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Material and Symbol: the Lincoln/Keckley Dress

Activity 3: The Evolving Role of the First Lady and the Advent of Mass Media

  1. Watch the introductory movie together as a class http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/intro/dress/, then discuss the information presented in the film about the Lincoln-Keckley dress.
  2. Visit the Virtual Object section in the Introduction http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/onyourown/dress. Ask students to remember the importance of closely examining objects when using them as historical evidence. Provide them with a few minutes to use the Quicktime Virtual Reality version of the Lincoln-Keckley dress.
  3. Tell students that the first lady has always been subject to the scrutiny of both the public and her husband's political enemies, and ask them to search for the ways this scrutiny affected Mary Lincoln's life as they explore the website.
  4. Allow students to spend time examining the sources in the Explore section of the Lincoln-Keckley dress Object Lesson http://www.objectofhistory.org/objects/history/dress/. Remind students that the Explore section contains primary and secondary sources, organized into three main categories:
    1. The Object category contains sources related Lincoln-Keckley dress as a piece of material culture.
    2. The Object in History category contains sources related to the place of the Lincoln-Keckley dress within the context of the Washington, D.C., during the Civil War.
    3. The Object in the Museum category contains information related to how the National Museum of American History acquired and displayed the Lincoln-Keckley dress.
  5. Remind students that the video clips of the curator discussing the object constitute the secondary sources on the site. All the other materials are primary sources.
  6. Remind students that each primary source is accompanied by supporting information that is essential to critical historical thinking. First, at the top of the source, is an annotation that provides contextual information. Second, at the bottom of the same, is the sourcing information, including author, title, and date of creation. Instruct students to consider all of this information carefully as they work.
  7. Ask students to comment on:
    1. the role of the first lady in the Lincoln presidency
    2. the effects that nationally-distributed illustrated newspapers had on Mary Lincoln's life.
  8. Conclude the conversation by encouraging students to discuss:
    1. how media coverage continues to shape the role of the first lady
    2. what role media coverage of public officials plays in the United States