Tillman, The Musical - Understanding the Tillman Era Through Hip-Hop
Every day we are all bombarded with events, that together, form our daily lives. These events affect our lives in small and large ways. Often, simultaneous events overlap, which compound the effect of independent events making the effect more devastating. In South Carolina OVERPRODUCTION and NATURAL DISASTERS combined, during the Tillman Era, to devastate agriculture and the families who depended on farming to feed and support their families. Tillman was also a person who believed strongly in segregation and disenfranchising African-Americans. His influence in the South Carolina Constitution of 1895 changed many of the gains won by Africans Americans during Reconstruction and reinforced many policies that created a pre-Civil War society for blacks in South Carolina.
When hurtful things happen individuals often express their sorrow through song and music. Music that expresses the emotion of individuals and the effects of individual events is called folk music. Folk music is diverse and varied and can include blues, gospel, spirituals, traditional country, European inspired folk, Native American pow-wow, zydeco, tejano, and even hip-hop music. Despite the culture or era it was written, folk music tells a story and can give a glimpse of a time or event. Follow each step, and in doing so, complete the challenge question.
Create a Hip-Hop song that expresses the struggle of the small farmer in South Carolina who is dealing with the combined devastating effects of overproduction, and natural disasters, or . . . tell the story of an African-American forced to deal with the segregation policies of the SC Constitution of 1895.
Lesson Created By: Lisa Ray
Essential Question
Can you musically express the struggles of a small farmer or disenfranchised African-American during the Tillman Era?
Grade(s):
- 8
Subject(s):
Recommended Technology:
Computers/tablets with internet access
Free app to create a beat – Music Maker Jam, Hip Hop Pads, Drum Pads 24, or DJ Studio 5
Other Instructional Materials or Notes:
Lesson Progression
Step 1 – Choose and research your topic:
Possible choices could include, but are not limited to:
- The struggle of a small farmer dealing with overproduction, the cost of getting goods to market, and foreign competition
- Natural disasters destroying the rice economy (you will need to research the hurricanes that hit the coast between 1893 and 1911)
- The effect of the boll weevil, grasshopper, or armyworm on crops
- The Charleston earthquake of 1886
- A farmer choosing to leave a life he’s always known to go to the city and work in a textile mill
- A small farmer who has chosen to join The Farmer’s Alliance and is working with the organization’s leadership to get the voice of “the small farmer” heard in state government
- One of the six participating African Americans struggling to maintain rights for your African-American constituents during the state convention to ratify the SC Constitution of 1895
- An African-American who has just heard about the Supreme Court ruling, Plessy v. Ferguson
- An African-American experiencing Jim Crow laws
- An African-American trying to explain to his/her children “expected etiquette” towards whites in South Carolina and the consequences of not following expected behavior
Step 2 – Write the Rap:
Remember, every Rap begins with a good story. Your Rap should:
- Have an interesting lead – inviting the listener to experience your what you have to say
- Be focused - communicating clearly so the listener understands and feels the emotion behind the story
- Have details that make it believable
- Be organized – so that there is an easy, logical transition between topics
- Diverse – with different lengths of lines, not too predictable
- Precise – using correct and appropriate languageHave a provocative ending –something that grabs the person listening to the rap – leave them thinking, and wanting more of the story
Step 3 – Add a Beat to Your Rap, Record, and Publish:
Create your own original beat and record it on a tablet, computer, or cell phone
- Use a free app to create a beat – Music Maker Jam, Hip Hop Pads, Drum Pads 24, or DJ Studio 5 (links found under resources)
Record your Rap
- Share your Rap to teach the class about your given topic – provide the lyrics to your rap so they can connect important facts to your rap
Publish (if allowed) on your classroom website
Key Terms
- Tillman Era
- Ben Tillman
- SC Constitution of 1895
- African Americans
- Charleston Earthquake of 1886
- The Farmer’s Alliance
- Plessy v. Ferguson
- Jim Crow Laws
- overproduction
- natural disasters
- disenfranchise
- small farmer
- Boll Weevil
- Grasshopper
- Armyworm
Teacher Notes
*Note – This can be an individual project or choices can be given to groups, giving different groups the responsibility of covering different, pertinent topics from the Tillman Era.
We have included a reference to "Hamilton's America." The subject matter of Hamilton is of a different historical time period than the Tillman Era, but your students may be inspired to see how Hip Hop is used to explain history.
Knowitall.org - Tillman-Gonzales Murder Trial | Palmetto Special
The video takes place at the corner of Main and Gervais Streets in Columbia, same site where the murder occurred. In addition, the host comes in and out of reenactment of the trial to tie the segments together.
View ResourceKnowitall.org - Southern Rebirth | Conversations on SC History with Dr. Walter Edgar
Noted South Carolina historian Dr. Walter Edgar discusses the key issues in SC History.
Southern Rebirth is discussed in four lessons:
1. Governor Benjamin Tillman
2. 1895 Constitution
3. Dispensary System
4. Gonzales, Editor of the State Newspaper, Gunned Down
PBS.org - American Roots Music
Come discover the pioneers of the musical forms that combined on American soil to become the most pervasive music throughout the world.
View ResourceSouth Carolina Digital Newspaper Program
Exploring the Progressive Era in Historical SC Newspapers: 1900-1920s
View ResourcePBS Learning Media - Hamilton's America
Inspire your students with this example of how Hip Hop can be used to explain history.
View ResourceStandards
- 8.4.CX Evaluate South Carolinians’ struggle to create an understanding of their post-Civil War position within the state, the country, and the world.
- This indicator was developed to encourage inquiry into how the former planter class, African Americans, women, and others adjusted to, gained, lost, and/or regained position and status during Reconstruction. This indicator was also written to foster inquiry into how South Carolina worked with a stronger federal government and expanding international markets.
- I Inquiry-Based Literacy Standards
- I.2 Transact with texts to formulate questions, propose explanations, and consider alternative views and multiple perspectives.
- I.3 Construct knowledge, applying disciplinary concepts and tools, to build deeper understanding of the world through exploration, collaboration, and analysis.
- I.3.1 Develop a plan of action by using appropriate discipline-specific strategies.
- I.3.2 Examine historical, social, cultural, or political context to broaden inquiry.
- I.3.3 Gather information from a variety of primary and secondary sources and evaluate sources for perspective, validity, and bias.
- I.3.4 Organize and categorize important information, revise ideas, and report relevant findings.
- RI.MC.5 Determine meaning and develop logical interpretations by making predictions, inferring, drawing conclusions, analyzing, synthesizing, providing evidence, and investigating multiple interpretations.
- W.MCC Meaning, Context, and Craft
- W.MCC.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
- W.MCC.1.1 Write arguments that:
- W.MCC.1.1.b use relevant information from multiple print and multimedia sources;
- W.MCC.1.1.c support claims using valid reasoning and a variety of relevant evidence from accurate, verifiable sources;
- W.MCC.1.1.d use an organizational structure that provides unity and clarity among claims, counterclaims, reasons, and evidence;
- W.MCC.1.1.f develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting;
- W.MCC.1.1.i provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument.
- W.MCC.1.1 Write arguments that:
- W.MCC.1 Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
- C Communication