66. Bad News for Outlaws, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson

 

66. Bad News for Outlaws, by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson


Nelson, V.M. (2009). Bad news for outlaws. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.

Bad News for Outlaws chronicles the life of Bass Reeves, a black deputy marshal for the United States government who worked in the Arkansas and Oklahoma Territories. The story begins in his youth when he was a slave in Texas.  He always had a strong sense of right and wrong that other’s admired. When Judge Isaac Parker tried to bring law and order to the lawless Indian Territories, he chose Bass to be a Deputy US Marshal. Bass would quickly prove a smart choice. For three decades, Bass was the most feared and respected lawman in the territories...  He made more than 3,000 arrests, and though he was a crack shot and a quick draw, he only killed fourteen men in the line of duty. He achieved all this in spite of whites who didn't like the notion of a black lawman.  One of the hardest was the day he arrested his own son for killing his wife after she was unfaithful.  He did his duty and brought him in.    The day he stopped working as a piece officer was the day the territory reached statehood.

I found a lesson plan using this book in a social studies lesson.  It has an extension activity where students do research on African American and Latino cowboys, Buffalo soldiers, and famous Native Americans and create posters and power points to present to the class.

http://www.socstrpr.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/06536-Montgomery.pdf

 

 

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