Teaching
History Online
Number
54: 6th October, 2002
Introduction
1.
William
Rufus
2.
1833
Factory Act
3.
Black
History Month
4.
Absolute
Facts
5.
Emma
Goldman
6.
World
Conflicts Documents Project
7.
Aces and Airman of World
War I
Introduction
Spartacus Educational
publishes Teaching
History Online every week. The newsletter includes news, reviews
of websites and articles on using ICT in the history classroom. Members
of the mailing list are invited to submit information for inclusion
in future editions of Teaching
History Online. In this way we hope to create a community
of people involved in using the Internet to teach history. Currently
there are 20,520 subscribers to the newsletter.
John Simkin
spartacus@pavilion.co.uk
William
Rufus: Just before William
the Conqueror
died he
decided that William
Rufus,
rather than his older brother, Robert
Curthose,
should be king of England. In 1088 a group of Normans, including Richard
de Clare,
rebelled against the rule of Rufus in order to place Robert on the
throne. After a two
day siege at Tonbridge
Castle, Richard de
Clare was forced to surrender to William. Richard was punished by
having his castle and the town of Tonbridge burnt to the ground. Richard
de Clare was also forced to live in a monastery where he died three
years later. On 2nd August 1100, William Rufus went hunting at Brockenhurst
in the New Forest. During the hunt, Walter
Tirel fired
an arrow at a stag. The arrow missed the animal and hit William Rufus
in the chest. Within a few minutes the king was dead.
Walter Tirel was Richard de Clare's son-in-law? Had the Clare family
gained revenge on William Rufus. This classroom activity looks at
the evidence that William Rufus might have been the victim of a political
conspiracy.
1833
Factory Act:
In 1833 the Government passed a Factory Act to improve conditions
for children working in factories. Young children were working very
long hours in workplaces where conditions were often terrible. The
basic act was as follows: No child workers under 9 years of age. Employers
must have a medical or age certificate for child workers. Children
between the ages of 9-13 to work no more than 9 hours a day. Children
between 13-18 to work no more than 12 hours a day. Children are not
to work at night. Two hours schooling each day for children. Four
factory inspectors appointed to enforce the law throughout the whole
of the country. However, the passing of this Act did not mean that
overnight the mistreatment of children stopped. This Public Record
Office website allows students to investigate how the far the Act
solved the problems of child labour.
Black
History Month: In this article in the Guardian, Gary Younge, points
out that October is black history month in Britain. The idea behind
this project is for black people to explore their past in order to
better understand the present and to help them navigate the future.
Younge argues that you cannot have black history without white history.
"There would be no Nelson Mandela, as we know him, without the
architect of apartheid, Hendrik Verwoerd; nor would we have known
of Rosa Parks had it not been for Mr Blake, the white driver who refused
to let her sit at the front of the bus." He adds that "white
people, like black people, need access to a past that is accurate,
honest and inclusive. We do not need more white history; we need it
better told."
Absolute
Facts: True stories about people and events that changed the life
of mankind. Recent additions include articles on Alfred Nobel, Edvard
Grieg, Vincent van Gogh, Adolf Hitler, Elvis Presley and Marilyan
Monroe. The material is organised into the following categories: Architecture,
Arts, Celebrities, History, Inventions, Literature, Movies, Classical
Music, Pop Music, Organizations, Politicians, Transportation and World
War II.
Emma
Goldman: An influential and well-known anarchist of her day, Goldman
was an early advocate of free speech, birth control, women's equality
and independence, union organization, and the eight-hour work day.
Her criticism of mandatory conscription of young men into the military
during World War I led to a two-year imprisonment, followed by her
deportation in 1919. For the rest of her life until her death in 1940,
she continued to participate in the social and political movements
of her age, from the Russian Revolution to the Spanish Civil War.
Since 1980, the Emma Goldman Papers Project at the University of California
has collected, organized, and edited tens of thousands of documents
by and about Goldman from around the world. The website uses primary
historical documents to examine issues related to immigration, freedom
of expression, women's rights, anti-militarism, and the art and culture
of social change.
World
Conflicts Documents Project: This website was originally created
by Lucas Turks in January 1998. It provides original articles on military
matters, great statesmen and war heroes. There is also a collection
of photos, maps and documents about world conflicts over the last
200 years. The material is available in both English and Italian.
Book
Section
Aces
and Airman of World War I:
Man had only been flying for a few years when the war of 1914-1918
began, so the use of aircraft in war was a new phenomenon. Each combatant
nation that had the capability was quick to employ the new technology
over the enemy, with the result that the early military pilots learned
as they flew, developing tactics and strategies as they went, and
becoming national heroes overnight as they brought success to the
campaign. This book by Alan Wood includes information about airman
from Britain, USA, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Russia. (Brassey's,
ISBN 1 85753 380 1, £20.00)
Available from Amazon Books
(order below)
