The Situation Room Experience, “Washington’s Cabinet” scenario takes place in the year 1793. One of the many issues students face as they take on the roles of senators and important Cabinet members comes towards the conclusion of the SRE, as yellow fever sweeps across the capital city at the time, Philadelphia.
In the summer of 1793, yellow fever claimed the lives of approximately 10 percent of Philadelphians, which was 5,000 people. To put these numbers in contemporary terms, 10 percent of the population of New York City today is over 800,000 people!
To learn more about the yellow fever epidemic, and to take a walking tour of Philadelphia, click here. Then follow the assignment steps below to create your own digital “walking tour” of your neighborhood.
Create your own “walking tour” of your own neighborhood today!
Do NOT go out to take pictures. Instead, work with pictures you already have taken or those you can find online in the public domain or from friends and family.
- Find three to five pictures of places that are important to you today during Covid-19.
- Create three to five 30 second to two-minute audio clips. In these clips, explain what the place is, tell us why you think it’s important and let us know any fun facts or stories about each place. Check out the image above for an example from the Philadelphia tour!
- Compile your pictures and audio stories in one document.
Send your “walking tour” to Reaganeducation@nara.gov by May 12th, 2020. We will be curating a digital collection of all submissions!