for a new nation
For this assignment, you will use PowerPoint to create a simulated facebook page for a historical figure in the early years of the United States. A list of possible people can be found on the attached page. You can download a template to use from the class website. All you have to do is find information on your topic, copy it, and paste it into the template. The PowerPoint will consist of two slides and should carefully follow the directions given. This project requires attention to detail, so it is very important that you do not procrastinate. Get started early and use your time wisely.
Directions:
1. Select a person who played a prominent role in the early history of the United States. You will need to research this person to find the following information:
a) When and where was the person born?
b) What were the person's political and religious views?
c) Find six people who knew the person. These will be his or her "friends."
d) Find and download a picture of the person you are researching, as well as pictures for the friends. These will be used for postings on the person's wall. You may want to create a folder on your desktop for these pics.
e) Research the person's role in American history. What did he or she do that made them famous? You should be able to write a detailed paragraph IN YOUR OWN WORDS explaining what their significance was in the early days of the new nation. Plagiarism will result in a failing grade for this assignment.
2. AFTER you have conducted the research, download the PowerPoint template from the class website. If you have trouble downloading it to your computer, let me know as soon as possible so I can email it to you.
3. The information on the template is for Benedict Arnold. Once you download the template, save it under the name of the person you are researching. For example, if you are making a facebook page for Thomas Jefferson, go to "save as" and rename the template "Jefferson." Don't throw away the template. You can use it as an example while you work on your page.
4. The template consists of two pages--one for the wall, and the other for personal info. You will need to replace the information on Benedict Arnold with information for your historical figure. All of the labels are in text boxes. Double-click on the name to open the text box. Anything that says "Benedict Arnold" should be replaced with the name of your person. Be sure to replace the "Your Name" label with--you guessed it--your name.
The Wall
The wall consists of four parts--the profile photo, information, friends, and posts.
Profile Photo--Click on the picture of Benedict Arnold and delete it. Open the folder with the pictures you downloaded and drag the photo to the space where Arnold's picture was. The picture will probably need to be resized, so double-click on the pic. When the "format picture" box opens, click on "size." The size of the profile pic on the template is 2 inches, so type that into the space for the height of the picture. The width will adjust automatically. Then click on "OK" at the bottom of the box to resize the picture.
Information--Click beneath the labels for networks, birthday, etc. to open the textboxes on the template. Delete the information for Benedict Arnold (For example, Continental Army, British Army) and type in the information for your person. If you can't find any information on religion, just enter "Christian."
Friends--You are going to have to replace Benedict Arnold's friends with the friends you found for your person. I highly recommend that you do this one at a time. Start with the picture of King George III. Click on the picture and delete it. Then drag the picture of one of your person's friends to the space vacated by the King. You will have to resize the picture again, so do the same thing you did for the profile picture. This time, you want to enter "0.58" for the height of the picture. If you click "OK" and the picture seems to disappear, don't worry. You just made it pretty small. You might have to scroll up to find the picture, then drag it into the correct place. Do this with the remaining friends. Don't forget to change the names beneath the pictures as well. Type in the first name of the friend.
Posts--This is where you need to get creative. Write a dialog between your historical figure and his or her friends. The posts should have something to do with that person's historical role. You can base the posts on the personal history you are going to write for the next page. Once again you are going to have to delete the pictures on the template and replace them with the pictures you downloaded. These pictures will also be 0.58 inches in height. Click on the names and posts to change the dialog. Include the dates these discussions would have taken place. You need to have six posts on the page. You don't have to include all of the friends in the posts, but you should use at least half of them. Don't forget to post your person's status at the top of the page. On the template, this is where it says, "Benedict Arnold is preparing to move to London, England."
Information Page
Profile Picture and Basic Information--Change the profile picture and enter the basic information for your historical figure.
Personal History--Write a paragraph explaining what your person did during the early years of the American nation. The paragraph should be written in your own words and clearly explain the person's role in history. Click on the text after the "Activities" label and delete the information for Benedict Arnold. You can then type the narrative for the person you have chosen. This should also serve as the basis for the posts on the wall.
Historical Figures in the Early Republic
Benjamin Franklin--inventor, publisher, diplomat
George Washington--first President of the United States
John Adams--first Vice President and the 2nd President of the U.S.
Thomas Jefferson--Secretary of State; 3rd President
Abigail Adams--wife of John Adams; advocate for women's rights
Alexander Hamilton--first Secretary of the Treasury; founded Federalist Party
Henry Knox--Revolutionary War hero and 1st Secretary of War
Mercy Otis Warren--writer
James Madison--"Father of the Constitution" & author of the Bill of Rights
Roger Sherman--thought of the idea for two houses in Congress
Governeur Morris--author of the Preamble to the Constitution
John Jay--First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Patrick Henry--Governor of Virginia & leader of the anti-federalists
Meriwether Lewis--explorer
William Clark--explorer
Sacajawea--explorer
Zebulon Pike--explorer
Aaron Burr--Jefferson's VP; killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel
John Marshall--Very influential Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
William Marbury--plaintiff in Marbury v. Madison
Edmund Randolph--introduced the Virginia Plan at the Constitutional Convention
William Paterson--introduced the New Jersey Plan at the Constitutional Convention