Lesson Plan Westward Migration: Opportunities and Dangers K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Click here to download this four-lesson unit.
Spotlight on: Primary Source Horace Greeley: "Go West," 1871 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune , wrote this letter in 1871 to R. L. Sanderson, a young correspondent who had requested career advice. Greeley, a great supporter of westward expansion, shared the national conviction...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Indian Wars: The Battle of Washita, 1868 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ The Battle of Washita on November 27, 1868, pitted US Army troops commanded by General George Custer against the Southern Cheyenne. An excerpt from Custer’s report on a return to the battlefield ten days later is presented here. The...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Official photograph from the "Golden Spike" Ceremony, 1869 Economics, Geography, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ This iconic photograph records the celebration marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad lines at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869, when Leland Stanford, co-founder of the Central Pacific Railroad,...
Spotlight on: Primary Source William T. Sherman on the western railroads, 1878 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ After Ulysses S. Grant’s election as president, William Tecumseh Sherman, known for leading the "March to the Sea" in the closing months of the Civil War, was appointed commanding general of the United States Army. Headquartered in St...
Lesson Plan June 25, 1876: An Interpretation of an Historical Event Government and Civics 6, 7, 8 Essential Question How should events from the Indian Wars be commemorated by the federal government? Background The Battle of Little Bighorn was one in a series of conflicts that occurred during the American attempt to remove native...
Lesson Plan The Pony Express: The Fastest Delivery of a Message across America Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Background The inauguration of a new service, the Pony Express, on April 3, 1860, promised the fastest communication ever from the Missouri River to California. How long did a Pony Express message take to go from its starting point in...
Lesson Plan George Pullman: His Impact on the Railroad Industry, Labor, and American Life in the Nineteenth Century Economics, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 9, 10, 11, 12 Background George Mortimer Pullman was an influential industrialist of the nineteenth century and the founder of the Pullman Palace Car Company. His innovations brought comfort and luxury to railroad travel in the 1800s with the...
Lesson Plan Alamo Simulation Geography 9, 10, 11, 12 Overview Through a simulation, in which Canadians try to seize the state of Maine, students will gain an understanding of the circumstances surrounding the Battle of the Alamo, February 23–March 6, 1836, between approximately 200...
Lesson Plan Nineteenth-Century Native American Viewpoints Geography 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Objective Identify and compare the ideas of major Native American leaders from the nineteenth century. Evaluate the impact of those ideas on the United States and Native Americans. Locate the original and final reservation territory...