Teacher Resources
Marietta
Inquiry Question
What makes a framework for expansion successful, and successful for whom?
Primary Sources
What Teachers and Students Use
An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio (Northwest Ordinance), July 13, 1787
PRIMARY · National Archives
5 analysis prompts
Ohio Company of Associates: Organizational Records and Land Grant Documents, 1786-1790
PRIMARY · Ohio Historical Society (now Ohio History Connection)
5 analysis prompts
General Rufus Putnam Papers, 1775-1824
PRIMARY · Marietta College, Legacy Library
5 analysis prompts
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park: Marietta Earthworks
INSTITUTIONAL · National Park Service
5 analysis prompts
Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Early Pioneer Settlers of Ohio
SECONDARY · H.W. Derby & Co. (Samuel P. Hildreth)
5 analysis prompts
Downloads
Ready to Print
Student packet, teacher guide with answer key, and quiz — each formatted for classroom printing.
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Lesson Plan
In the Classroom
Learning Objectives
- 1Students will explain the three main provisions of the Northwest Ordinance and why each was significant
- 2Students will analyze how the anti-slavery clause in the Ordinance shaped the political geography of the Midwest
- 3Students will evaluate the tension between the Ordinance's republican promises and the dispossession of Native peoples
- 4Students will trace the connection between the Revolutionary War veterans who founded Marietta and the governance framework they created
Explore Further
Marietta in the Knowledge Graph
The lesson packet draws from these pages. Use them to extend the lesson or give students primary source context.
Comparative Study
Connected Towns
The corroborate prompts in the student packet point to these towns. Teachers can assign cross-town comparisons.
Philadelphia
SHARED EVENT
The Continental Congress in Philadelphia enacted the Northwest Ordinance in 1787 and approved the Ohio Company land purchase that made Marietta possible; Philadelphia was the political capital that set the legal framework Marietta operated under.
Kaskaskia
SHARED THEME
Kaskaskia and Marietta were both early American settlements in the Northwest Territory operating under the framework of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787; Kaskaskia was the older French settlement that became part of the new territorial order.
Wheeling
ROUTE
The Ohio River connected Marietta and Wheeling as the primary commercial and migration highway of the Northwest Territory; flatboats traveling from Pittsburgh passed Wheeling before reaching Marietta's confluence.
Assessment
Marietta in the American Revolution
Answer the following questions based on our study of Revolutionary history. · 5 questions · Answer key in Teacher Guide PDF
What makes Marietta significant in Revolutionary history?
multiple choice
Primary sources are documents or objects created during the time period being studied.
true false
Name one event that occurred in Marietta during the Revolutionary period and explain its significance.
short answer
+ 2 more in the full quiz PDF
Ready to Print?
All three documents below — student packet, teacher guide, and quiz — are formatted for letter-size classroom printing.