Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural

National Historic Site

A Note to Teachers and Educators

In 1966 the National Park Service declared the Ansley Wilcox Home, at 641 Delaware Avenue, a National Historic Site. Since that time, the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site has worked together with community organizations and government agencies to provide exceptional educational services to the students and teachers of Western New York. As the only National Park Service site within 125 miles of Buffalo, our curriculum-based programs reflect the high standards of excellence in education and interpretation established by the National Park Service. Our numerous education / interpretation programs target grades pre-K through twelve by offering a variety of grade-appropriate activities. Our Site staff and volunteers (many of them retired teachers) are professionals who enjoy sharing their knowledge and love of the past with our children, the timekeepers of the present and the historians of the future.

We are in the process of revising our offering for school groups to provide a curriculum-based educational program for the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. We are working to create a package in which the background information, the tour outline for the site visit, and the follow-up activities are all based on the same themes, goals, and objectives. We hope the result will be that the students receive preparation by the teacher, come to see the Roosevelt Inaugural Site, and are tested upon their experiences so that there is a learning situation based on the total experience, which will help the students retain what they have studied and seen.

With the understanding that providing services for educational groups at the Roosevelt Inaugural Site requires considerable time and resources on our part, we are asking the teacher or educational group leader to agree to prepare adequately prior to the group visit. The quality of the student experience during a class visit is greatly enhanced by preparation prior to the site visit. We strongly encourage that prior to your visit the teacher prepares and teaches a unit of one or more sessions, brings the class for the site visit, and performs a follow-up activity to reinforce new learning.

The Educator's web page contains links to information on tour procedures, a mandatory Ground Rules activity, suggested pre-visit and post-visit activities and additional background information and resources for further study. It is also recommended that educators check the link to the Buffalo Alliance for Education's Field Trip Fund, to see if you would be able to obtain low-cost transportation to the site.

We will work with you to accommodate your needs and requirements. If you have any questions at all, or if you would like to make tour reservations, please do not hesitate to call us at (716) 884-0095.

Listed here are the themes, goals and objectives that we have selected, and will form the basis of our educational focus:

Themes:

• The circumstances of the assassination of President William McKinley and the inauguration of Theodore Roosevelt in Buffalo in September of 1901.
• The importance of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency as a major turning point in American history.
• Life of a typical upper class American family, such as Theodore Roosevelt or the Wilcox family, at the turn of the 20th century.
• Technology and inventions available in the American home of the early 20th century, and the impact they had on life at the time.

Goals:

• To assist students in beginning to understand how unexpected events can produce profound and lasting consequences in the course of history.
• To assist students in beginning to understand how the United States Constitution provides for a smooth transfer of power in times of crisis.
• To assist students in beginning to understand life of a typical upper class American family, such as Theodore Roosevelt or the Wilcox family, at the turn of the 20th century.

Objectives:

At the end of the program, students will be able to:

• Identify when and where Theodore Roosevelt became president.
• Identify the circumstances that led Theodore Roosevelt to become president in Buffalo in 1901.
• Describe Theodore Roosevelt's 1901 inauguration, and how it differed from the typical presidential inauguration. Define "inauguration."
• Describe the lifestyle of a typical upper class American family, such as Theodore Roosevelt or the Wilcox family, at the turn of the 20th century, and discuss how it was different from the students' lives today.
• Identify examples of technology available to a typical upper class American family, such as Theodore Roosevelt or the Wilcox family, at the turn of the 20th century, and discuss how they made life different from the students' lives today.

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