Lesson Plan Number One

Lesson Plan Number One:

Dominic Jacobetti and the Cleveland Cliffs Iron Mining Company, 1987-1992

Curriculum Focus:

Michigan local government; history of iron mining; critical thinking

Grade Level:

Grades 9-12

Objective:

Students will gain a basic understanding of historical research and the use of critical thinking skills in the analysis and interpretation of primary sources.

From their research of the selected primary sources, students will develop a thesis based on selection of the most verifiable and credible evidence.

Materials:

Paper and pencil

Computer and Internet access

Packet of three lesson plans published by the Central Upper Peninsula and Northern Michigan University Archives

Procedures:

1. The teacher will review the definition and meaning of historical research, primary sources, and critical thinking;
2. The teacher will review and explain the purpose of the Primary Source Document Analysis Worksheet
3. Using the Primary Source Document Analysis Worksheet as their guide, students will prepare a report of their analysis of each document and present a proposed thesis statement that ties the evidence together.

Historical Questions and Problems to Consider:

1. Why did CCI request tax breaks from the state of Michigan? Was this request justifiable?
2. Why did CCI want to invest millions of dollars into a conversion of the Tilden mine when iron order demand was so low?
3. How did Dominic Jacobetti handle the conflict between local governments and CCI over the issue of taxation?
4. How did local government representatives present their case to Jacobetti for relief?

Background:

Dominic Jacobetti:

The son of an Italian immigrant miner, Dominic Jacobetti was born in Negaunee, Michigan, on July 20, 1920, to Nicholas and Josephine (Sano) Jacobetti. He graduated from St. Paul's High School in 1938 and went to work in the Athens Mine in 1940. He eventually became President of UAW Local 4950 and United Steel Workers Local 2867. He married Marie Burnette in 1942 and had three children, Judith, Colin and Dominic, Jr. He was elected to office in 1953, and began his 40 years as Representative in 1954. Throughout his career, he served on the following committees: in 1955-56, on the Conservation, Educational Institutions and Tuberculosis Hospitals Committees; from 1957-58, on the Conservation and Fish and Fisheries Committees; 1959-60, on the Educational Institutions Committee; 1963-64, on the Conservation Committee; 1965-66 on the House Policy Committee; 1967-68, on the House Policy and State Affairs Committees; and from 1969 to 1993 he served on the Appropriations Committee, as Vice Chair beginning in 1969, and as Chair of this committee beginning in 1975.

Because of funding Jacobetti obtained for projects in the Upper Peninsula, his constituents and colleagues regarded him as "Puga," "King Jake," and the "Godfather of the U.P." However, he also helped various "down-state" areas obtain the funding they needed as well. Keeping in mind that Jacobetti often considered the entire Upper Peninsula as part of his District, he promoted the interest of industry (sometimes at the expense of the environment), strove to improve educational opportunities, and worked hard to improve economic conditions for both the State and his District.

Jacobetti was also known as "a man of the people" and "the working man's Representative." This characterization is demonstrated in his correspondence and among the many testimonials and awards he has received, wherein he frequently intervened personally on behalf of individuals and organizations both in the Upper Peninsula and down-state. He was honored as one of the "Ten Outstanding State Legislators in the United States" in 1978 for promoting adequate staffing levels in governmental offices, promoting good government and efficient public service, as Upper Peninsula Person of the Year and received The Distinguished Citizens award from Lake Superior State College in 1983, an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Northern Michigan University in 1984, and Good Neighbor of the Year in 1990.

Jacobetti involved himself in state-wide as well as local issues. State-wide issues include abortion/right to life, insurance reform, seat belt legislation, sobriety check lanes and tax limitation. Issues considered to be State level that pertained more specifically to the Upper Peninsula include a nuclear waste dump site, ELF/Seafarer Sanguine, and the effort to make the Upper Peninsula into the fifty-first state, Superior.

Iron Mining in the Late 1970s and 1980s

For much of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many iron mining companies mined and shipped high-grade iron ore directly to steel mills in Chicago, Ohio, and Michigan. Soon after World War II, however, the industry began to quickly deplete reserves of high grand ore, and the last underground iron mine, the Mather B in Negaunee, closed in 1979. The end of underground mining and the shift to open pit mining resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and devastated the economy of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. During the 1980s, the United States steel industry began a massive downsizing and reorganization process that resulted, in part, to a decreased demand for iron ore.

The Cleveland Cliffs Iron Mining Company (CCI) began operating the open pit Tilden Mine in 1974. Construction in 1979 increased the Tilden’s production to 8 million tons of iron ore annually. In the past, miners considered the Tilden’s ore as worthless rock because no practical technology existed to extract the iron ore. In 1987, the Tilden started production of fluxed pellets and rapidly became one of the largest suppliers of iron ore in the world. This increased demand prompted CCI to raise capital for a major renovation of the Tilden’s manufacturing process. This effort included requests for tax breaks and direct subsidies from the state of Michigan. In 1989, the Tilden added the capability of processing magnetite ore with the development of a new pit and the installation of magnetic separation equipment.

During the 1980s, the Tilden Mine was a major component of the Upper Peninsula’s economy. The mine employed 850 people. It pumped approximately $100 million into the region annually, including a payroll of $40 million. The mine also paid $ 2 million in local taxes annually. The United Steel Workers of America (USWA) represented the iron miners as their collective bargaining agent. The USWA locals had strong and direct ties with the Democratic Party, and State Representative Dominic Jacobetti remained a member following his presidency of Local 4950.

Primary Source Document Analysis Worksheet

In historical research, critical analysis of primary sources is the process of determining the authenticity and credibility of evidence by asking a series of questions. By answering these questions, the researcher works to uncover the “truth” from the testimony of the past. Critical thinking is also a process of using your deductive reasoning skills in examining and analyzing information. Basically, think for yourself and don’t let the documents think for you!

For each document, use a separate sheet of paper(s) to answer the questions in this worksheet.

Internal Critical Analysis

By answering these questions, the researcher establishes the “context” of the document’s creation. By doing so, the researcher verifies the author’s competence and a witness to the event.

1. When did the author write this document? How can you confirm this date?

1. Who is the author of the document? How can you confirm authorship? How well situated is the author to observe or record the events? Did the author record someone else’s observation of the event or issue?

1. What is the topic, event, or issue discussed, described, or examined in the document?

1. Who do you think this document was written for? Is the author attempting to persuade others? Do they have a motive to record the event?

External Critical Analysis

These questions guide you to infer meaning from the information in the document. To infer means to “conclude or decide from something known or assumed; derive by reasoning; draw as a conclusion.”

1. Can you identify any underlying assumptions made by the author? For example, when a person makes a statement, what would they first have to believe for those statements to be true to them?

1. Can you identify any warranted or unwarranted claims? For example: “Governor John Doe is a liar.” Is this claim correct? How can you confirm this claim?

1. Can you identify and biases and prejudices? Strong statements that are not backed-up with evidence are usually biases.

1. Is the information in the document logically flawed or contradictory?