Dig Deep 

 

 Washington State History-Depression Era

 

 

WCLS RESOURCES

Whatcom County Library System has MANY obscure titles related to Washington State History-however I assume readability is an issue for most of them. A few older out of print resources written for a younger audience on Washington State History: http://tinyurl.com/d4c3ba.  As these are older mostly out of print I decided to focus on more recent publications written for a general audience rather than an academic audience.

 

          Materials available to check-out

 

Folkways, the original vision [sound recording-CD] : songs of Woody Guthrie and Lead Belly

Primary resource

http://tinyurl.com/ctw2y9

One of several sound recordings we have of Woody Guthrie

 

Historic photos of Washington State / text and captions by Dale E. Soden.

Includes primary resources

http://tinyurl.com/dxfryt

Includes a section on the 1930s.

Not reviewed.

 

It happened in Washington by James A. Crutchfield.

http://tinyurl.com/cczojx

A recent publication for adults that includes interesting stories from our state history-includes vignettes from the 1930s.

 

Washington, images of a state's heritage / Carlos Schwantes ... [et al.] 

Includes primary resources

http://tinyurl.com/d3dhfo

No annotation for the images, but should have relevant primary documents.

 

Washington then & now by Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard.

Includes primary resources

http://tinyurl.com/c929e7

I could not find an index of images online, however seems like a potentially great source for primary documents and discussion about changes. 

 

Washington's history : the people, land, and events of the Far Northwest by Harry Ritter

An overview but includes information about the construction of the massive Grand Coulee Dam in 1933.

http://tinyurl.com/denqzn

 

Washington State by Charles P. LeWarne.

http://tinyurl.com/c23mdy

No index, no review, however should have relevant information written at an easier reading level.

No Review

 

          Online Premium Digital Resources from WCLS (must have a WCLS library card to access)

 

WCLS-Encyclopedia and Homework Help Page

http://www.wcls.org/20080916260/encyclopedias-homework-help.html

For this topic our databases are best for national historical overviews rather than for details on Washington State in the 1930s.

*ELibrary-good for finding historical overviews at different reading levels, but when I looked under the topic of Washington State the pickings were slim.

*History Resource Center US.-Again, more useful of general overviews for U.S. History than for Washington State History. However I think it would be better to use ELibrary for this-easier reading level and easier search interface. As an example I looked up Grand Coulee Dam, and did not find information I could use to help me write a report.

 

 

ONLINE RESOURCES 

Columbia River History- Grand Coulee Dam: History and purpose

Includes primary resources

http://www.nwcouncil.org/history/GrandCouleeHistory.asp

Includes an overview and construction pictures.  I am concerned about the readability of this resource.  Sheer amount of text might be a little intimidating.

 

GREAT SOURCE: History Link-Free Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History

Includes primary resources

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm

I was trying to think of how your students might use this resource.  The milestones page might give them an overview of topics that they might want to research further.  It lets them know for example that prohibition ended in the 1930s.  http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5381  If they found a topic of interest they could click on the yellow advanced search button at the bottom of the page and enter keywords from the timeline.  I did this for  Longshoremen and maritime workers strike and was happy with the results. http://tinyurl.com/d882f7

 

King County Snapshots

Includes primary resources

http://content.lib.washington.edu/imls/kcsnapshots/explore.html

Although it will give you categories of pictures, it might be best to use the search box in the lower right hand corner.

Sample Search: Japanese Internment

http://tinyurl.com/cwnukw

This site does not give the images historical context-I think the University of Washington Libraries website below is a much better place to start.

 

Seattle Civil Rights Labor History Project

Includes primary resources

http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/

I couldn't get all the video clips to work, and almost all the streaming video interviews are about the decades after the 1930s.  However, it seems like a great place to start for an overview on civil rights and labor in Washington State.  I watched a couple of the videos, interviews and overviews and didn't find anything I loved for a middle school audience-it may be that the text is the strongest part of this site.  Looks like an interesting overview including primary documents of the Klu Klux Klan if your studies include the late 20s at all.http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/kkk_intro.htm.

 

GREAT SOURCE: University of Washington Libraries-Camp Harmony Exhibit in Particular!

Includes primary resources

Camp Harmony Exhibit Japanese Internment: http://www.lib.washington.edu/exhibits/harmony/exhibit/

General web portal:http://content.lib.washington.edu/socialweb/index.html

There are many primary resources available on this site but I particularly liked the Camp Harmony Exhibit.  It mixes photographs with overviews and primary resources rather than just giving you photographs that you have to put into context yourself.

 

Washington State Library Newspaper and Print Collection

Includes primary resources

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/

This resource is better for territorial history-I don't think students will find much to assist their search here.  It's possible that some of the digital photo collections might have relevant material but there is not a date search for these, so you would just have to look through them and see what is there!

*Historical newspaper search will not help you here-all dates before 1930.  We do have microfiche of newspapers from this time period at the Lynden Library and Bellingham Public Library.

 

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Meeting Notes

Students research and argue a point.

3 primary resources and 2 secondary resources.

Topics Include: Woody Guthrie, Grand Coulee Dam, the Economy, Japanese Internment, civil rights, racism, strikes.

Look for music, speeches, and print resources. Video interviews would be great.

Focus on the geographic and economic impact.

Primary Concern: Reading level. State books are at a reading level that works, but are too general.

Spanish materials would be a bonus.

 

Notes on the Research:

5 hours of research on this topic was not nearly enough-that would be a good amount of time just to start on resources for Japanese Internment for example.  So I want you to know there is much more out there than this on particular subjects.  As the topic was broad I was looking for a few, readable, general resources that touched on Washington in the 1930s with the hope that students could learn key dates, places, and names for further research.  Many of the topics like World War II in Washington State I did not have time to start on-much more to be done here!

 

I did not find new general books on Washington State History being printed for the middle school level, and as reading level was the primary concern I looked for coffee table type books, and books for a general audience that are written to create interest rather than conduct research.  I think the pictorial works have great potential as a primary resources.