Population
and Timeline Mural
Plot a line graph
of Pittsburgh's population on a timeline.
A great
way to see the relationships between events and the growth of the
city is to combine two types of graphs: a timeline and a population
line graph. Just use the timeline as the x-axis of the population
graph. For best results -- to make sure you have plenty of room to
add timeline events -- make your timeline a mural. Then as you view
stories from the Pittsburgh History Series, add them to the
timeline to place them in context historically.
Prepare
the grid:
Mark the
x-axis off in 10 year increments from 1750 to 2000. Mark the y-axis
off in at least 100,000 increments from 0 to 2,000,000. (See
an example of a blank grid.)
Plot the
population figures:
Using different
colors for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County plot the population figures
from the table below. If you live outside Allegheny County, find your
own county population figures and plot them in a third color.
Here are
the figures: Table
of Population of Metropolitan Pittsburgh (combined Pittsburgh and
Allegheny City) and Allegheny County
Your
graph should look like this when it is finished.
Hypothesize
reasons for the patterns you see:
-
What
surprises you most about this graph? How long did it take Pittsburgh
to reach its first 100,000? The second? Third?...
-
When
did the biggest spurts of population occur? What events cause such
a spurt?
-
What
does the pattern of city and county figures suggest about suburban
development? What might be an explanation for the county and city
peaking at different times?
-
What
are some possible reasons for Pittsburgh's declining population
after 1950? If people are moving to the suburbs, what should we
expect to see? If people are leaving the area, what should we expect
to see? Where do these patterns occur on our graph?
Fill in
the timeline with list key events in western PA history:
-
Research
key events and people in Pittsburgh's history and plot them on the
timeline (Write directly on the grid, if you wish).
-
Find images
to add to the timeline. Here
is a list of key events to add if you wish after the researchers
have added all their findings.
- Keep the
timeline and add the dates or eras from every story you view from
the Pittsburgh History Series.
Discuss the relationships between the timeline and the population
graph:
-
What
timeline events help to confirm or contradict your theories about
the population graph? What events, if any, on the timeline suggest
reasons for the population spurts?
-
How long
did Pittsburgh's steel
industry thrive? What percentage of Pittsburgh's total history does
that represent?
- What
events, if any, seem related to the population decline?
top
Population
boom and bust
Plot the
Pittsburgh region's population on a graph (better yet, do the Population-Timeline
Mural activity (above) in preparation for this discussion). You
may do the graph by hand using the directions for the mural, use a spreadsheet
or graphing computer program, or use the blank
grid we've provided.
Graph
the population figures
from this table using different colors or patterns for Pittsburgh
and Allegheny County. (When you are done, your
graph should look like this.)
-
What
surprises you most about this graph? How long did it take Pittsburgh
to reach its first 100,000? The second? Third?...
-
When
did the biggest spurts of population growth occur? What events usually
cause such a spurt? What specific events caused these spurts for
Pittsburgh?
-
What
does the pattern of city and county figures suggest about suburban
development? What might be an explanation for the county and city
peaking at different times?
-
What
are some possible reasons for Pittsburgh's declining population
after 1950? If people are moving to the suburbs, what should we
expect to see? If people are leaving the area, what should we expect
to see? Where do these patterns occur on our graph?
-
When
does population start to decline? What percentage of Pittsburgh's
peak population is its population now? What percentage of Allegheny
County's peak population is its population now? What events or trends
help explain the drop-off in recent decades? What are some of the
challenges of having a declining population?
Follow-up
with research into Pittsburgh's history at the time of the largest
periods of population growth and decline.
top
Its
all in a name
List Pittsburgh's nicknames over the years. How
many of these nicknames did the class think of? What other nicknames
did the class think of?
- Forks of
the Ohio
- Gateway
to the West
- Smoky City
- Hell with
the lid off
- Iron City
- City of
Champions
- Steel City
- Workshop
of the World
- Arsenal
of Democracy
- Golden
Triangle
- Someplace
Special
- Renaissance
City
- The 'Burgh
- Pothole
Capital of the World
Investigate
the story behind these nicknames. Then discuss:
-
When were
they appropriate, if ever? Who was responsible for coining them?
-
When did
they no longer apply? Which could still be applied now?
-
How many
seem completely accurate for the time they were used and how many
seem like an exaggeration? How much of an exaggeration?
-
What is
your favorite nickname from the list? Why? Ask your family members
which they like best and why. What seems most like "home"
to each of them?
-
What would
you nickname Pittsburgh today? What characteristics of modern Pittsburgh
does your nickname reflect?
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Comparing
maps from different eras of Pittsburgh's history gives us great insight
into when, how, and why the different neighborhoods grew as they did.
Use this exercise with historic maps as background and context for viewing
stories from the Downtown Pittsburgh,
North Side Story, South
Side, The Strip Show
or Wylie Avenue Days videos.
Maps are
courtesy of Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation. The
exercise is adapted from one of their excellent teacher workshops. Email
PHLF's education coordinator for more information.
-
Arrange
students in teams of two or three.
-
Distribute
the Mapping Pittsburgh's Past worksheets:
-
Each
student should work on two or three maps, answering the first
series of questions, "Part I: Looking
for Clues," about each one.
-
After
they've each analyzed their assigned maps, they should compare
all of the maps using the second series of questions, "Part
II: Compare the Maps," as a guide.
-
Summarize
as a class the conclusions reached by each team.
top
Construct
three-dimensional pop-ups of Pittsburgh at different of its history,
using historic Pittsburgh views and maps for reference.
See also Mainstreet
Mural or Changing Scale.
Courtesy of PHLF.
top
Interview
a veteran of industrial Pittsburgh
What was
it like to pour molten steel or roll from bars into sheets with gigantic
mills? How do they make aluminum,
anyway? How do they make the ultra-flat reflective glass cladding skyscrapers
all over the country? How do they smash atoms and make those monorails
zip along so smoothly? There are Pittsburghers who know the answers
to all of these questions and much, much more! They are the veterans
of the factories and laboratories that built a huge portion of the world
we know. What was it like to go to work with them everyday?
Interview
someone who worked for one of Pittsburgh's manufacturing powerhouses
in the steel, glass, electrical, transportation, or aluminum industries.
Some are still going strong, so you can interview an employee today!
Others you'll have to search out -- when the plants closed, they retired
or moved on.
Use this Oral
History Interview process to learn how to conduct your interview:
Asking the right questions will help you get better stories and not
just "yes," "no," and "uh-huh" answers!
Be sure to get a signed release
form so you can save the tape and use guotes from the interview.
top
Read the
1927 predictions of respected Pittsburgh industrialist A. L. Humphrey
for the year 1977. In making his predictions, Humphrey takes an interesting
look back at 1877 Pittsburgh, draws a line to 1927, then extrapolates
his observations to 1977. As cautious as he tries to be -- he is the
retired president of Westinghouse Air Brake and Union Switch and Signal,
after all, not Jules Verne -- Humphrey is way off on some of his predictions.
Using the questions at the end of the article, students discuss what
happened in Pittsburgh between 1927 and 1977 to scuttle some of his
predictions. Then they make their own predictions for the next fifty
year jump to 2027, having the advantage of already being halfway there.
top
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