Made In Alabama: A State Legacy

An episode of The Alabama Experience television series

STUDY GUIDE

Suggested Grade Levels:

5-10. This program would be appropriate for history, social studies or arts classes. It would be especially helpful for units on early Alabama history.

The program runs 26 minutes, forty seconds. The accompanying musical selections are primarily Alabama-written pieces dating from the late-19th to early 20th century.

INTRODUCTION

The program, Made in Alabama: A State Legacy is based on a travelling art exhibition of the same name. Commissioned by the Birmingham Museum of Art, this landmark exhibition culminated in 1995, after nine years of searching the state's public and private collections of early Alabama artwork. The search uncovered the work of numerous, previously unknown Alabama artisans and brought to light a wealth of new information about the cultural and social history of the state. By and large, the artifacts produced by these artisans were made out of necessity to make homes more comfortable and to facilitate food production, serving and storage. Clearly, though, the products of small-scale, rural, home-centered operations nevertheless reflect the attention paid to both current styles and local traditions.

OBJECTIVE

The program is designed to help the viewer gain insight into the lives of everyday Alabamians prior to and immediately following the Civil War. Contrary to the "Gone With the Wind" Southern myth, average Alabamians were neither terribly poor nor abundantly wealthy; rather, most were middle class farmers, merchants or craftsmen who created objects of art from the necessities of daily life. This program uses those objects of "material art" to introduce the viewer to a number of early Alabama artists, and to better imagine what their lives were like.

PRE-TEST

Before viewing, ask your students to look for the answers to these questions as they watch the program, and to be ready for discussion after viewing.

What kind of objects might you see in an elaborate 19-century Alabama portrait? Why might the person in the painting want to have those objects in the picture? (Examples: fancy furniture; a nice horse and carriage, a musical instrument. / These were used to depict a subject's wealth or personal interests -- particularly important since portraits were the only way to visually remember people after their death.)
Why don't we find much slave artwork today? (Because the items they produced were made to be used. Since they were not generally respected for their craftsmanship, they were used up and/or worn out.)
Name the former slave who became one of Alabama's best-known bridge-builders. Name another building on which he worked. (Horace King. / Bryce Hospital or the Alabama Capitol.)
Most Alabamians before the Civil War were rich plantation owners. True or False? (False. Most were middle class people.)
What skill did every Alabama woman learn in the 1800s? (sewing) List some common uses for pottery. (Preserve jars; medicine containers; milk pitchers; buttermilk churns; pottery ant defenders.)
What makes the combination of things found in the Cooper family collection so important? (Because there are so many different kinds of ordinary items that were preserved before they were used up, and because the man who made most of them kept an unusually complete diary.)
Since Daniel Snow's sewing table is so fancy, why was it not for sale? (Because it took far too much time to make -- it was only that elaborate because it was a gift of love for his sister.)

ACTIVITIES AFTER THE VIEWING

Review pre-test.

Have students discuss why quilts were important. Begin with the obvious discussion of their being necessary for warmth; that they had to be made thicker in north Alabama because temperatures there were colder, etc. Then discuss how they were artistic expressions for women, who might not otherwise be able to attend art classes or have other formal education. On a piece of paper, have students (particularly younger grades) design/color their own "quilt squares."
Encourage students to keep a journal. Ask them to keep daily records for at least one week, even if the notations are only one or two lines, and review them at the end of the week. Have them begin in class by writing the first day's entry. Discuss whether they would find it interesting to read their parents' journals, or if they think it would be important to keep diaries for their own children to one day read.
Have each student list what objects he or she would want in a portrait of themselves. Why are those items important to them?
Ask students to role-play a "day in the life" of Narcissa and Frederick Cooper. Review ways in which they helped each other every day -- i.e. Fred making a chalkboard for Narcissa; Narcissa stitching a shirt for Fred. Remind them how everyday activities required more work due to the lack of modern-day conveniences.
Give students a number of materials: paper clips, rubber bands, glue, paper, buttons, cloth, thread, etc. Ask them to try and make something they could use for a specific purpose.

VOCABULARY

agrarian: of, relating to, or characteristic of the farmer or his way of life
antebellum: literally, pre-war. in this case, existing prior to the Civil War.
aristocracy: government in which power is vested in a small governing class
artisan: one who is trained in a skill or a trade
ingenuity: skill or cleverness in creating or designing
"plantation myth": idea that most Southerners prior to the Civil War were rich landowners who owned slaves.
textile: a woven or knit cloth.

Produced by Shannon Livingston Liptak at The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio, Box 870150, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, 1-800-463-8825.

For additional information about using these materials in your classroom, contact Alabama Public Television Educational Services, 1-800-239-5233.

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