and responsibilities of being First Lady? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

5. Describe the courtship of John Quincy Adams and Louisa Catherine Johnson. How did Abigail Adams view her future daughter-in-law? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

6. What role did Charles Pinckney play in politics? Who was his mother? What was she famous for doing? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

7. Why was Mary Pinckney unhappy in France? Who was John Marshall? What details suggest that he valued his wife’s company and opinion? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

8. Why was Abigail angry about the way the public and the press treated her husband? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

9. What was the XYZ affair? How did the affair help turn public sentiment away from France? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

10. What were Abigail’s personal and public opinions about the possibility of a war with France? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

11. Explain the Alien and Sedition Acts passed in 1798. Why were these acts deemed necessary? Why were they extremely unpopular? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

12. Who supported the Alien and Sedition Acts? Who opposed them? Summarize the positions in favor and in opposition of the unpopular acts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

13. When was the Twelfth Amendment passed? Why was it necessary? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

14. During Abigail Adams tenure as First Lady, how did the opportunities available to women as educators, writers, and activists change? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

15. Who was Isabelle Graham? What role did she play in the emergence of educational institutions for women? What other women played key roles in these early schools for girls and women? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

16. Who was Susanna Rowson? Describe her accomplishments. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

17. Summarize the plot of Rowson’s novel Charlotte Temple. What was Rowson’s attitude towards her protagonist? Why do you think the novel was so popular? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7

18. What true story was Hannah Foster’s novel The Coquette based on? Explain how Foster challenged the sexual double standard in her fictionalization of the story. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.7 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.7

19. How did the spread of publishing and the birth of libraries in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century open avenues for women to find a voice and audience for their views, concerns, and questions? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

20. Describe the political views of Judith Sargent Murray. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

CHAPTER TWO: THE FIRST TERM OF THOMAS JEFFERSON AND THE LADIES OF THE PLACE 1801–1805

---

1. What statement did Thomas Jefferson make by walking to his inauguration? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

2. Describe the political climate surrounding Jefferson’s election. Who was his rival in the campaign for presidency? Why was the transfer of power from Adams to Jefferson particularly significant? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

3. What did Jefferson believe about the role of women in politics? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

4. Since Jefferson was a widower, who did he look to fill the social role that a First Lady would have been expected to play? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

5. Describe Dolley Payne Todd’s childhood and young adulthood. When and how did she meet James Madison? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

6. Explain the scandal that plagued Jefferson’s presidency. Was there any truth to the rumors? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

7. Describe the relationship between Martha Jefferson Randolph and Maria (Polly) Jefferson Eppes and their father. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.2

8. Explain how President Jefferson offended the British ambassador. What reason did he have for insulting the Merrys? Explain how Dolley Madison helped smooth over the situation. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

9. What was the Louisiana Purchase? What circumstances led to Napoleon’s willingness to sell the territory? Why was it strategically important for America to own this land? How did the residents of New Orleans feel about the Louisiana Purchase? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.3

10. Who were the Ursuline nuns? What assurance did Jefferson have delivered to them? CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.11-12.9a

11. Who was Betsy Patterson Bonaparte? What was...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Sample Material
• Teacher’s Guide
• Buy the Book
• About the Authors
• Copyright
• About the Publisher