The APUSH Student-Produced Historical Fiction Letter

7 min readDec 4, 2020

One way to get US History students to learn many of the important skills that the traditional research paper requires while thoroughly enjoying the work.

In 2013, my friend and fellow high school social studies teacher Scott Petri shared an article written by Cindy Heckenlaible entitled The Research Paper: Engaging Students in Academic Writing.

Then at a 2014 California social studies teachers conference, I read Lisa Moorhouse’s Edutopia post entitled Engaging Students with History: The Power of Slave Narratives.

Then in 2016, Scott also shared with me his article Writing Historical Narrative.

From then on, I have required my US History students to produce what I call a Historical Fiction Letter (a 750–1000 word letter written from someone living at the end of an important day in US History.)

STEP #1

I provide my students with several Historic Fiction Templates . . . five of which can be found below with the title of the template appearing in bold and with that title embedded with a link to the template:

The Jamestown Settlement in the Colony of Virginia
For this Historical Fiction Letter, the students are to assume that they are a 19-year-old single female who, along with approximately 56 other single females, arrived in Jamestown in 1621 with the clear intention of bringing a sense of permanence to the colony. They are also to assume that they are writing their letter (addressed to their father, William, an artisan) shortly after having been hired as a seamstress at the Taylor Shop.

The first part of their letter should describe their journey and all that they have seen, heard, and/or learned about Jamestown since having arrived. Then they are to close out by answering an all-important historical question. I suggest the question of whether to encourage male family members back home in England to come to Jamestown as indentured servants.

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680
For this Historical Fiction Letter, the students are to assume that they are the nephew of Captain-General Antonio De Oetermin, an-all important Spanish leader living in New Mexico at the time of the Revolt. The students are also to assume that they are writing their letter (addressed to their mom, Oetermin’s sister) while studying in Madrid and shortly after having received a letter from their uncle (the Captain-General) describing what had happened to him since the day (September 8, 1680) that “the Indians” had surrounded him.

The first part of their letter should describe for their mother the contents of their uncle’s letter (the contents of which can be found online). Then they are to close out by answering an all-important historical question. I suggest the question of what do they think about Juan de Sepulveda and Bartolome De Las Casas in terms of what these two Spaniards had to say about the Pueblo.

John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
For this Historical Fiction Letter, the students are to assume that they are a 21-year-old who, while home for the Christmas holidays after having served for nearly a year aboard the American whaling ship Charles W. Morgan, had witnessed the execution of John Brown. The students are also to assume that they were writing their letter (addressed to their oldest brother Thomas, a friend of Charles Sumner, with Sumner being a Free Soil Pary member and a US Senator from Massachusetts) the day after John Brown’s execution and while sitting at a living room table located in their slave-owning father’s plantation house.

The first part of their letter should describe for their brother what they saw, heard, and learned while witnessing the execution of John Brown. Then they are to close out by answering an all-important historical question. I suggest choosing from one of the below:

Was John Brown a hero or a villain?
Should anyone ever be put to death (aka executed) for having engaged in criminal behavior?
What was the better position to take in 1859? The position of the abolitionist or the free soiler?
What was it like to serve on the Charles W. Morgan?

The Boston Massacre Trials
For this Historical Fiction Letter, the students are to assume that they are a 28-year-old Boston rope maker fortunate enough to have been able to observe every day of the Boston Massacre Trial. The students are also to assume that they were writing their letter to Phebe Attucks, the sister of Crispus Attucks while sitting at a table in their rope making shop several days after the verdict in the trials had been rendered.

The first part of the students’ letter should describe the basics associated with the trial. When did it take place? Where did it take place? How long did it last? Who was actually on trial, and for what? Then the students are to close out by answering an all-important historical question. I suggest the question of what verdict would you have rendered?

All innocent of both murder and manslaughter
One or more guilty of murder; others innocent
One of more guilty of manslaughter; others innocent
One or more guilty of murder; one or more guilty of manslaughter; others innocent

The Trail of Tears
For this Historical Fictional Letter, the students are to assume that they are a 29-year-old, college-educated newspaper journalist who, not being able to find work in the fall of 1837, had to settle for an entry-level (Berry’s Ferry) flatboat operator job. (Barry’s Ferry flatboats were used to transport thousands of Native Americans across the Ohio River during the 1838–39 Trail of Tears migrations. The students are also to assume that they are writing their letter in the late fall of 1839 and from their home in Golconda Illinois, (across the river from Berry’s Ferry, Kentucky) . . . with their letter addressed to their best friend, Abraham Van Buren, the son of then-president Martin Van Buren.

The first part of their letter should describe for their friend what life was like for the Native Americans at Berry’s Ferry and the surrounding area during the winter of 1838–1839. Then they are to close out by answering an all-important historical question. I suggest the question of what should have been the policy of the US Government when it came to the Native Americans, with the students having to choose from one of the six federal policies appearing below.

Treat tribes as conquered peoples who have forfeited any claims to land.

Tribes abolished and people left to survive on their own.
Native Americans subject to state and federal laws.
U. S. citizenship possible in the future.

2. Remove tribes to an unsettled part of American territory with compensation for giving up their homelands and property.

Tribes remain and control tribal land.
Native Americans subject to tribal government laws that are not in conflict with U.S. laws.
U. S. citizenship denied.

3. Allot tribal land to individual members of the tribe.

Tribes gradually disappear as some members sell their land and most become assimilated into American society
Native Americans subject to state and federal laws
U. S. citizenship possible in future.

4. Create federal reservations for specific tribes.

Tribes occupy and control their reservation land.
Native Americans subject to tribal government and federal laws.
U. S. citizenship possible in future.

5. Create one state for all tribes.

Tribes occupy sections of the state, but elect a state government.
Native Americans subject to state and federal laws.
U. S. citizenship immediate.

6. Recognize each tribe as a sovereign foreign nation.

Tribes have supreme authority within their national boundaries.
Native Americans subject only to tribal laws.
U.S. citizenship not possible.

STEP #2

I tell my students that they need not work with any of the templates I provide. In other words, they may go off on their own and in fact, over the course of the past two years, they have, with a few good examples appearing below:

Each of the above was produced before the start of the 2020–2021 school year, the year in which I required all letters to close out with the students having to address some all-important historical question.

Letters from the 2020–2021 school year are due at the end of December, with some of the better ones to be posted to my Medium account by the start of January.

STEP #3

I provide students with time in class to produce their letters. I also periodically assess the students’ progress, giving them chance after chance to improve the quality of the work.

CONCLUSION

Generally speaking, my students have much enjoyed working on this project. They also seem to have learned much about US History. Better yet, this project has (in the words of Cindy Heckenlaible) “reduced the possibilities of plagiarism, the likely gutting of student voice, and the general discontent students feel when embarking on a project for seemingly no other reason than the instructor’s insistence that “later, you’ll need to know how to do this.”

_______________________________________________________________

Standards for the English Language Arts

Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization and analysis of relevant content.
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies

Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reExplain how information and experiences may be interpreted by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference.
Analyze and explain the ways groups, societies, and cultures address human needs and concerns

The APUSH Student-Produced Historical Fiction Letter

STEP #1

STEP #2

STEP #3

CONCLUSION

National Curriculum Standards for Social Studies

How to Write Fiction 2015 TED-Ed Lesson

Written by Peter Paccone

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