About Us
Congress: The Context
SUBJECTS
American History, Social Studies, Language Arts
GRADE LEVEL
9-12
OBJECTIVES
Students will understand the purposes of a eulogy and an obituary and the differences between them, identify the essential elements of both, determine which is the more authentic historical record, and be able to associate an individual's life with important historical events.
LESSON PLAN
What are the definitions of "eulogy" and "obituary"? Identify the birth and death dates of Everett Dirksen. Using basic reference resources and the obituary, list the major events in Dirksen's life and the major events in U.S. history during the same time. List the "Three Great Reversals" in Dirksen's career.
What is the difference between "eulogy" and "obituary"? How would you summarize Everett Dirksen's career, and which source is more helpful in doing so? What are some examples of Everett Dirksen's positive qualities, and which source is more helpful in identifying those? Compare the definition of "politician" in the eulogy and the obituary.
Using the career of a still-serving politician (e.g., the President, Senators, Representatives, or other elected official), find examples of compromise and partisanship. Find an obituary in a newspaper or online and compose a eulogy to the same person.
What information would you have to have about a person in order to write an obituary or eulogy? Are there elements of Everett Dirksen's life that are not accounted for in the eulogy, and why might that be? Are there qualities in Everett Dirksen that might not be viewed so positively today? Why? Can you find examples of key information omitted from either the obituary or the eulogy? What determines the historical value of either?
Construct both a eulogy and an obituary for your (i.e., the student) life. Write either a eulogy or an obituary for a fictional character. Using the eulogy of Dirksen as a guide, work in groups to compose a eulogy for a current political figure. Use the Internet to find eulogies or obituaries of other figures, in and out of politics, to compare to Dirksen's.
What do you think is the most important function of an obituary? Of a eulogy? Why do some people have a longer or more prominent obituary than others? Do you believe, and for what reasons, that an obituary or a eulogy is an accurate historical record?
RESOURCES
Eulogy delivered by President Richard M. Nixon at Memorial Services for the Late Senator Everett McKinley Dirksen in the Rotunda of the Capitol, September 9, 1969.
CREDIT
Frank H. Mackaman
The Dirksen Congressional Center
fmackaman@dirksencenter.org
