1302 Assignment one
You will be reading some primary documents and looking at some images from the 1880s and 1890s. You will answer a series of questions about the documents and images. The documents are posted in the assignment one module as a pdf. The images are below the questions.
Copy and paste the questions into a document and answer below each question. Use complete sentences and fully answer each question. Use your own words, do not just use direct quotes from the reading. I will be looking for your analysis of the documents and images. Some of the questions are asking for your opinion, so there is not a right or wrong answer, but you need to tell me how you reached that conclusion.
Upload it to the “Turn it in” link inside the assignment tab using the Cut & Paste feature. Refer to the instructions for submitting in the “Getting Started”Module. I will not accept any submissions not following the instructions or submitted by email.
Crime of Poverty:
- Why does Henry George say that people should not blame poor people for their poverty?
- What are some of the working conditions George describes?
- What, according to George, is the primary cause of poverty?
Crop Lien and Sharecropper contract:
(Both of these are for land owned by A.T. Mial)
- Do you think everyone reading a crop lien would understand what they were signing? Why/why not?
- What are some of the provisions that keep farmers in debt because of the crop lien? How do you think this affected the generational accumulation of wealth?
- What are some of the provisions in the sharecropper contract that are about controlling the behavior of the sharecropper?
- Both Powell and Medlin sign with an X, indicating they are illiterate. Why do you think Medlin had a crop lien and Powell a sharecropping contract? Explain.
Farmers Describe the Crisis
- Who/What do farmers blame for their problems?
- What do these farmers see as a solution?
Look at the images below of the urban poor, sharecroppers, and poor farmers and answer these questions. (the first 6 photos were taken by Jacob Riis)
- What are some of the things that stand out to you from these images?
- What can you tell about the role of poor women and children from the images?
- How do the living conditions of the urban poor compare to the conditions for rural poor people?
