Last updated: September 26, 2019
Lesson Plan
Albert Gallatin: A Most Astonishing Man - Gallatin and the Whiskey Rebellion - Lesson 2

- Grade Level:
- Middle School: Sixth Grade through Eighth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- Lesson Duration:
- 30 Minutes
- Common Core Standards:
- 6-8.RH.1, 6-8.RH.2, 6-8.RH.4, 5.RI.1, 5.RI.2, 5.RI.4
- Thinking Skills:
- Remembering: Recalling or recognizing information ideas, and principles. Understanding: Understand the main idea of material heard, viewed, or read. Interpret or summarize the ideas in own words. Applying: Apply an abstract idea in a concrete situation to solve a problem or relate it to a prior experience.
Essential Question
What was Gallatin’s involvement in the Whiskey Rebellion and how did he behave?
Objective
By the end of this lesson the students will be able to:
• List two ways Gallatin protested the Whiskey Tax
• List two parts of the first amendment that gave Gallatin the right to meet with farmers and to petition the government
Background
Inthis lesson the students will use a student reading to learn about the Whiskey Rebellion and Gallatin’s participation in it. Then using an activity worksheet the students will look at the First Amendment and see if the actions the Western Pennsylvanians took during the rebellion were legal.
Preparation
Read the teacher background information on Albert Gallatin and make copies of the student reading and the activity worksheet.
Materials
Download Lesson 2 - Gallatin and the Whiskey Rebellion
Download Background information for the teacher
Lesson Hook/Preview
Poor farmers west of the Appalachian Mountains thought the Whiskey Tax was very unfair. and started to rebel against it. The federal government had legally passed the tax and wanted the tax collected without violence. This lead the federal government calling out the military to suppress the rebellion. Gallatin and a few other Western Pennsylvanians could see both sides of the situation and worked to find a peaceful solutions. Discover the difference between legal and illegal protests.
Procedure
- Introduce the guiding question to students.
- Hand out copies of the student reading and the activity worksheet.
- Have the students complete the sheets identifying how protest can be legal under the First Amendment or illegal.
- Review the guiding question.
Vocabulary
Rebellion - a violent form of protest
Repeal - to reverse or take away a law
Petition - gathering a group of signatures to protest a rule, policy or law
Illegal - an action that is against the law
Assessment Materials
The assessment is included in the lesson plan. It has answers to the activity worksheet.
Supports for Struggling Learners
You can read the material out loud to the students or go over the material as a class.
Enrichment Activities
- Discuss with your class the reasons for protesting and the different ways (both legal and illegal) a person can protest.
- Whiskey Rebellion Flag. Have the students design or construct a Whiskey Rebellion Flag. Have the students imagine they were angry farmers in 1794. What symbols would they put on their flag? Have all the flags displayed in the classroom. See if the students can understand the symbolism on their fellow students’ flags.
Additional Resources
Friendship Hill National Historic Site website: www.nps.gov/frhi
Related Lessons or Education Materials
This is lesson 2 of the curriculum Albert Gallatin: A Most Astonishing Man. You can find links to the other lessons below.
Lesson 1: Gallatin's Start in Politics
Lesson 2 : Gallatin and the Whiskey Rebellion
Lesson 3. Gallatin and the Louisiana Purchase
Lesson 4: Gallatin and the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lesson 5: Gallatin and New Geneva
Lesson 6: Gallatin as Secretary of the TreasuryLesson 7: Gallatin's Family and Timeline
You can also download all seven lessons, the entire 32-page curriculum Albert Gallatin: A Most Astonishing Man.