Mary McLeod Bethune | Idella Bodie's SC Women (FULL VERSION)

This program in the series focuses on Mary McLeod Bethune, a young African American woman who risks her life to educate African Americans. Born in Mayesville, South Carolina, Mary McLeod had a strong desire to learn to read knowing that education was the key to success. Mary McLeod became a teacher and opened her own school which later merged with another school and became known as Bethune-Cookman College. Mary McLeod Bethune is recognized as one of the most influential African American women in our country.

Standards

• 3-4 The student will demonstrate an understanding of life in the antebellum period, the causes and effects of the Civil War, and the impact of Reconstruction in South Carolina.
  • South Carolina played a key role in events that occurred before, during, and after the Civil War; and those events, in turn, greatly affected the state. To understand South Carolina’s experiences during this tumultuous time, the student will uti...
    • 3-4.6 Summarize the positive and negative effects of Reconstruction in South Carolina, including the development of public education; the establishment of sharecropping; racial advancements and tensions; and the attempts to rebuild towns, factories, an...
• 3-5 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the major developments in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and the twentieth century.
  • South Carolina experienced major economic, political, and social changes during the late nineteenth and the twentieth century. To understand the effects of these changes, the student will utilize the knowledge and skills set forth in the following ind...
    • 3-5.1 Summarize the social and economic impact of developments in agriculture, industry and technology, including the creation of Jim Crow laws, the rise and fall of textile markets, and the expansion of the railroad.
    • 3-5.2 Explain the causes and impact of emigration from South Carolina and internal migration from rural areas to the cities, including discrimination and unemployment; poor sanitation and transportation services; and the lack of electricity and other m...
• 5-3 The student will demonstrate an understanding of major domestic and foreign developments that contributed to the United States becoming a world power.
  • The Industrial Revolution, urbanization, and access to resources contributed to the United States becoming a world power in the early twentieth century. At the same time, discriminatory practices abounded. To understand the rise of the United States a...
    • 5-3.2 Explain the practice of discrimination and the passage of discriminatory laws in the United States and their impact on the rights of African Americans, including the Jim Crow laws and the ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson.
• 5.2.CX Contextualize the post-war economic climate on the cultural landscape throughout the United States and South Carolina.
• 8-5 The student will understand the impact of Reconstruction, industrialization, and Progressivism on society and politics in South Carolina in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  • During the periods of Reconstruction, industrial expansion, and the Progressive movement, South Carolina searched for ways to revitalize its economy while maintaining its traditional society. To understand South Carolina’s experience as represen...
    • 8-5.4 Summarize the policies and actions of South Carolina’s political leadership in implementing discriminatory laws that established a system of racial segregation, intimidation, and violence.
• 8-6 The student will demonstrate an understanding of the role of South Carolina in the nation in the early twentieth century.
  • South Carolina’s response to national crises during the first half of the twentieth century brought it back into full participation in the national experience. To understand the state’s changed status, the student will utilize the knowledg...
    • 8-6.4 Explain the effects of the Great Depression and the lasting impact of the New Deal on people and programs in South Carolina, including James F. Byrnes and Mary McLeod Bethune, the Rural Electrification Act, the general textile strike of 1934, the...

Resources