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Betrayal of Penn's Promise - The Walking Purchase
Procedures

Preparation


Download and copy the combined worksheets for this lesson. Locate the area where the "walk" will take place - either a pre-measured area, such as a track or corridor, or a local walking path, etc. If the area is not pre-measured, make sure you have a measuring wheel. Most school district maintenance departments have one of these, as do local contractors.



Day 1


Discuss Penn's relationship with the Indians in Pennsylvania and the related markers. Then have the students read "Walking Purchase Treaty" and discuss the terms outlined in the treaty. Point out to students that the treaty was based on a supposed earlier treaty signed by William Penn, although no evidence has been found that it existed. The Walking Purchase Treaty was very likely a fake that Thomas Penn, one of William Penn's sons, and James Logan, the Provincial Secretary, wrote in order to obtain more land from the Indians without paying for it. Discuss the significance of the event in terms of the change it brought about in the relationship with the Native Americans in the colony of Pennsylvania. Distribute Worksheet 1: A Walking Purchase Simulation. Have students read and discuss roles, then choose the role they want to play.


Note to teacher: This lesson can be done as an historical re-enactment using the characters listed in the simulation worksheet. It can also be done as a current day re-enactment with no role-playing. In either case, you will want the students to examine their results in terms their own environment; that is, what area of their environment would be affected if a walking purchase were to take place in the current time.


Assign roles. Allow students time to develop their character.



Roles could include:


Edward Marshall - One of the three "walkers" and the only one to complete the thirty-six hour run. His walk covered a distance of almost fifty-five miles.


James Yeates - Another of the three "walkers." Exhaustion forced him to drop out of the event on the morning of the second day.


Solomon Jennings - The third of the three "walkers." He was the first to drop out of the event when he suffered a leg injury.


Thomas Penn - One of William Penn's sons. The Penn Family was in debt and needed more land to sell to colonists. In addition, there was concern in the colony about the connections between the Delaware Indians and the Iroquois, who were loyal to the French. Thomas, along with James Logan, the Provincial Secretary, produced a treaty that they claimed his father, William Penn, negotiated with the Delaware Indians in 1686. This treaty became known at the "Walking Purchase Treaty." According to the terms of the treaty, Penn would own all the territory "as far as a man could go in one day and a half."


Lenape Chief Lappawinsoe - Chief at the time of the Walking Purchase. Complained to the King about the legitimacy of the territory claimed as a result of the Walking Purchase, but eventually conceded the land.


Joseph Knowles - One of a group of people who "prepared" a path for the runners. Since most of the territory covered at the time was wooded, Penn hired people to clear away brush and undergrowth - to make a track - for the runners.


James Logan - Provincial Secretary of the Pennsylvania Colony and chief agent for the Penn Family in America. He was like a manager who ran the colony when the Penn family was in England. Along with Thomas Penn, he fabricated the "Walking Purchase" Agreement in order to expand the land owned by the Penn Family.


Colonists - In addition to the three "walkers," several colonists (see Joseph Knowles above) followed the progress of the men. Some of these probably rode or walked part of the distance with the men. Some of them had helped clear a path and may have been "stationed" at various points along the route, perhaps to give aid to or encourage the runners.


Lenape Indians - The Lenape also followed the "walkers." While the men were running, the Lenape complained that they were not following the terms of the treaty which called for them to walk - not run.


Day 2


About one week later, do the re-enactment. This will give students time to research and develop roles. Have students "walk" and then "run" for a prescribed period of time (e.g. 20 minutes). Then distribute Worksheet 2: Calculation Chart and have students complete it.



Day 3


Using GIS software and/or local maps, have students determine the amount of land they would now "own" as a result of the purchase. Students will construct a map of their territory. This can be done by hand or by using a computer graphics program. Have students discuss the types of problems that might exist if they were to claim the territory that would be included in their "purchase." Students could role-play the effects the purchase with have on local officials, businesses, and land owners. Assign Worksheet 4: A Walking Purchase – the Debriefing.


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