Lindsay+Cumbea+-+Disease

=** ClassWorks 3 - SCIM-C Plantation Letters -Disease **=

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 * Source 1: **
 * 1)  Source/Description:
 * 1)  Letter from Mr P.C. Cameron to his father 9/5/1844, who was in Petersburg Virginia
 * 1)  What does the source definitely tell us?
 * 1)  Anne is suffering in her teeth and gums, Like Mr. Cameron has. Little Mary has a sickness in her head that will make her lose her hair. Several slaves have been sick, but with minor illnesses that were easily remedied. He received word that uncle and Mildred are feeling better, but he didn’t get a letter from Mildred like he was expecting. They are expecting a shipment of leather to make shoes. Mr. Ruffin will return on the 21st of September from the north. They don’t have much cotton or corn to collect, and they can’t yet grow grain because they’re desperate for rain. His father's friend, Judge Nash, had a fever but is recovering. 4 members of the legislature have passed, all Whigs.
 * 1)  What does the source suggest?
 * 1)  The source suggests that they are looking to buy land up north and Mr. Ruffin is helping to make that happen. They haven’t had enough rain to have good crops in the last several months, so they’re a little behind. He is urgently needing leather to make clothing, as they only have 2 more months to get it done but can’t without supplies.
 * 1)  What does the source not tell us?
 * 1)  Why are they potentially buying land in New York? Who is Mr. Ruffins connections and why are they important? What sickness/ disease is going around?
 * 1)  What else would I be able to find out?
 * 1)  What other sicknesses are going around and how they’re being treated.
 * 1)  What questions do I now need to ask?
 * 1)  What is the sickness in Little Mary’s head? Are the slaves actually better or being forced to work despite their ailments?

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 * Source 2: **
 * 1)  Source/Description:
 * 1)  Letter from Charles Lewellyn to Mr. P.C. Cameron 8/1/1845
 * 1)  What does the source definitely tell us?
 * 1)  Since Mr. Ruffin left, 2 people have died, a Peter and a William. William had the cramp colick and it killed him fast, while Peter had the congestive fever. 10 others are sick. The corn crop is really good, but the cotton crop is indifferent. Joe’s health has improved, Henderson is no better. There aren’t any hands in the house because it’s not safe.
 * 1)  What does the source suggest?
 * 1)  There’s no hands in the house because they don’t want to spread disease. He has put of 52 something of fodder and will put up 20 more, which might be something to help keep the environment sanitary.
 * 1)  What does the source not tell us?
 * 1)  The source doesn’t tell us what cramp colick or congestive fever is. What the other 10 are sick with. What’s wrong with Joe and Henderson? Who is Joe and Henderson?
 * 1)  What else would I be able to find out?
 * 1)  What the diseases are and who Joe and Henderson are. Where Mr. Ruffin is and when he left.
 * 1)  What questions do I now need to ask?
 * 1)  How long ago did Mr. Ruffin leave? Is that a normal amount of sick people and deaths? Is anything being done to help them?

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 * Source 3: **
 * 1)  Source/Description:
 * 1)  Letter to Mr. P.C. Cameron from Charles Lewellyn. 6/25/1846
 * 1)  What does the source definitely tell us?
 * 1)  Charles had a good crop of corn, but the cotton wasn’t as great. No one else's cotton was real good either. He has a potato and tobacco crop but he isn’t sure how those will turn out yet. Peggy has been really sick but is getting better. Eaton has the dropsy according to the doctor, Aggy’s child is sick and so is Diley’s.
 * 1)  What does the source suggest?
 * 1)  No one really knows what’s wrong with Eaton. The tobacco and potato crops will probably not be great.
 * 1)  What does the source not tell us?
 * 1)  What dropsy is, who Aggy and Diley are and what is wrong with their children. Who peggy is and what was wrong with her.
 * 1)  What else would I be able to find out?
 * 1)  What’s dropsy? Who’s Peggy?
 * 1)  What questions do I now need to ask?
 * 1)  Who are these people and what are the illnesses plaguing them?

Source 4: > >> > >> > >> > >> > >>
 * 1)  Source/Description:
 * 1)  Letter to Mr. P.C. Cameron from Charles Lewellyn 9/21/1846
 * 1)  What does the source definitely tell us?
 * 1)  Old Simon was taken sick on Thursday and died on Friday night. He died of congestive chill. 4 more have gotten sick and come into the house, on top of 6 already there. None of them are very sick yet, but the disease is very sporadic so he doesn’t know how it will go. People are dying everywhere that he knows of. He assures Mr. Cameron he is doing everything he can for the sick. He has packed 50 bales of cotton and thinks 10 of seed.
 * 1)  What does the source suggest?
 * 1)  The source suggests that the sickness is uncertain and many are dying all over the place. Doctors aren’t actually helpful and don’t know much more about the diseases than commoners. It also suggests they are trying to prevent it from spreading by keeping the sick people away from the rest.
 * 1)  What does the source not tell us?
 * 1)  What everyone is sick with and how they’re trying to treat it.
 * 1)  What else would I be able to find out?
 * 1)  What questions do I now need to ask?

Source 5: > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > >>
 * 1)  Source/Description:
 * 1)  Letter to Mr. Cameron from Dr. Ring 9/23-1846
 * 1)  What does the source definitely tell us?
 * 1)  Dr. Ring is asking Mr. Cameron to send cotton to Captain Oliver’s warehouse. Charles said he’d happily do it with Mr. Cameron’s permission. He has 4 patients currently at Mr. Cameron’s plantation. When he left that day, 3 were convalescing and 1 was getting better. He was called to see a large black man named Limon, who was found dying. Charles did everything he could though, but Limon had 2 chills. Charles gave him some medicine and he seemed better, but then he collapsed. Charles had blistered and stimulated him and done all he could before Dr. Ring got there that night, but Limon died the following morning.
 * 1)  What does the source suggest?
 * 1)  It suggests he has entirely cured “Eaton” in slaves on the plantation. It also suggests that they don’t know very much about diseases and proper medical care, despite their wealth. The illnesses strike fast and are relatively untreatable to their knowledge, yet some get better and others die.
 * 1)  What does the source not tell us?
 * 1)  What illnesses the others had. Why some are getting better and others aren’t. What the treatments are.
 * 1)  What else would I be able to find out?
 * 1)  What some of the common ailments are, how they spread, and what is done for them.
 * 1)  What questions do I now need to ask?
 * 1)  What are these diseases and why are they so prevalent?

Claim Diseases are widespread and mostly untreatable, especially in slaves. Doctors don’t know much more about them than commoners do, and by the time they can get to some of the rural plantations, it’s too late to try. As someone largely in charge of other slaves, it is their duty to try and help revitalize any of those who are sick, and to keep them quarantined from the rest.

Pedagogical Implications Using this tool for students would be fun, but might be challenging for them. They’d need to see an example or two modeled before they’d probably feel comfortable doing it themselves, and I think allowing them to have a partner would help. Using a more straightforward worksheet, at least in the beginning, would be helpful for them to see the steps and work their way through each section. I liked using the letters as a way to gain information, and I think that would be a cool thing to do with student, or maybe a diary in a language arts class. Trying to piece together who the names belong to and their importance in a diary would be fun, and they might be able to make their own diaries for others to SCIM-C on as a project of some sort.