Martha Goes to Washington: Equal Representation in National Statuary Hall

English Language Arts

• Reading Informational Text Standard 2: Determine the main idea of a text
• Reading Informational Text Standard 3: Explain events in a historical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
• Reading Informational Text Standard 7: Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words.

Social Studies

• Grade 4 Standard II, Objective 2: Describe ways that Utah has changed over time.
• Grade 5 Standard III, Objective 2: Assess how the US Constitution has been amended and interpreted over time, and the impact these amendments have had on the rights and responsibilities of citizens of the United States.

Math

• Mathematical Practice 4: Model with Mathematics. Identify the mathematical elements of a situation and create a mathematical model that shows the relationships among them.  
• Mathematical Practice 6: Attend to Precision. Calculate accurately and efficiently, and use clear and concise notation to record work.

• Students will be able to read, understand informational text and primary source material.
• Students will collect, examine, and present data from digital sources.
• Students will gain a deeper understanding of the role women play in society, including politically, socially,and civically.

Statuary – noun, a group or collection of statues

Congress – noun, a national legislative body, especially that of the US

House of Representatives – noun, the lower house of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper house

Illustrious – adjective, well known, respected, or admired for past achievements

Commemoration – noun, a ceremony or celebration in which a person or event is remembered

Amendment – noun, an alteration of or addition to a motion, bill, constitution, etc.

Equal – adjective, if two things are equal, or one thing is equal to another, they are the same in size, number, standard, or value

Activating and Building Background Knowledge

Explain the following scenario for the class: As a teacher you have decided to set aside a section of the white board/bulletin board/smart board as an “Honor Board”. Those selected for the “Honor Board” will have a portrait drawn on them and placed on display.  Select 4 students who are either all girls or all boys and place their names on the board.  Explain the criteria used to select the group: must be a member of the class and must be deserving of the honor based on their contributions to the class.  

Tie this discussion into the following:

We have a collection of statues representing notable people in U.S. history in our national capitol building in Washington, D.C. This lesson will help you understand what this collection is, how it was created, and who is represented in this collection. 

Reading Informational Text

Have students read “National Statuary Hall Collection” informational text, either as a PDF or PPT.  

Have students read either the primary source or its transcription: “House Joint Resolution 66, 2 July 1864”

Quick Write

Have students answer the questions on the National Statuary Hall quick write worksheet.

Note: This is a natural stopping point for part 1 of this lesson.

Activating and Building Background Knowledge

Remind students of the previous conversation about the group of students who have been selected for the “Honor Board”. Discuss the following questions with the students: 

Is this system of honoring students a fair way to represent the class as a whole?  Have students explain why and why not. What might observers conclude about our class just from looking at those listed on the “Honor Board”? If the students don’t notice on their own, point out that by having all boys or all girls, it leaves out a significant number of students based on something they have no control over.

Tie this discussion in to the following: 

The National Statuary Collection houses 100 statues of notable people in U.S. History, two from each state. In today’s lesson, students will examine data about how many statues are in each area of the Capitol, what the ratio is of male to female statues, and create a bar graph to show their results.

Collect, Examine and Present Data From Media Format

Divide students into groups of three for this learning exercise. Assign each student in the group a separate section of the “National Statuary Hall By the Numbers” worksheet to complete.

Using information found at the National Statuary Hall webpage, which is accessible via a link on each digital worksheet, have each student fill out their assigned section of the digital worksheet:

• group 1-   Crypt and Visitors Center
• group 2 – Senate and House wings, Hall of Columns, and Rotunda
• group 3 – Statuary Hall

Model how to navigate the web page using the PDF “Instructions for accessing Statuary Hall web page”.

Once they are finished, have them complete their portion of the digital bar graph to visually represent their answers. Model how to complete digital worksheets. Afterwards, have each student share their findings within the groups of three. Have students then find the total number of female statues in the collection.

Note: This activity can be modified to have groups of students fill out each section of the worksheet and then share their findings with the entire class.

As a class discuss:

• Why do you think there are so few women compared to men?  Discussion can include: how the role of women in society has changed over time, how until 1920 a small portion of women in the country were able to vote (Utah women were some of those numbers!!) 
• Where are most of these female statues located? Discuss that most of these female statues were installed after Statuary Hall was already full. Discuss the difficulty in relocating statues. 
• Why is equal representation in public art important?

Revisit the 2 slides of the PPT about the National Statuary Hall Collection. Remind students that Utah is going to be replacing one of their statues with a new statue of Martha Hughes Cannon. 

Reading Informational Text

Use the following resources to share with students important details about the life of Martha Hughes Cannon:

• Martha Hughes Cannon brief bio (from Champions of Change book)
• Martha Hughes Cannon Trading Card (from Utah Women Making History trading card deck)
• Better Days 2020 video about Martha Hughes Cannon

• Have students act as the Architect of the Capitol.  Have them respond to the following prompt: how would you relocate statues in the collection so that more women are in the Capitol itself, not just the visitors center? As students consider this question, turn your classroom into the Capitol Complex, designating specific areas of the classroom to represent the different areas where the National Statuary Hall Collection is displayed (Statuary Hall, Visitors Center, etc). Have students use everyday classroom objects (counting sticks,  pencils, crayons, etc.) to represent each statue, and move the items to different locations in the class.
• Have students use modeling clay/salt dough to create their own statue of Martha Hughes Cannon.

Online Resources about the National Statuary Hall Collection

• Virtual Capitol Tour (www.visitthecapitol.gov) 9:50 shows National Statuary Hall and discusses issues debated in Old Hall of the U.S. House of Representatives throughout the 1800’s 15:25 talks about expansion of capitol and establishment of National Statuary Hall
• Digital database of statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection, courtesy of www.aoc.gov. The office of the Architect of the Capitol oversees all the Capitol Grounds and Buildings. They have a web page specifically about the National Statuary Hall Collection, where students can learn about all 100 statues and where they are located on the Capitol campus.  Additional pictures, virtual tours, and informational articles about the Capitol can also be found on their website.
• The office of the Architect of the Capitol “Rules for Replacement of Statues” PDF
• Capitol Center Visitor’s Guide PDF
• Capitol Building and Grounds PDF courtesy of www.govinfo.gov.  This PDF is very detailed and lengthy, but includes images of the layout of each floor in the Capitol Building.

Children's Books and other Literature About U.S. Capitol

• “The United States Capitol” by Holly Karapetkova (p 16-17 discuss National Statuary Hall, with pictures of the Brigham Young Statue.)
• “The U.S. Capitol: Introducing Primary Sources” by Kathryn Clay, part of the Smithsonian Little Explorers series
• “Vinnie and Abraham” by Dawn Fitzgerald, tells the story of Vinnie Ream, a talented sculptor whose statue of Abraham Lincoln sits in the U.S. Capitol. Vinnie was the first female artist to have her work displayed in the Capitol.
• National Geographic vol 125, no. 1, January 1964 (includes a fold out illustration of the interior of the Capitol). Visitors Guide to the Capitol Visitors Center