 |
Introduction
Activity One:
Ballad of Horatio
Activity Two:
Dear Swipes
Activity Three:
Diary of a Driver
Activity Four:
Family Road Trips
Activity Five:
The Horseless Carriage
Activity Six:
If Horatio Drove Today
Activity Seven:
New Frontiers
Activity Eight:
Horatio’s Ratios
|
|
In a country full of dynamic changes, at least two things seem constant: our unfailing quest for adventure and the search for our own true selves in the timeless American landscape.
Perhaps the defining American experience of the road trip — no matter the destination, the distance or even the purpose — transcends time and generations and reaches down to help form
the roots of who we are.
Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip helps to unravel these complex roots as it celebrates America’s first transcontinental road trip at a time when the possibilities for automotive
travel were just being realized. When Dr. Horatio Nelson Jackson accepted a gentleman’s bet in 1903 and drove from San Francisco to New York City in a Winton touring car, a new kind of travel — destined
to change the American landscape — was born. The documentary is a history of cultural development and change as it follows Horatio across the country through many of his adventures and misfortunes.
The educational activities in this section will provide students with hands-on learning tools about an era of distinct cultural transformation in US history. This section contains valuable
creative lessons and materials exploring the significance of Jackson’s journey in a historical context.
Horatio’s journey offers students invaluable insights as it allows them to experience the life and times of an early 20th-century traveler who helped shape American traditions. In any social
studies education, the partnership of excellent teachers and committed staff is vital, and so too are stimulating resources that make history both real and relevant. For our part, we hope to offer
tools for experiential learning and an innovative perspective on American life.
We hope you’ll be able to join us on this incredible journey toward discovery.
Sincerely,
Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan
Filmmakers
|
|
