The Pig War | Reader's Theater Script & Mini Readers | Grades 9-12

Turn the 1859 Pig War into a high-school historical drama about Washington Territory, borders, jurisdiction, military escalation, restraint, and diplomacy. This grades 9-12 Reader's Theater follows how one dead pig exposed an unresolved U.S.-British boundary dispute on San Juan Island and pushed two nations toward an armed confrontation.

Across ten scenes, students follow the choices of settlers, military officers, and government leaders as a local property dispute becomes a question of sovereignty. The script makes restraint visible as a historical action: several people had the authority to escalate the crisis and chose not to fire.

Historical Content

• The 1846 Oregon Treaty and Haro-versus-Rosario boundary question
• Hudson's Bay Company activity and American settlement on San Juan Island
• Lyman Cutlar, Charles Griffin, and the June 1859 pig shooting
• Jurisdiction, sovereignty, occupation, and competing national claims
• William Harney, George Pickett, James Douglas, Geoffrey Hornby, and R. Lambert Baynes
• Winfield Scott, joint occupation, the Treaty of Washington, and the 1872 arbitration

What's Included

• 10-scene Historical Reader's Theater script
• Original Mini Reader
• Accessible Mini Reader
• Teacher Guide and Answer Key
• Vocabulary in context
• 10 two-part short-answer questions
• 5 two-part challenge questions
• 20-question multiple-choice quiz
• Self-grading Google Forms quiz
• Digital and printable student worksheet support
• Discussion questions, pacing options, standards alignment, and sources/further reading

Where This Fits in Your Curriculum

This Reader's Theater is a strong fit for Washington State History, Pacific Northwest History, and U.S. History units on the Oregon Treaty, territorial expansion, U.S.-British relations, diplomacy, borders, and arbitration. It also works well for civics or government discussions about jurisdiction, sovereignty, escalation, de-escalation, and negotiated dispute resolution.

Skills Addressed

• Historical cause and effect
• Text evidence and source comparison
• Vocabulary in context
• Collaborative speaking and listening
• Perspective-taking and historical decision-making
• Evidence-based written response

Standards Alignment

C3 D2.His.1.9-12 and D2.His.14.9-12; CCSS RH.9-10.1, RH.9-10.2, RH.9-10.9, WHST.9-10.9, and SL.9-10.1.

Pair It With the Matching Resource

The Pig War Dynamic History Module gives students the same verified history through the other instructional format.

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