Assign students to write a minimum 600-word analytical essay on the real Billy the Kid to include the facts and myths associated with him. A bibliography and documentation are required. Students must use a minimum of three interviews from the American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940. The primary accounts should be compared/contrasted with accounts from a printed source by one or more respected writers such as Jon Tuska, Joseph G. Rosa, Robert M. Utley, Marshall Fishwick, Stephen Tatum, etc. Suggested sources are listed on the "Writing Assignment" handout.
This lesson relates to the westward movement in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Students analyze the role that gunfighters played in the settlement of the West and distinguish between their factual and fictional accounts using American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940.
Billy the Kid alias, William H. Bonney, alias Henry McCarty, alias Kid Antrim, etc. is an example of the typical gunfighter. He was born in the 1850s and died in 1881 when he was shot by Sheriff Pat Garrett. Billy serves as the focus of the lesson.
- Discussion
Provide students with a brief summary of the historical time period from the 1870s to the 1890s. The following sources can be used by the teacher and/or students to give some background information on gunfighters and Billy the Kid:
- Flaherty, Thomas H., ed. The Wild West. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1993.
- Rosa, Joseph G. The Gunfighter: Man or Myth? Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.
- Rosa, Joseph G. Age of the Gunfighter: Men and Weapons on the Frontier. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.
- Trachtman, Paul. The Gunfighters. Alexandria, Va: Time-Life Books, 1974.
- Utley, Robert M. Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
- Utley, Robert M. High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.
- Analysis of two descriptions of Billy the Kid
Use the following passages as examples of the difficulties that historians face when they are trying to determine what really happened when the West was settled. Which of the following passages "captures" the real "Billy the Kid"? Why?
"One of Billy the Kid's guards - Ollinger - was eating dinner at Mr. Thornton's hotel when he heard the 'Kid's' shot that killed Bell, the other guard. On running from the dining room Ollinger, at a call from Billy the Kid looked up and received a volley of shots from his own gun that he had left leaning against the wall at the jail. With both guards killed within two or three minutes' time Billy the Kid ordered his shackles sawed off by the jailer, mounted a horse and made his sensational escape." J.Y. Thornton
OR
"I remember good times I had with Billy the Kid. He was not an outlaw in manners - was quiet, but good company always doing something interesting. That was why he had so many friends. We often raced horses together. He was not very large - weighed a hundred and twenty five or thirty pounds. He was a fine rider." Charles L. Ballard
Part II: Introduction to American Memory
- Take students to the computer lab or library (technology center) or bring some computers with Internet access to your classroom.
- Have students find American Memory.
- Explain the organization of American Memory and have students search various collections such as:
- Students should then be directed to American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1940 .
- Illustrate how to search and use the documents by modeling a search using words such as Billy the Kid, immigrants, Lincoln County, etc.
Part III: Analyzing Primary Documents
- Give each student a copy of Analyzing Primary Documents, or have students view the document via the Internet. After students have read the document, discuss various aspects of the guidelines.
- Have students find American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940 and do a search for Billy the Kid.
- Direct students to find the interview titled "Interview with Jose Garcia y Trujillo" (or provide photocopies of the interview if students do not have access to the Internet.)
- Assign students to read the interview and answer one or more of the questions listed under each of the subheadings on Analyzing Primary Documents.
- Review student answers with the class and note their ability to analyze historical documents.
- Analyzing Primary Documents
- Interview with Jose Garcia y Trujillo
Part IV: Conducting and Using Oral Interviews
- Give each student a copy of Conducting and Using Oral Interviews, or have students access the document via the Internet.
- After students have read the document, discuss various aspects of the guidelines with the students.
- Have students find the American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940 and do a search for Billy the Kid.
- Direct students to find the interview titled "Dr. J.R. Carver" (or provide photocopies of the interview if students do not have access to the Internet.)
- Have students read the interview and answer the following questions listed on Conducting and Using Oral Interviews.
Key points to stress:
- What was the interviewee's perspective of Billy? (Examine #2)
- Did the interviewee's account of Billy's death agree with the traditional historical account? (Evaluate #2)
- What aspects of Dr. Carver's statements are fact and which are opinion? Is his opinion of any value if you are trying to determine the circumstances that led to Billy the Kid's death? (Determine Its Usefulness #2; #4; #5)
- Conducting and Using Oral Interviews
- Interview with Dr. J.R. Carver
Objectives
After completing this unit students will be able to:
- develop techniques to analyze primary sources;
- become aware of effective interview techniques;
- enhance computer technology skills;
- assess the significance of the contributions of the gunfighter to the settlement of the West;
- develop a holistic, multidisciplinary perception of the progression of the settlement of the West; and
- become familiar with the American Memory collections and learn how to use them effectively when doing historical research.
Procedure
The procedure for this learning experience is composed of the following parts:
Part I: Finding the Real Billy the Kid (one class period) - analyze different perspectives about Billy the Kid
Part II: Introduction to American Memory (one class period) - learn strategies for searching American Memory
Part III: Analyzing Primary Documents (one class period) - learn how to analyze interviews related to Billy the Kid
Part IV: Conducting and Using Oral Interviews (one class period) - analyze several interviews from American Memory related to Billy the Kid
Resources/Materials
American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940
Flaherty, Thomas H., ed. The Wild West. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1993.
Rosa, Joseph G. The Gunfighter: Man or Myth? Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.
Rosa, Joseph G. Age of the Gunfighter: Men and Weapons on the Frontier. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1979.
Trachtman, Paul. The Gunfighters. Alexandria, Va.: Time-Life Books, 1974.
Utley, Robert M. Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1991.
Utley, Robert M. High Noon in Lincoln: Violence on the Western Frontier. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1990.
Extension
- Interview one or more of the following people: college history professor, museum official, officials of a state/local historical society, high school U.S. history teachers, local writers, etc. and compare/contrast their impressions of Billy the Kid with the impressions of selected people who were interviewed for American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940.
- Compare/contrast other gunfighters with Billy the Kid by using interviews from the American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 - 1940. Students can compare/contrast: geographic locations, family background, expertise with weapons, key events in the lives of the gunfighters, personality traits, occupations, cause of death, historical significance, etc. For example, students can perform a word search for Wild Bill Hickok and examine the interviews with "Ed Granthan", "F.J. Elliott" and "John Freeman". These interviews can be compared/contrasted with interviews related to Billy the Kid.
- A social studies teacher and an English/literature teacher can develop an interdisciplinary activity. The English teacher can discuss the mechanics of writing short stories, poems, etc. The social studies teacher could then have students write their own short story, dime store novel, poem, etc. about Billy the Kid. Possible resources: O. Henry's short story about Billy titled "The Caballero's Way"; dime store novels such as Frank Tousey's "The True Life of Billy the Kid", Edmund Fable Jr.'s "Billy the Kid, the New Mexican Outlaw"; Will Henry's "A Bullet for Billy the Kid", a short story contained in his collection titled Sons of the Western Frontier (1966), and Amelia Bean's novel, Time for Outrage (1967).
Duration
Four-to-five class periods
Author
Carol Nickerson and Michael Young
Source
Reproduced from the Library of Congress web site for teachers. Original lesson plan created as part of the Library of Congress American Memory Fellows Program.
