CHICAGO METRO HISTORY FAIR 2013 SUMMARY STATEMENT FORM

PleaseTYPEon sheetor use wordprocessing ALLPROJECTS: Attach an annotated bibliography. Please divide primary and secondary sources from each other. Two copies of SSF & Annotated Bibliography are required for competitions. .

Title _Aaron Montgomery Ward_________________________________________________ Student name(s) _Allegra Bolandhemat, Cate Durudogan, Lindsey Ginsburg ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Project Category: Group Individual

and

Exhibit

Performance

Documentary

Website

Check if applicable (and respond to the 3rdquestion): This project uses the 2013 National History Day theme, Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events

1. THESISSTATEMENT
Present the projects argument or interpretation in two sentences. If you are using the NHD theme, you might want to make it evident in your thesis statement.

Aaron Montgomery Ward revolutionized the marketing and retail world by adopting a customer first philosophy that resulted in an improved home life for his generation, and many after.

2. SUMMARYOF PROJECT
Briefly explain your project and its conclusion. Include: How and why did change happen and what was the impact? Why is it historically significant? What historical meaning or importance can we learn from your findings?

Montgomery Ward was founded in 1872 under the leadership of Aaron Montgomery Ward. He started a mail order catalog that changed and influenced the marketing world and the Chicago industry for generations to come. Wards was one of the first companies to highly value their consumers. They did this by creating a satisfaction guaranteed policy that promised getting amazing products in a troublefree manner. Wards expanded and created retail stores countrywide. After many years of success, Montgomery Ward could not keep up with the changing retail landscape and filed for bankruptcy in 2000. The effect Montgomery Ward had on the retail landscape has long outlived the company itself. Change happened because this company brought a new way of shopping and brought it directly to your door, which made it extremely popular. The impact was how popular it became and how that we use this way of selling products today. This is historically significant because it changed the way and

the quality of all products sold. We can learn how this company rose up to the top and influenced the retail world and how it slowly died down, but still carried its legacy through other companies.

3. Requiredfor projectsusingthe NationalHistoryDaythemeonly.

Explain how this project integrates the NHD theme Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events into its argument.

Our theme integrates the NHD theme by talking about the events leading up to the catalog success and the downfall of the company. This connects to the theme because it changed the way companies bought and sold goods. 4. PROCESS A. What historical question did you start off withand how did it change once you began doing your research? Our historical question was how did Aaron Montgomery Ward, as a person, influence this idea and company. It changed in the end to an understanding of why Ward chose to start this company with an idea so different than the norm.

B. What kinds of sources did you use as evidence to develop your argument (for example, letters, photographs, government documents, interviews, etc.)? We used pictures that we took ourselves, books like a biography of Aaron Montgomery Ward, a copy of an actual Wards catalog, and Chicago Tribune articles from the time of Montgomery Ward.

C. Select one piece of evidence that you used and explain how it influenced your argument. When Montgomery Ward & Co. officially emerged from bankruptcy protection last month, jubilant employees were slapping each other on the back and hugging in the aisles. Some Wards veterans who had seen the Chicago retailer through think and then broke down and cried. Chicago Tribune Article Repositioning Wards This piece of evidence gave us a real background of what the Chicago people felt towards this company. How just making it out of bankruptcy had an affect on people.

D. List libraries (other than school), museums, and other institutions that you visited to do your research. Sulzer Library, Lincoln Belmont Library and the Chicago History Museum