Kansas
Kaleidoscope
December 2008/January 2009Real People. Real Stories. For kids! 
Welcome to Kansas Mr. President
This issue of Kaleidoscope shows you how to be a historian, or history detective. You will look for clues and learn to “read” them to learn about the past. For Parents and Teachers: Every presidential election is important to our country. As the first African American president soon takes his seat in the White House, we reflect on the president who helped free enslaved African Americans many years ago. Presidential history includes exciting stories that reflect our country’s values at the time. Learning about Kansas connections to these American leaders helps bring this history into our own lives. This issue addresses fourth grade history standard: Benchmark 4, Indicator 1: student understands the significance of important individuals and major developments in history. Countdown to Statehood Students of Lombard College at Galesburg, Illinois, gave this banner
to Abraham Lincoln on October 7, 1858. Lincoln’s fifth presidential
debate with U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas was held at Galesburg that
evening. Lincoln later gave the banner to Mark Delahay of Leavenworth,
a relative by marriage. Today this banner is in the collection of the
Kansas Historical Society, Topeka. Presidents & Kansas Our country elected a new president on November 4, 2008. Barack Obama will take the oath of office on January 20, 2009, to become the 44th president of the United States of America. Lincoln in Kansas Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He was elected in 1860 just before Kansas became a state. Lincoln is known as one of the greatest presidents of our country. Kansas Joins the Union When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, southern slave states were not happy. They were worried Lincoln would make slavery illegal. They reacted by seceding, or leaving, the United States.
In 1864 Abraham Lincoln was reelected president. Unfortunately, he would not live to serve his entire term. Reflecting on Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln is known as one of the greatest presidents of our country. Why was Lincoln’s presidency so important? Worlds Apart: Worlds Connected s America elected its first African American president this past November,
comparisons were already being made between Barack Obama and Abraham
Lincoln. The Man From Abilene The only United States president to call Kansas home was actually born in Texas. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the 34th president (1953-1961). Presidential Visits You’ve already learned of Abraham Lincoln’s visit to Kansas. Many other presidents have made trips to our great state. Several others visited either before or after they became president. Has a president ever visited your town? History Lab
Story Starters Welcome to a new section of Kansas Kaleidoscope! We want your help in writing stories that relate to our topics in each issue. Below we offer story starters for our four remaining issues. Please write a story and submit it to us either by email or mail and limit your story to 350 words or less. We’ll pick one to print in each issue. Basketball is popular in Kansas because... Read what students have written for Story Starters for this issue. In This Issue: |
|
||||
 |
Victory
and Loss
This
year Kansas Kaleidoscope asked fourth graders from Topeka to help with
History Lab. Their assignment was to visit our collections website and
use primary sources to write a story related to this issue about presidents.
You can try it, too, by visiting 
