Fourth Grade Social Studies

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Fourth Grade Social Studies

• Paintings Depicting the History of Missouri

To go to Activity One
To go to Teacher Page
Sandra White, Jana
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Teacher Page Fourth Grade Social Studies Content
Standards Addressed The student will
demonstrate a knowledge of continuity and change
in the history of Missouri. Presentation Tips
Inform the students that these are paintings by
famous Missourians Thomas Hart Benton and George
Caleb Bingham. The paintings are the artists
depictions of life in Missouri in the 1800s.
Have them record their responses in their
journals. Discuss their responses with them
after they have had adequate time to write. There
are suggested responses on the page following
each activity. Answers may vary.
Back
Forward
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Examine the painting carefully. Is this picture
in the past or the present? How can you tell?
What important event is occurring in the
painting? Why is the event important?
Thomas Hart Benton
Click the palette to see sample responses.
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Suggested Responses to Activity One The painting
is in the past because the people are wearing old
clothing. The road does not appear to be paved.
It looks like a dirt road. A black and white
picture could be in the past or the present so
that should not be a determining factor. The
painting is showing the river flooding. Flooding
is a natural occurrence of the Mississippi River.
Flooding changes the surface of the land. It
adds nutrients to the soil.
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Examine the painting carefully. What important
form of transportation is depicted? Explain why
this form of transportation was so important in
the development of cities along the Mississippi
River.
Click to see response.
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This painting depicts famous Mark Twain
characters along the Mississippi River. The form
of transportation is a steamboat. After the
advent of the steamboat travel up and down the
river became much faster and easier. People
could transport their goods in a more efficient
manner. Therefore people chose to locate their
cities along the rivers. St. Louis began as a
trading post. Before the invention of the steam
engine, boats such as keelboats and flatboats
could travel down the river with their goods, but
they had to be dismantled at the end of their
journey because it was too difficult and
impractical to attempt to travel back up the
river.
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George Caleb Bingham The County Election
Click here.
What does this painting tell you about voting in
Missouri in the 1850s?
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The students should notice that there are no
women voting nor any people of color. This
election was prior to the womens suffrage
movement and African Americans at that time did
not have the right to vote either. They should
also notice that the voting does not appear to be
a private matter in an isolated booth as it is
today.
The End!