Pre-reading: American History - Part I

                                                                                                                                         

ESL 8, as in many other ESL courses here at Pierce College, includes many books and articles about American culture to its curriculum to help the ESL student gain more knowledge about America and its history of people and events. Our reader, Hidden Figures, centers on four women who worked and lived during some very turbulent times in the U.S. - segregation, gender inequality (women not on equal standing with men), the Great Depression, World War II, and the Space Race with Russia (1950s-60s).

With our reader, Hidden Figures, you will be asked to read certain outside articles and watch various videos on American History, as it will help you understand the background of the novel and gain a deeper understanding of American culture.  Four brilliant black female mathematicians gained top jobs in America's airplane and space programs after Word War II (1945) when all those positions were normally held by white males. 

You will read the stories of Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden. Before you read their stories, however, it would help to have some background information on what was going on in America that established segregation between blacks and whites and the freedoms men had over women, especially in the workplace.

In this module, we will briefly look at Slavery and Segregation in America, the Great Depression, and World War II as background to our stories in the reader, Hidden Figures. The four black women featured in this story were part of segregation in America, lived through the difficult times of the Depression (1929-1941), and World War II (1941-1945). 

 

Read the following information and click on the links for historical information. You will be writing two paragraphs later in this Module on your reactions, so make some notes on what you might want to write on.

SLAVERY IN AMERICA

Many black people in America today have ancestors who were slaves during the 17th and 18th centuries. These four women were no exception.

Below is an article from History.com that gives an overview of slavery in America and how this issue is considered the major cause of the Civil War (1861-65) in the United States.

                                                                                                                                    

Segregation of black people from whites has a long history. In the beginning formation of the United States of America, starting in the 1600's, black people were brought over from countries like Africa to work in the fields as slaves, most commonly to work in tobacco and cotton fields.

                                                                                                                  

Since then and up to today, blacks have had severe challenges in having equal opportunity to live and work alongside other Americans.  Females also were discriminated against from holding positions of power in industry. So these four women, female and black, had two strikes against them, yet they were hired for top jobs in the aerospace industry in America.

Click on the red link below to read about the history of slavery in the U.S. from an online site History.com. 

PLEASE NOTE: There are numerous flashing ads and loud video ads that interrupt a smooth, quiet reading on this site. I do not like these interruptions. However, I have chosen this site because they have a pretty good summary of slavery in America and that is what I wanted you to get.

RECOMMENDATION: Turn OFF your sound and just read the black print and view the pictures.  Review the Vocabulary below first.

Slavery in America         [when done, close the site and return to this page] Links to an external site.

START A VOCABULARY JOURNAL  [look up any other words you don't know, write them in your Journal with definitions.]

Colonists - the name for the first people who settled in the U.S.

American Revolution - (1765-1783) U.S. gained independence from British rule.

Abolition - a movement to abolish slavery

Underground railroad - not an actual railroad; it was many individuals helping blacks escape slavery in the South and move to free Northern states in early America (1810-50). Abolitionists and other kind souls helped the slaves escape.

Antebellum South - before Civil War (1861) - when slavery was legal in the southern U.S. states.

Union - name for the northern states. America's Civil War was between the northern states called the Union and the southern states called Confederates (those who wanted to leave the Union).

Emancipation - freeing of approximately 4 million slaves after Civil War

Reconstruction - 1865-1877 - integrating blacks into the system after the Civil War. 

Ku Klux Klan - white supremacist hate group targeting blacks

Civil Rights Movement - modern protest to gain equality for black people

African American? or Black? - In America today, both terms are used. Generally, African American refers to black people who have some past connection to the continent of Africa.

Now you are ready to read about the Great Depression and World War II.