Lesson Plans
[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Scarboro's First Burns Supper ] [ Change In History ]

 

Contact

Community
Studies: Publications

Educational Resources

Historic Sites in Scarborough Heights

Links for Toronto Links

mccowan.org

Scarboro Heights Record

Search This Site

Table of Contents

Sources

 

Immigrant Values: Building a Country

 

The James McCowan Memorial Social History Society
In Cooperation With
The Scarboro Heights Record
Is Pleased to Offer this Extension to our Work with
BBC-Radio Scotland in the Production of Their
Acclaimed Series, "The Lowland Clearances"

 

The classroom lessons outlined below may be used to show that socio-economic change in Lowland Scotland had significant impact on the development of rural Scottish communities in pre-Confederation Canada. This lesson set for history will help students appreciate that Canada's heritage is the sum of the histories of Canada's diverse native and immigrant peoples.

Overall Lesson Theme
Immigrant Values: Building a Country

Grade Level

  • Appropriate for high school students in Grades 11 or 12

Applicable to Courses In

  • World History
  • Canadian History
  • Scottish History
  • Social Studies
  • Community Studies

Topics Addressed

  • Agriculture in Scotland (Communities and Their Development)
  • Socio-economic change (Change and Continuity)
  • Employment trends during economic change (Economic Structures)
  • Evolution of value systems (Chronology and Cause and Effect)
  • Emigration and community-building in Canada (Citizenship and Heritage)
  • Methods of historical inquiry and communication

Nation and Era

  • Scotland 1650-1835
  • Canada 1800-1867

Number of 60-Minute Session-Topics

  • Eight topics to be covered in 60-minute sessions

Student Deliverable

  • A major essay on the topic shown below (2,000-3,000 words)
  • This essay should be the student's only essay for the course and, for marks, should be weighted accordingly
  • See also "Essay Contest Opportunity" below

Essay Topic

  • Discuss the impact of the Agricultural Revolution in Lowland Scotland on the development of rural Scottish communities in pre-Confederation Canada.

Premise and Background

The well-known Industrial Revolution was preceded by the comparatively little-known Agricultural Revolution. It might be argued that the Industrial Revolution may not have happened had profound agricultural change not released a huge labour force for the city factories. On the other hand, it might be argued that radical agricultural change was inevitable, partly because of rural over-population, partly because of Britain's need to finance an expanding empire and partly due to aspects of human nature. The proponents of agricultural reform had a vested interest in widely promoting its successes. Regardless, the Agricultural Revolution had a profound effect on thousands of ordinary people. Many who were displaced from their plots of land emigrated to Canada. The value system of these new Canadians had evolved over several generations. The values that these immigrants brought to Canada were significant factors in the development and success of their new communities and institutions.

Session-Topic Lessons

  1. Introduction and Lowland Scotland 1650-1750
  2. The Land and the People
  3. Modest Progress and Agents of Change
  4. The Agricultural Revolution
  5. Options, Responses and Results
  6. James McCowan: Evolution of His Value System
  7. Rural Scottish Communities in Canada, 1800-1867
  8. Summary -- Net Effects of the Agricultural Revolution

Learning Objectives -- Information Processing

  • To identify, examine, analyze and interpret a variety of un-ordered evidence (inputs)
  • To be critical of input evidence
  • To process information in an orderly fashion for a purpose
  • To formulate a position and articulate an argument around the evidence
  • To output "new and more useful" information for a defined audience -- in essay format 

Learning Objectives -- Building A Country

  • To identify some signs and effects of over-population
  • To identify some of the forces that can initiate socio-economic change
  • To recognize that value systems evolve over time
  • To acknowledge that value systems contribute to community-building

Guest Lecturer

Bruce McCowan, P.Eng, is available (with a month's notice) to give a guest lecture at Greater Toronto area schools on any of the topics in our World History Lesson Plan, "Immigrant Values -- Building a Country".

 

Some Inputs for Lessons
On-Line Sources of Evidence
www.scarboroughrecord.com

1   Introduction and Lowland Scotland 1650-1750

  1. Summaries in the Media: The Lowland Clearances
  2. Economic Significance
  3. Glossary: Old Scottish Terms
  4. Meagre Diet: Cooperative Mini-Economy
  5. Old Boys' Club: Patronage Plums
  6. Protectionism
  7. Monopolies in the Small Towns
  8. Poor Roads: Regional Trade Impeded
  9. Housing

Further Reading Off-Line

  • When the Ground Fails: An Economic Watershed -- p. 11-19
  • The Lowland Clearances: Scotland's Silent Revolution -- p. 13-29

Exercises

 

2   The Land and the People

  1. The Fermtoun Cooperative Economy: Subsistence
  2. The Landed Estates: And Owner-Occupier Farmers
  3. Dependence on the Land: Kindly tenancies -- From Father to Son
  4. Interdependence of the Stakeholders in the Land: Farm "Subsidies"
  5. Moral Standards: The Scot's Kirk and Behaviour
  6. Valuable Building Materials: Re-Use
  7. Age of Enlightenment: Literacy and Cultural Progress
  8. A Farmer's Modest Library: Religion and Scottish History
  9. James McCowan: Collier-Serf, Coalmaster, Farmer
  10. Capitalist in Training: Rise of a Coalmaster
  11. Dramatize an Emigrant's Values: With I Hope a New Face
  12. Rural folk craved a romanticized Scottish past

Further Reading Off-Line

  • To Sustene the Personis: The Agricultural Revolution -- p. 1-5
  • Fairs and Frolics: Scottish Communities at Work and Play -- p. 1-17

Exercises

 

3   Modest Progress and Agents of Change

  1. Land Availability: Over-Population and Sustainable Growth
  2. A Century of Transition: 1700-1800
  3. The Estate Evolves: The Landowner Needs More Income
  4. Dawn of a New Economic Order: Entrepreneurism
  5. The New Math: For the New Cash Economy
  6. Increased Regional Trade: Diet Improvements
  7. Regulating Supply and Price of Food: At Least, Attempts to Regulate...
  8. Pedlars: Unlikely Heroes of the New Economy
  9. Brilliant Minds: And Their Inventions
  10. Individuality and Democracy: The Religious Rural Scots
  11. Progressive Tenants: Expanding their farms
  12. The Tenant Farmers: 1700-1759

Further Reading Off-Line

  • When the Ground Fails: An Economic Watershed -- p. 21-28
  • To Sustene the Personis: The Agricultural Revolution -- p. 8-11

Exercises

 

4   The Agricultural Revolution

  1. Robert Burns: Rise and Fall of a Small Tenant Farmer
  2. Agricultural Revolution: Overview
  3. De-Population: A Landuse Planning Strategy
  4. Your Lease is Up: And Out You Go
  5. Improvement: Terms of a Lease
  6. Work Horses: Valuable Energy for the Farm
  7. Coal and the Improvement Era: Fertilizer, Beautification and Initiative
  8. A Snapshot of Tenant Structure: Stockbriggs Estate
  9. Men of Capital: Intense Competition for Land
  10. New Mode of Land Management: Articles of Lease
  11. Bankruptcy of a Farmer

Further Reading Off-Line

  • When the Ground Fails: An Economic Watershed -- p. 29-32; 37
  • To Sustene the Personis: The Agricultural Revolution -- p. 13-17

Exercises

 

5   Options, Responses and Results

  1. Tenants in Transition: 1760-1790
  2. Coalmining: Cumnock's First Full-Time Colliers
  3. The Millwrights: Engineers of the Industrial Revolution, 1790-1850
  4. Industry: Proposed "Warehouse"
  5. Rural Industrial Pollution: Environmental Damage
  6. Food Banks and Pride
  7. Poverty and the Poor: A Paradoxical Posting
  8. Cost of Food: Protectionist Trade Law
  9. The Weavers: 1791-1840
  10. Weaving: Indenture to Learn the Trade
  11. Daniel Meikle: A Poor and Talented Weaver
  12. Capitalists, Entrepreneurs and Professionals: Of the 19th Century
  13. Dedication to Learning: Leads to Business Success
  14. Risk Management: And Charity
  15. The Last McCowan Farmers in Cumnock: 1841-1900

Further Reading Off-Line

  • When the Ground Fails: An Economic Watershed -- p. 39-47; 49-54; 57-58
  • To Sustene the Personis: The Agricultural Revolution -- p. 20-21
  • The Lowland Clearances: Scotland's Silent Revolution -- p. 51-72; 108-126

Exercises

 

6   James McCowan: Evolution of His Value System

  1. The Coalminers: Fuelling the Industrial Revolution, 1800-1850
  2. An Ambitious Emigrant Mason: Capitalism Takes Hold
  3. To Leave or Not to Leave: Debating their Future in Scotland
  4. The Value of a Connection to Land
  5. Emigration
  6. Before the Sheep: ...There were Sheep
  7. How did Ordinary Lowland Scots Come to Lead the Enlightenment

Further Reading Off-Line

  • To Sustene the Personis: The Agricultural Revolution -- p. 22-28

Exercises

 

7   Rural Scottish Communities in Canada, 1800-1867

  1. Back to the Land: Farmers in Scarborough
  2. The Early Days: Farming communities taking shape
  3. A Tenant Takes a Mortgage
  4. Scottish Heritage Days: Scarborough's Early Scots
  5. Values with Respect to the Land: A Fundamental Notion in the study of the Lowland Clearances
  6. The Canadian Identity
  7. Full Partnership in Society: Leadership roles in new Institutions
  8. A Generation of Immigrants and their Values
  9. An Emigrant's Lament: Longing for "the heathy hill" in Scotland
  10. Alexander Muir: Author of The Maple Leaf Forever
  11. Competition
  12. Lifelong Learning
  13. Honest Toil
  14. Law and Order
  15. Material Wealth
  16. Leadership
  17. Duty to Self and Peers
  18. Faith
  19. Determination
  20. Springbank: Heritage Learning Opportunity
  21. Winners and Losers: A Re-Cap of James McCowan's Career
  22. An Emigrant's Last Letter: A New Life in a New Country

Further Reading Off-Line

  • Fairs and Frolics: Scottish Communities at Work and Play -- p. 17-37
  • Neigh the Front: Exploring Scarboro Heights -- p. 18-55; 77-103
  • St. Andrew's 150 Years Ago

Exercises

 

8   Summary -- Net Effects of the Agricultural Revolution

  1. Three-minute presentation by each student -- the Conclusion in each Essay
  2. Class discussion
  3. As an option, the students could dramatize one of the scenes suggested in "Dramatize an Emigrant's Values"

Exercises

 

Appendices

Recommended McCowan Society Publications

Other Recommended Reading

  • The Lowland Clearances: Scotland's Silent Revolution, 1760-1830, Peter Aitchison and Andrew Cassell, Tuckwell Press

Note: The above seven publications (and others) are available from The James McCowan Memorial Social History Society, c/o 19 Monarchwood Cres., Don Mills, Ontario, Canada, M3A 1H3, 416-447-4895 . Please print a copy of our order form on this page: www.beamccowan.com/publicat.htm. 

 

Finding Aids On www.scarboroughrecord.com

 

Additional Bibliographies

 

Other Tools: Our Information Processing Program

 

Related Lessons

 

Essay Contest Opportunity

 

For further information regarding our
Social Studies Lesson Plans,
please contact
The James McCowan Memorial Social History Society
c/o 19 Monarchwood Cres., Toronto
Ontario, Canada, M3A 1H3, 416-447-4895
Our email address is on the Contacts page

A Not-For-Profit, Non-Charitable Organization Dedicated
To Placing the Scottish Experience
Within the Wider Context of the Community
www.mccowan.org

D.B. McCowan, P.Eng. OCT., is available
to teach evening courses using
the above and similar Lesson Plan outlines.

The Scarboro Heights Record V12 #3

 

Visitors Since March 27, 2004
Hit Counter