Goal:  Students will gain insight into the land rush that followed the Treaty of the Cedars and also the pioneer experience of settling in a new place and starting from scratch.

Objectives:

1)      Students will read and analyze a historic advertisement.

2)      Students will answer three questions requiring them to employ observational skills and testing reading comprehension.

3)      Students will synthesize information gained in the document in order to answer question number 4.

4)      Students will analyze a historic photograph.

5)      Students will synthesize information from the advertisement and photograph in order to answer question number 7.

6)      Students will analyze the effectiveness of the advertisement and redesign an advertisement to appeal to a modern audience.

Study the advertisement for The Wisconsin Emigrant’s Land, Loan, and Information Office.  Many immigrants coming in to Wisconsin in the 19th century debarked in Milwaukee.  There, in the city, they were able to take care of some business matters before moving out into smaller villages or the wilderness where they would settle.  One item of business a settler could conduct while in Milwaukee was the purchase of land.  This advertisement promotes an office that sold land to immigrants.

1)  Where was the land being sold located?

2)  Besides land sales, what other services did the office offer?

3)  What promises does the advertisement make to the office's customers?

4)  Based upon the information in this advertisement, how do you think the immigrant could make sure the land he selected would be suitable for farming?

5)  Also, study the photographer of the land surveyors.  List the people and objects in the photo.

People

Objects

.

6)  What does it mean to survey the land?  (You may use a dictionary).

7)  How might the work of these surveyors be useful to the Land, Loan, and Information Office?

8)  If you were a new immigrant and saw this advertisement The Wisconsin Emigrants’ Land, Loan, and Information Office, would you choose to go to this business?  Why or why not?

9)  Do you think the advertisement is visually appealing?  Why or why not?  Redesign the advertisement to appeal to today’s audience (you may use markers, crayons, a computer design program, etc.)

Treaty of the Cedars - Activity #3: Land For Sale
This activity uses the primary source document:

Advertisement for the "Wisconsin Emigrant's Land, Loan and Information Office," from The Emigrant's Handbook and Guide to Wisconsin, DATE.

Click here for a printable worksheet for this activity (PDF file)
Developed by the Outagamie County Historical Society with funding from Cooperative Education Service Agency 6, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and the U.S. Department of Education. © 2006 OCHS.
Click here for a printable worksheet for this activity (PDF file)