Search Results

Keywords: Citizenship

Historical Items

View All Showing 2 of 13 Showing 3 of 13

Item 14142

Citizenship Certificate for Amos F. Barter, 1918

Contributed by: National Archives at Boston Date: 1918-05-02 Location: Bath Media: Paper

  view a full transcription

Item 103850

Americanization class, Portland, 1923

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media Date: 1923-04-27 Location: Portland Media: Glass Negative

Item 135682

City of Portland, Record of Naturalization Papers, 1850–1910

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1850–1910 Location: Portland Media: ink on paper

Online Exhibits

View All Showing 2 of 11 Showing 3 of 11

Exhibit

"Twenty Nationalities, But All Americans"

Concern about immigrants and their loyalty in the post World War I era led to programs to "Americanize" them -- an effort to help them learn English and otherwise adjust to life in the United States. Clara Soule ran one such program for the Portland Public Schools, hoping it would help the immigrants be accepted.

Exhibit

Great War and Armistice Day

In 1954, November 11 became known as Veterans Day, a time to honor American veterans of all wars. The holiday originated, however, as a way to memorialize the end of World War I, November 11, 1918, and to "perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations." Mainers were involved in World War I as soldiers, nurses, and workers on the homefront aiding the military effort.

Exhibit

A Convenient Soldier: The Black Guards of Maine

The Black Guards were African American Army soldiers, members of the segregated Second Battalion of the 366th Infantry sent to guard the railways of Maine during World War II, from 1941 to 1945. The purpose of the Black Guards' deployment to Maine was to prevent terrorist attacks along the railways, and to keep Maine citizens safe during the war.

Site Pages

View All Showing 2 of 4 Showing 3 of 4

Site Page

Portland Press Herald Glass Negative Collection - "Twenty Nationalities, But All Americans"

"… provided coursework in the English language and citizenship before, this effort, led by veteran teacher Clara L."

Site Page

Biddeford History & Heritage Project - Biddeford's Movers & Shakers

"… American Revolution to recent history -- giving just a taste of the city's richly varied citizenship. Click on a name at right to find out more!"

Site Page

Maine Central Institute

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

My Maine Stories

View All Showing 2 of 3 Showing 3 of 3

Story

From Chinese Laundress to Mother of the Year
by Dr. Andrea Louie

Toy Len Goon's granddaughter recounts her immigration to the US and becoming Mother of the Year.

Story

How the first chapter Veterans for Peace was founded in Maine
by Doug Rawlings

Veterans for Peace was founded in Maine and is now an international movement

Story

Vietnam Memoirs
by David Chessey

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND MY OBSERVATION OF NATIONWIDE OPINIONS CONCERNING THE “VIET NAM" WAR

Lesson Plans

View All Showing 2 of 19 Showing 3 of 19

Lesson Plan

Longfellow Studies: Longfellow Amongst His Contemporaries - The Ship of State DBQ

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Social Studies
Preparation Required/Preliminary Discussion: Lesson plans should be done in the context of a course of study on American literature and/or history from the Revolution to the Civil War. The ship of state is an ancient metaphor in the western world, especially among seafaring people, but this figure of speech assumed a more widespread and literal significance in the English colonies of the New World. From the middle of the 17th century, after all, until revolution broke out in 1775, the dominant system of governance in the colonies was the Navigation Acts. The primary responsibility of colonial governors, according to both Parliament and the Crown, was the enforcement of the laws of trade, and the governors themselves appointed naval officers to ensure that the various provisions and regulations of the Navigation Acts were executed. England, in other words, governed her American colonies as if they were merchant ships. This metaphorical conception of the colonies as a naval enterprise not only survived the Revolution but also took on a deeper relevance following the construction of the Union. The United States of America had now become the ship of state, launched on July 4th 1776 and dedicated to the radical proposition that all men are created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights. This proposition is examined and tested in any number of ways during the decades between the Revolution and the Civil War. Novelists and poets, as well as politicians and statesmen, questioned its viability: Whither goes the ship of state? Is there a safe harbor somewhere up ahead or is the vessel doomed to ruin and wreckage? Is she well built and sturdy or is there some essential flaw in her structural frame?

Lesson Plan

Bicentennial Lesson Plan

Maine in the News: World War I Newspaper Project

Grade Level: 9-12 Content Area: Social Studies
This lesson plan is designed to introduce students to the important role that Maine played in World War I. Students will act as investigators in order to learn about the time period as well as the active role that Maine took on.

Lesson Plan

Bicentennial Lesson Plan

Becoming Maine: The Votes for Statehood

Grade Level: 3-5 Content Area: Social Studies
Maine became a state in 1820 after separating from Massachusetts, but the call for statehood had begun long before the final vote. Why did it take so long? Was 1820 the right time? In this lesson, students will begin to place where Maine’s statehood fits into the broader narrative of 18th and 19th century American political history. They will have the opportunity to cast their own Missouri Compromise vote after learning about Maine’s long road to statehood.