N.K. Silverman
Honors U.S. History
NAME________________________________
DATE DUE____________________________
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY
GENERAL DIRECTIONS:
It is sometime in the second half of the nineteenth century. You are going to design a town. By the beginning of the
twenty-first century, this town will be one of the largest cities in the United States. You are going to show how it grew so
large. You are to base your design on facts, but you are to use your imagination to answer the questions marked with an
asterisk (*). Remember that the information must be based on the historical facts you have gathered. BE
IMAGINATIVE BUT ACCURATE!!!!!!!!!! FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY. Part of your grade
will be based on how closely you follow the instructions. Do a rough draft. Do not write on this packet until you
have completed and corrected your rough draft. Duplicate packets will not be given out. DO NOT COPY FROM
ANY SOURCE. YOUR TOWN/CITY MUST NOT BE A REAL PLACE. IT WILL BE IN A REAL LOCATION,
BUT THE CITY ITSELF IS FICTIONAL, ALTHOUGH HISTORICALLY ACCURATE. Remember, when the
instructions refer to the “town,” then the time is the nineteenth century; when they refer to the “city,” it is this
year. Your town may have been founded before the nineteenth century, but your project will show a “snapshot” of
life in the town in a particular year in the second half of the nineteenth century. The final project counts nine
grades.
SOURCES: Some sources that you may find helpful are listed below. You are encouraged to use additional sources.
Some parts of the project require you to use certain Internet sources. You may add information from other sources, but
you must include a Xerox copy of the source used (i.e., if you use a map with symbols, include a copy of the map.)
1. The American Vision: Use the textbook. Of particular help will be the maps, charts, and graphs.
2. Internet sources:
a. Climate: www.cdc.noaa.gov/USclimate
b. General information on the states: www.50states.com
c. Natural resources and agriculture: www.worldalmanacforkids.com/explore
1. Click on “states.”
2. Click on your state.
3. Click on “economy.”
4. Print the paragraph sections on agriculture, forestry, fishing, and mining.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: This should be the last page of your project. Below are the formats that you should use. List the
sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name. If there is no author, then include the entry in the alphabetical list
by the first word of the entry. At the end of each entry include, in brackets[ ], the number of each question for which you
used that source.
BOOK: Last name, first. Title. place of publication: publisher’s name, date of publication [Question numbers]
ENCYCLOPEDIA: Last name, first. “Title of Article.” Title. place of publication: publisher’s name, date of
publication. [Question numbers]
INTERNET: Last name, first. “Title of Article.” URL address. date of creation. date of access. [Question numbers]
(URL address, date of access, and question numbers are mandatory.)
CHECKLIST
(Place your work in this order.)
Packet State Flag—VI; 5 Essay on Founding—XI; 2
Step One—graded/revised Town Plan—VII Essay on History of the City—
Economy Printout—Step I Essay on Major Industry—IX; 1 XI; 3
State Map—I Map of the U.S.: labeled—X City Plan—XII
Climate Printout—II Timeline—XI; 1 Bibliography
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THE TOWN
*NAME OF THE TOWN: _________________________________________
YEAR FOUNDED: _____________________ YEAR OF 19TH CENTURY “SNAPSHOT”:___________________
I. LOCATION: Select your state carefully. The geographic features will determine what kind of place your
town/city will be. Draw, trace, Xerox, print, or buy a relief map of your state which
shows the actual geographic features—mountains, rivers, lakes, etc. Place a RED star
showing the location of your town. Label the town’s fresh water supply.
STATE: __________________________________________________________
WATER SOURCE: _________________________________________________
II. CLIMATE: Print out the information on climate from the following source and use it to answer the questions
listed below. Include the printout with your project.
a. Go to www.cdc.noaa.gov/USclimate
b. Click on “Point and Click climate information.” Select the appropriate connection speed.
c. Click on your state.
d. Click on the city which is closest to the location of your town/city.
e. Print the graphs and necessary information.
1. Average annual rainfall: ___________________________________
2. Average annual snowfall: _________________________________
3. Average temperature for each month. (Use the black line on the appropriate graph.)
Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
High
Low
4. Any special weather conditions: _______________________________________________________
III. POPULATION: Use round numbers. Total population should be less than 2000.
*1. How many people currently live in the town? ______________________________
*2. How many of them are new immigrants to the U.S.? ________________________
3. Countries of origin. (Be sure to choose countries that actually supplied immigrants at that time and to that part of
the United States.)
1. ________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________
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IV. INCOME: Most of the information about your town’s sources of income is in Step One. Be sure that all
information is consistent with Step One and has been corrected, if necessary.
1. What is your town’s major industry? (See Step One) _____________________________________________
V. FOOD: Be sure to include all food items that are necessary for a balanced diet.
A. List FIVE food products (crops and livestock) that are grown in the area of your town. (See Step One)
1. ____________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________
B. List FIVE food products which are NOT grown in the area of your town, but which the town needs.
FOOD PRODUCT STATE IN WHICH IT IS GROWN METHOD OF
TRANSPORTATION
VI. STATE FACTS: Answer the following questions about your state.
1. In what year was the state admitted to the union? ______________________________
2. What is the state capital? __________________________________________________
3. What is the state motto? ______________________________________________________________
4. What are the state flower and tree? ______________________________________________________
5. Draw, print, Xerox, or buy a picture of the state flag.
VII. *TOWN PLAN:
Draw a plan or build a model of your town. It must include all of the places mentioned above, plus houses, shops,
hotels, saloons (optional), waterways, railroad station, and anything else you feel is appropriate. There might be a
doctor’s office, jail, town hall, and/or church/temple. You should be drawing individual buildings, not whole areas.
If you have farms or mines, they should be included. You might not show them in their entirety, but indicate them
with an arrow or show them continuing off the plan. Be sure that the size of all items is proportionately correct, i.e.,
farms larger than houses. BE COMPLETE AND IMAGINATIVE.
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THE CITY
It is now the beginning of the twenty-first century. What happened to the town to turn it into a major city? The next
pages will answer that question. Location, climate, food sources, and natural resources will stay the same.
VIII. POPULATION: Total population should be between three and five million people. The last four digits of
each number should be zero.
*1. How many people live in this city? ______________________________________
2. Calculate the population of the city if no one had moved into the town.
a. Town population (III; 1) _________________________________
b. Subtract “snapshot” year at top of page 2 from the current year. __________
c. Divide VIII; 2;b by 20. (round to next highest whole number) ________________________
d. Count down that many lines on the figure below. Cross out any extra lines at the bottom. If you have more
than five lines, cross out the line(s) at the top so that you only have five. Add the numbers that are left in the
column ______________________. (This figure is based on 20-year generations, each person having two
children and the people dying when over 80.)
1
2
4
8
16
32
64
128
e. Multiply VIII; 2;a by VIII; 2;d _________________________________
3. How many people immigrated to your city? __________________________ (Subtract VIII; 2;e from VIII; 1. This
figure includes future generations born to immigrants.)
*4. Fill in the table below to indicate the number of immigrants from other countries and other parts of the United States
who have come to live in your city. Remember to use historically accurate places of origin and round numbers.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN NUMBER STATE OF ORIGIN NUMBER
SUBTOTAL SUBTOTOAL
5. Add the subtotals: ____________________________________________. This figure should equal VIII; 3.
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IX. INCOME: Remember that cities exist for a reason. Refer back to Step One. Be sure new information is consistent
with Step One.
*1. Describe what has happened to the major industry in your town [IV; 2]. Your answer should be approximately one
typed, double-spaced page, in essay form. Include the answers to such questions as:
a. Did the industry expand or die out? Why?
b. Did the product evolve into something else?
c. What did it evolve into?
d. Why did it evolve?
e. Is there a new major industry? [Step One #9] If so, why?
f. How many people now work in the major industry?
g. How has the passage of time affected this industry?
*2. List the industries, not individual companies, which have developed in your city but are not related to your major
industry. Be sure that if you need a natural resource or crop to produce the item that it is available in your area.
i. ____________________________________________________________________________
ii. ____________________________________________________________________________
iii. ____________________________________________________________________________
iv. ____________________________________________________________________________
v. ____________________________________________________________________________
3. Summary of Employment: Check your math.
a. How many people are unemployed? _______________________________
[30% of VIII; 1. This includes children and retired persons.]
b. How many people are employed? _______________________________
[Subtract IX; 3;a from VIII; 1]
c. How many people are employed in your major industry? _______________________________
[10% of VIII; 1]
d. How many people are employed in the related industries? _______________________________
[30% of VIII; 1]
e. How many people are employed in unrelated industries? _______________________________
[20% of VIII; 1]
f. How many people are employed in miscellaneous jobs? _______________________________
[10% of VIII; 1]
g. Add a + c + d + e + f _______________________________
[Should equal city population (VIII; 1)]
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X. TRANSPORTATION: Draw, trace, Xerox, print out, or buy a map of the United States.
1. Place a RED star showing the location of your city.
2. Label each of the following locations. Be sure to HIGHLIGHT the entire river and other labels.
Chicago Seattle Colorado River
Dallas St. Louis Gulf of Mexico
Houston Washington, D.C. Great Lakes
Los Angeles Rio Grande Pacific Ocean
New Orleans Tennessee River Atlantic Ocean
New York City Ohio River Canada
Omaha Missouri River Mexico
San Francisco Mississippi River
*3. Draw in the major railroad routes (++++++++++++) that connect your city with the cities listed above and
both ends of the rivers that you have labeled on your map. Also connect your city with any other places you have
previously mentioned.
XI. HISTORY OF THE CITY: This part of the project is done on your own paper.
1. Make a chronology or timeline of the history of your state. This should be a list of the major events in the
history of your state. You may print this out from the Internet, but you must state the source at the
bottom of the page. You must edit the list to show just the most important items in the history of the state.
This timeline should be approximately one-typed page.
*2. Tell the story of the founding of the town. Use your imagination but don’t be silly. Remember everything
needs to make sense. This essay should be approximately one-typed, double-page. Answer such questions as:
a. Who founded the town?
b. When?
c. What brought him/her to the area?
d. What made him/her start the major industry?
e. What problems did the founder encounter?
f. What else adds to the story of the founding?
*3. Write a history of your city. This part should be approximately two-typed, double-spaced pages.
Remember to base your essay on history. Be sure to include at least the following information:
a. How did the U.S. acquire the territory in which your town/city is located?
b. How did the town/city handle the slavery question?
c. What were the effects of the Civil War on your town/city?
d. What were the effects of World War I on your town/city?
e. What were the effects of the Great Depression on your town/city?
f. What were the effects of World War II on your town/city?
g. Describe any significant labor disputes that occurred in your town/city.
h. Describe any significant events in the civil rights movement that occurred in your town city.
i. How has immigration changed your town/city?
XII. PLAN OF CITY: Draw or build a plan of your city. Do not draw the individual buildings, only the
areas. Be sure to include:
a. All the industries that exist in your city f. Waterways
b. Various economic levels of housing g. Port
c. Airports h. Civic center
d. Shopping areas i. Railroad stations
e. Major roads j. Anything else you feel is appropriate
YOU ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED TO BE CREATIVE. HOWEVER, YOUR GRADE IS MAINLY
BASED ON HOW HISTORICALLY ACCURATE, COMPLETE, AND NEAT YOUR PROJECT IS. DO NOT
SACRIFICE HISTORICAL ACCURACY FOR CREATIVITY.
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NAME_______________________________
DUE DATE___________________________
STEP ONE
In order to be sure you are on the right track, you will turn in this sheet and the printout from
www.worldalmanacforkids.com (see page 1) on the date listed above. When it is returned to you graded, you are to
make any required corrections. As part of your project, you will again turn in the printout, original Step One, and
corrections. Step I counts one grade.
1. In what state is town town/city located? ____________________________________________________
2. What is the source of fresh water for the town? ______________________________________________
3. In what year was your town founded? _____________________________
4. In what year are you examining your town as part of your project (“snapshot” year)? ______________________
5. Complete the following table based on the information in the printout. Highlight the items you selected on the
printout.
CROPS LIVESTOCK MINERALS/ORES LUMBER FISH/SEAFOOD
(5-8) (3-5) (3-8) (2-5) (3-8)
6. What is the major industry of the town? _________________________________
7. On what item listed in the table in question #5 is that major industry based? ____________________________
8. In one sentence, what happens to the major industry as the town develops into a city?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Is there a new major industry when your town becomes a city? _______ If so, what? ______________________
On what item listed in the table in question #5 is that industry based? ___________________________________
10. Complete the following table based on industries connected to your city’s major industry.
PRODUCT/SERVICE RELATIONSHIP TO MAJOR INDUSTRY
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