Teaching Resources

Military History

Over the past fifteen years, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has worked closely with master educators across the country. Many of them have developed unique lesson plans and activities related to this historical era. These resources are included here along with pedagogical videos and other general teaching tools that can be adapted for a variety of time periods and themes in American history.

A Democracy at War: America’s Fight at Home and Abroad in World War II

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:

A former Confederate officer on slavery and the Civil War, 1907

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence

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A proclamation on the suspension of habeas corpus, 1862

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A soldier’s reasons for enlisting, 1942

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II

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A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy

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Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution

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African American soldiers at the Battle of Fort Wagner, 1863

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Alamo Simulation

Curriculum Subjects: Geography Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Alexander Hamilton’s “gloomy” view of the American Revolution, 1780

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:

America Arms for a New Century: The Making of a Great Military Power

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American Music Goes to War

Curriculum Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

And Then What Happened, Paul Revere?

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Anti-Imperialism in the United States: The Great Debate, 1890–1920

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Arsenal of World War II: The Political Economy of American Warfare, 1940–1945

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At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor

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Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

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Battles of the Civil War

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Beyond Rosie the Riveter: Women's Contributions During World War II

Curriculum Subjects: Art, Economics, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Bitter Fruit: African American Women in World War II

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Blood for Dignity: The Story of the First Integrated Combat Unit in the US Army

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Breaking from Great Britain, 1776

Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Breaking the Heart of the World: Woodrow Wilson and the Fight for the League of Nations

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Cadet Nurse Corps, 1943

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Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississipi, 1718

Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels:

Casualties and Costs of the Civil War

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Causes of the Revolution: Early America

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Children on the Home Front

Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 2, 3, 4, 5

Christmas in Kuwait, 1990

Curriculum Subjects: Geography, World History Grade Levels:

Confederate reaction to “Beast” Butler’s orders, 1862

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Confirming governors for territories of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, 1901

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Correspondence between Gen. Braxton Bragg and Col. Henry J. Hunt, 1861

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Creating the Air Force, 1924

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Deadly Diseases: A Fate Worse than Dying on the Battlefield

Curriculum Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Death of a soldier, 1863: Paul Semmes

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Differing Views of Pilgrims and Native Americans in Seventeenth-Century New England

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Diplomacy and Revolution: The Franco-American Alliance of 1778

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Discovering a mass grave in Iraq, 2003

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Divided Hearts: Britain and the American Civil War

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Don’t You Know There’s a War On? The American Home Front, 1941–1945

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Doughboys, the Great War, and the Remaking of America

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Dragging cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston, 1775

Curriculum Subjects: Geography Grade Levels:

Essential Questions in Teaching American History

Curriculum Subjects: Art, Economics, Foreign Languages, Geography, Government and Civics, Literature, Religion and Philosophy, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History Grade Levels: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Events at Sand Creek, 1864

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Forging the Military-Industrial Complex: World War II’s Battle of the Potomac

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Fourteen Points

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Fredericksburg! Fredericksburg!

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Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945

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From Resistance to Revolution: Colonial Radicals and the Development of American Opposition to Britain, 1765-1776

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General Sherman on the “March to the Sea,” 1865

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George Washington and the Founding of a Nation

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George Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy, 1783

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

George Washington discusses Shays’ Rebellion and the upcoming Constitutional Convention, 1787

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George Washington from Valley Forge on the urgent need for men and supplies, 1777

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George Washington: A Biography

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Give Me Liberty: The Story of the Declaration of Independence

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Guided Readings: Anti-Communism at Home

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Guided Readings: Origins of the Cold War and Soviet-American Confrontation

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Guided Readings: The Korean War

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Guided Readings: World War I

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Henry Knox on the British invasion of New York, 1776

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Henry Knox’s Order of March to Trenton, 1776

Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Home Front U.S.A.: America during World War II

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Immigration Policy in World War II

Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Imperialism and the Spanish American War

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines

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In the Presence of Mine Enemies: The Civil War in the Heart of America, 1859-1863

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In Uncle Sam’s Service: Women Workers with the American Expeditionary Force, 1917–1919

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Indian Policy

Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Inventing America: Jefferson's Declaration of Independence

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Jefferson on British aggression, 1815

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Jefferson on the French and Haitian Revolutions, 1792

Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:

Jesse James: Last Rebel of the Civil War

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Jonathan Sewall: Odyssey of an American Loyalist

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June 25, 1876: An Interpretation of an Historical Event

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8

Labor’s Home Front: The American Federation of Labor during World War II

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Legacy of Suppression: Freedom of Speech and Press in Early American History

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Lincoln and Civil Liberties

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Loyalists and the British evacuation of Philadelphia, 1778

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Lucy Knox on the home front during the Revolutionary War, 1777

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Mobilizing U.S. Industry in World War II: Myth and Reality

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Mr. Jefferson’s Army: Political and Social Reform of the Military Establishment, 1801–1809

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Over Here: The First World War and American Society

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Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation

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Paul Revere’s engraving of the Boston Massacre, 1770

Curriculum Subjects: Art, World History Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Peace and the Peacemakers: The Treaty of 1783

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Physicists predict a nuclear arms race, 1945

Curriculum Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, 1865

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Proclamation of 1763

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Questions Relating to the Roots of the Revolution

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory

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Recruiting posters for African American soldiers, 1918

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:

Richard Nixon and His America

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RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon

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Robert E. Lee’s message to his troops before the Battle of Spotsylvania, 1864

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Secession and the Civil War

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Sergeant Francis Fletcher of the 54th Massachusetts on equal pay for black soldiers, 1864

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Sir Francis Drake’s attack on St. Augustine, 1586

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, World History Grade Levels:

Slavery in America: Expanding and Preserving the Union

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Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars: 1689-1763

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Struggle for the Shenandoah: Essays on the 1864 Valley Campaign

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Surrender of the British General Cornwallis to the Americans, October 19, 1781

Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Texas Declaration of Independence, 1836

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:

The 92nd Infantry Division and the Italian Campaign in World War II

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The American Revolution

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The American Revolution

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The American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750–1789

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The American Revolution and the French Alliance

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The Battles of Lexington and Concord, 1775

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The Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution

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The British evacuation of Boston, 1776

Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The Civil War and early submarine warfare, 1863

Curriculum Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Grade Levels:

The Cold War in the classroom, 1952

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:

The Cold War: A History in Documents and Eyewitness Accounts

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The Conquest of Mexico: Past and Present Views

Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787

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The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The end of the Vietnam War: conscience, resistance, and reconciliation, 1973

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The European Discovery of America

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The FDR Years: On Roosevelt and His Legacy

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The Gettysburg Address, 1863

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Gettysburg Address: A Common Core Unit

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

The Global Effect of World War I

Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Good War: An Oral History of World War II

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The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

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The Integration of the Negro into the US Navy

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The Mariners' Museum

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The Messman Chronicles: African Americans in the US Navy, 1932–1943

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The Monroe Doctrine, 1823

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography, Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:

The Province of Massachusetts Bay requests aid from Queen Anne, 1708

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Radicalism of the American Revolution

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The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine: A Common Core Unit

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, Literature, World History Grade Levels: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

The Second World War

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The Soldier’s Pen: Firsthand Impressions of the Civil War

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The Songs That Fought the War: Popular Music and the Home Front, 1939–1945

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The Spanish Armada

Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels:

The Splendid Little War

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The surrender of New Netherland, 1664

Curriculum Subjects: Geography Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The surrender of Robert E. Lee, 1865

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The United States and the First World War

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The Vietnam War: A Concise International History

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The Vietnam War: Military Statistics

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

The War Lovers: Roosevelt, Lodge, Hearst, and the Rush to Empire, 1898

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Theodore Roosevelt on the sinking of the Lusitania, 1915

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To End All Wars: Woodrow Wilson and the Quest for a New World Order

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To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African American WACS Stationed Overseas During World War II

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Toward Revolution: Guided Readings

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12

Treaty of Versailles and President Wilson, 1919 and 1921

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, World History Grade Levels:

Twelve Against Empire: The Anti-Imperialists, 1898–1900

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Uncle Sam Must Be Losing the War: Black Marines of the 51st

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Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen

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Union soldier turns medic at Gettysburg, 1863

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Victory Order of the Day, 1945

Curriculum Subjects: World History Grade Levels:

Vindicating Lincoln: Defending the Politics of Our Greatest President

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War in a Time of Peace: Bush, Clinton, and the Generals

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When the Nation Was in Need: Blacks in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:

Who Was John Brown?

Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8

William T. Sherman on the western railroads, 1878

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Women at War with America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era

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Woodrow Wilson and the Balance of Power

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World War I: The American Soldier Experience

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World War II: Commemorating Pearl Harbor, 1941

Curriculum Subjects: Art Grade Levels:

“Food Will Win the War,” 1917

Curriculum Subjects: Economics, World History Grade Levels:

“Men of Color, To Arms! To Arms,” 1863

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels:

“Men of Color: To Arms! To Arms!”

Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8