n this exercise, students will examine three images of Isaac Stevens for information about the man and his activity as a US soldier, territorial governor and participant in treaty councils. Isaac Stevens lived in a nineteenth century world filled with symbols of authority and power. As a member of the elite Topographical Corps of the United States Army, Stevens wore a military uniform with insignia and epaulets. Symbols of rank such as insignia and epaulets instantly identified his position within society. The uniform Stevens wore transferred messages about his position as a leader to those looking at him. Similarly, the pictures of Stevens in civilian clothes and a Native American style fur hat and hide coat send messages to those looking at these images.

Essential Understandings

1. Students will learn how to use historic images as evidence of the past. (Historical inquiry - observation; interrogation; inference; conjecture)
2. Students will look at the images for information about authority and power. (Civics/history)
3. Students will identify evidence of the mixing (historical encounter) of Euro and Native American cultures. (Geography/culture)
4. Students will identify Isaac Stevens as a representative of the US Army and government policy. (Civics)
5. The person being photographed or drawn makes choices about clothing he wears and the setting surrounding him.
6. The three images of Isaac Stevens tell us different things about him; in each of the images he is wearing a different type of clothing or uniform.

Essential Questions for Students

Using historical inquiry, teachers should have students generate their own questions if possible. Here are some examples to get you started.

1. How do different settings, occasions, audiences shape the clothing we wear?
2. How do the three images of Isaac Stevens tell us different things about him?
3. Who is Isaac Stevens?

Essential Questions for Teachers

1. How do we use historic images to help students understand history?
2. How can the methods of historical inquiry be applied and integrated across disciplines, K-12?

Preamble to the Lesson (optional)

1. Teachers should take pictures of their students or ask them to bring a photo into class.
2. Next, the teacher should ask the students to write a paragraph reflecting about what they are wearing and why they are wearing that particular outfit or combination of clothing. The main point of this exercise is to impress upon the students that they have a great deal of choice in what they wear. This will be an important understanding later on as the class evaluates the three images of Isaac Stevens.
3. After the writing exercise, the teacher should ask the students: if you were getting your picture taken would your choice be different?
4. Ask the students to share their photos with a partner and fill out the form provided.
5. Discuss with the students that a photo as small portion of reality; there may be others on the scene that do not appear in the picture.
6. After discussing how much information can be gleaned by looking at pictures, begin analysis of Isaac Stevens photos.

The Evidence:

One photograph and two portraits show Isaac Stevens in different poses and clothing. In one of the images, Stevens wears a military uniform, in another he is in civilian dress, and in the third he wears a fur hat and hide coat. All of these pictures tell us something about Stevens and his position within mid-nineteenth century America. The military portrait shows Stevens as a federal agent, the photograph shows Stevens in items of clothing most likely made by Native Americans, and the final portrait shows Stevens as a powerful civilian. Examination of photographs and portraits provide evidence of Stevens' authority and stature as a territorial leader. Each of the three images project different qualities and offer evidence about the three roles Stevens played in the history of Washington

The Exercise:

Beginning Discussion Questions for students.

Can you think of anyone who wears a uniform?

Does your father or mother wear a uniform?

Can you describe a uniform?
Ask students to do so either in writing or by making a drawing. Then ask the class to help make a list of the types of uniforms they wrote about. Hopefully, some students will consider that they wear uniforms too or different types of clothes for different occasions.

Why do people wear uniforms?
What do uniforms say about the person wearing them? Try to get the students to think about insignias or things that differentiate one uniform from another.

Introduce the Stevens images.
Remind the students that they should look at the images slowly for clues about Isaac Stevens and the nineteenth century world in which he lived. Invite students to compare and contrast the images throughout this exercise.

I. Stevens in military uniform

1. Begin with the portrait of Stevens in the military uniform.
2. Ask the students what sorts of things are parts of the uniform shown in the portrait. Focus on the epaulets.

Inform the students that the larger the epaulets, the more senior the officer. The 1/2 inch gold braid suggests that the person wearing these epaulets was a general.

3. What do the epaulets tell us about Stevens?
4. Ask students what they think the insignia on the epaulets means? The insignia on the epaulets is from the Corps of Engineers.
5. Ask the students why it is necessary to include messages about rank and other identifying information on a uniform.

WEB ACTIVITY: WHERE IN TIME IS ISAAC STEVENS?

• Show students the Union Army picture with different ranks represented by the size of the epaulets. The higher the rank the larger the braid on the epaulets.
• Ask students to identify what size the digitized images of Stevens' dress epaulets are.
• Ask students to select the insignia from the sampler provided. Which insignia is the one represented on the epaulet?

II. Stevens in fur hat and hide coat.

1. Ask students to determine whether or not this is Isaac Stevens in the photograph.
2. Ask the students to look for clues that the photo was touched up? Talk about using historic photos as evidence. (See section in teaching primary sources for information on how to interpret images.) Someone has obviously drawn in Stevens' hands.
3. Compare this photo with the military uniform portrait. How do the uniforms differ? What materials are used to make the clothing? Did the same person make the clothing? Why or why not? Lead the students to consider that Native Americans gave the coat to Stevens.
4. Focus on the fur hat. Present the students with an image of a Native American wearing a similar hat—talk about adapting a style.

5. Focus on the bandoliers as another example of Native American influence. Compare the bandoliers in the Stevens portrait with the Native American portrait.

III. The portrait of Stevens as Civilian

1. Ask students to consider why Stevens had his portrait published in civilian clothes.
2. What does his clothing tell us about his position as a civilian? Remind students that not everyone had his picture painted in 19th century America.
3. Have the students compare and contrast this image with the two others.
4. Ask the students to write a paragraph about what Stevens might have been doing in the three portrayals.

IV. Sohon Drawing of the Walla Walla Treaty Council

1. Ask the students to locate Stevens in the drawing.
2. What is Stevens wearing?
3. How does his dress compare with the Native Americans in the drawing?
4. Compare and contrast this image with the others.

V. Conclusions

1. The three faces of Isaac Stevens show him at different times and send the viewer different messages.
2. Students should summarize what those messages are via discussion session or a brief writing assignment.
3. Conclude by suggesting that images are important sources of historical evidence.