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American Diplomat Podcast
Supplemental Guides For Educators
For her intern project, Anna Weber, a student at George Washington University, created classroom-ready supplemental guides and learning objectives for two episodes of the American Diplomat podcast. The first guide, supplementing the episode entitled “Ever Hear of Ebenezer Bassett?” focuses on connecting the story of America’s first African-American diplomat to topics already discussed in high school classrooms. The second guide, accompanying the episode “Spider Schneider”, tells the little-known story of U.S. consular officer Agnes Schneider, and has connections to lessons on the Red Scare.
Guide 1: Ever Hear of Ebenezer Bassett?
This episode begins at 2:39 and goes through 43:15. The four short articles in the “Background Reading” section are meant to be read before students listen to the episode. The discussion questions and the “Diving Deeper” section are meant to be taught in tandem, following the episode, so students have a deeper understanding of the story they just heard.
Learning Objectives:
1. Students will understand the basics of diplomatic history in the Reconstruction era.
2. Students will understand the significance of Ebenezer Bassett’s story and understand how it connects to Haitian and United States history.
Guide 2: Spider Schneider
This episode begins at 0:00 and the content ends at 32:05. The content included in the "Background Reading" box is meant to be read before listening to the episode, and consists of four short readings that will provide historical context to the events mentioned in the episode. After students listen to the episode, the discussion questions and the "Diving Deeper" content are meant to be paired together and are intended to create a further understanding of the historical events covered in the episode.
Learning Objectives:
1. Students will understand how the Red Scare impacted Americans living abroad.
2. Students will understand the basics of what U.S. consulates do, and how diplomacy connects to historical events already presented in curricula.