The Story of the Capitol
Activities
The Guardian and Symbols
Symbols are objects that stand for something else such as the golden arches for McDonalds or the American flag for the United States. Symbols hold the same meaning as what they represent but convey that meaning more quickly. This use of symbols is also present in the Oklahoma State Capitol dome’s crowning element, The Guardian.
Read more about The Guardian in The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture.
In this video, artist Enoch Kelly Haney is being interviewed about his work. (1:28–2:57) Watch Haney's interview on YouTube.
Persuasive Writing: What Town Should be the Capital of Oklahoma?
When you have a strong opinion about something, you have a bias. In the 1910s, Oklahomans were biased in favor of a particular location becoming the capital. Before the vote on June 10, 1910, to determine where the state capital should be, communities worked hard to promote their towns and to offer plenty of reasons why another town should not get it. They used persuasion to convince others.
For example, this Guthrie newspaper wanted the state capital to stay in Guthrie:
June 10, 1901, issue of the Guthrie Daily Leader
The Oklahoman shared their confident view that the vote would be in favor of moving to Oklahoma City:
June 10, 1901, issue of the Daily Oklahoman
Where would you place the capital of Oklahoma? Create a poster announcing your position. Try to convince the person reading your poster to share your view. Be as persuasive as possible.
Research Strategies: Note Taking
Historians examine a large amount of information, and they only use part of the information they learn. One of the ways people highlight the important information they want to learn or use later is by taking notes on what they are examining. People record their information using a variety of methods, but the goals for all the methods is creating a shorter record that is well-organized so that the historian can refer back to the information without going over the original source again.
Pick one of the videos from the Oklahoma State Capitol Restoration YouTube playlist. Listen to the video. You can turn on the closed captions if that helps, or slow the speed down a little if the presenter in the video speaks too quickly. Write down the important information from the story the presenter is sharing. Then, take your notes and give it to another person. Their job is to tell the story again. They can say it or write a paragraph. Are you happy with how closely they matched the original? If you are, you are a good note-taker! You can practice with other videos if you are not happy with the first attempt.
You can find more videos on the Oklahoma Capitol Restoration Project YouTube playlist.
