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Classroom Resources

Colonial America | Elementary Curriculum

Elementary Curriculum: Colonial America Find lesson plans, student activity sheets, interactive resources, classroom videos, and free professional development resources to expand your knowledge of colonial America. Image: Catawba deerskin map...

Classroom Resources

Westward Migration | Elementary Curriculum

Elementary Curriculum: Westward Migration Find lesson plans, student activity sheets, interactive resources, classroom videos, and free professional development resources to expand your knowledge of westward migration. Source: John Senex, A Map of...

Classroom Resources

Reconstruction | Elementary Curriculum

Elementary Curriculum: Reconstruction Find lesson plans, student activity sheets, interactive resources, classroom videos, and free professional development resources to expand your knowledge of Reconstruction. Image: Frederick Dielman, “Celebration...

Classroom Resources

Civil War | Elementary Curriculum

Elementary Curriculum: Civil War Find lesson plans, student activity sheets, interactive resources, classroom videos, and free professional development resources to expand your knowledge of the Civil War. Image: Henry Herrick, Reading the...

Classroom Resources

American Indians in a Changing World | Elementary Curriculum

Elementary Curriculum: American Indians in a Changing World Find lesson plans, student activity sheets, interactive resources, classroom videos, and free professional development resources to expand your knowledge of American Indian history. Image:...

Classroom Resources

US Constitution | Elementary Curriculum

Elementary Curriculum: US Constitution Find lesson plans, student activity sheets, interactive resources, classroom videos, and free professional development resources to expand your knowledge of the US Constitution. Image: Junius Brutus Stearns,...

Classroom Resources

American Revolution | Elementary Curriculum

Elementary Curriculum: American Revolution Find lesson plans, student activity sheets, interactive resources, classroom videos, and free professional development resources to expand your knowledge of the American Revolution. Image Source: A detail...

Classroom Resources

Infographic: The Vietnam War Military Statistics

Government and Civics, World History

9, 10, 11, 12

Download Infographic as PDF Questions for Discussion In what year were the greatest number of US service members stationed in Vietnam? In what year were there the greatest number of US battle deaths in Vietnam? How many...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: Major Slave Rebellions

Economics, Government and Civics, World History

9, 10, 11, 12

New York City, 1712 Like many later revolts, this one occurred during a period of social dissension among White colonists following Leisler’s Rebellion. The rebels espoused traditional African religions. Stono Rebellion, 1739 The...

Classroom Resources

Infographic: North-South Comparisons before the Civil War

Economics, Geography, Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Download this infographic as an image.

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: Black Soldiers in the Civil War

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

By early 1863, voluntary enlistments in the Union army had fallen so sharply that the federal government instituted an unpopular military draft and decided to enroll Black as well as White troops. Indeed, it seems likely that it was...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: "Birth of a Nation"

Art, Geography, Government and Civics, Literature

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

In 1915, fifty years after the end of the Civil War, D. W. Griffith released his epic film Birth of a Nation . The greatest blockbuster of the silent era, Birth of a Nation was seen by an estimated 200 million Americans by 1946. Based...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: The Post-World War I Red Scare

Economics, Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The end of World War I was accompanied by a panic over political radicalism. Fear of bombs, Communism, and labor unrest produced a “Red Scare.” In Hammond, Indiana, a jury took two minutes to acquit the killer of an immigrant who had...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: Checks and Balances

Government and Civics

5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Checks and Balances Executive Branch carries out the laws can veto laws can call special sessions of Congress controls enforcement of laws nominates judges can pardon people convicted of federal crimes commander in chief develops...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: Immigration Policy in World War II

World History

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt suspended naturalization proceedings for Italian, German, and Japanese immigrants, required them to register, restricted their mobility, and prohibited them from owning...

Classroom Resources

Statistics: Trends in American Farming

Economics, Geography

9, 10, 11, 12

Percentage of Labor Force in Agriculture 1860 53% 1870 52% 1880 51% 1890 43% 1900 40% 1910 31% 1920 26% 1930 21% Farming Profession Number of Farms (in thousands) Proportion of Total Population 1940 6,350 23.1% 1950 5,648 15.2% 1960 3...

Classroom Resources

Infographic: Differences between Federalists and Antifederalists

Economics, Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

The differences between the Federalists and the Antifederalists are vast and at times complex. Federalists’ beliefs could be better described as nationalist. The Federalists were instrumental in 1787 in shaping the new US Constitution...

Classroom Resources

Infographic: The Impeachment Process

Government and Civics

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: Facts about the Slave Trade and Slavery

Economics, Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE VOYAGES Over the period of the Atlantic Slave Trade, from approximately 1526 to 1867, some 12.5 million captured men, women, and children were put on ships in Africa, and 10.7 million arrived in the Americas. The...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: Reconstruction Amendments

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Thirteenth Amendment Prohibited slavery in the United States Fourteenth Amendment Defined national citizenship Reduced state representation in Congress proportional to number of disfranchised voters Denied former Confederates the...

Classroom Resources

Statistics: The Growth of Cities

Economics, Geography, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

9, 10, 11, 12

Urban Growth Number of Cities 1860 1900 100,000-499,999 7 32 500,000 or more 2 6 Percent of Total Population 1860 1900 100,000-499,999 4% 8% 500,000 or more 4% 11% Questions for Discussion What factors contributed to the growth of...

Classroom Resources

Presidential Election Results, 1789–2020

Government and Civics

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Introduction The Electoral College consists of 538 electors, who are representatives typically chosen by the candidate’s political party, though some state laws differ. Each state’s number of electors is based on its congressional...

Classroom Resources

Statistics: The Changing Lives of American Women

Economics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Changing Family Age of First Marriage Average Household Size Male Female 1790 -- -- 5.79 1890 26.1 22.0 4.93 1900 25.9 21.9 4.76 1910 25.1 21.6 4.54 1920 24.6 21.2 4.34 1930 24.3 21.3 4.11 1940 24.3 21.5 3.77 1950 22.8 20.3 3.52...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: New Deal Legislation

Economics, Government and Civics

New Deal Legislation 1932 Reconstruction Finance Corporation Granted emergency loans to banks, life insurance companies, and railroads 1933 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Employed youth in reforestation, road construction, and...

Classroom Resources

Statistics: Education in America, 1860-1950

Economics, Government and Civics, Literature

9, 10, 11, 12

Resources Invested in Education Spending on Education Spending Per Child 15-19 Percentage of GNP 1860 $60 $5.33 1.4 1900 $503 $20.53 2.9 Improvements in Education % Illiteracy 10 or older High School Graduates College Enrollment Total...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: Major European Explorers

Foreign Languages, Geography, World History

5, 6, 7, 8, 9

View this infographic as a PDF.

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: Slavery and the Law in Seventeenth-Century Virginia

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

1662 General Assembly determines “Negro women’s children to serve according to the condition of the mother.” 1667 General Assembly passes “An act declaring the baptisme of slaves doth not exempt them from bondage.” 1669 Virginia...

Classroom Resources

Statistics: The Impact of the Depression

Economics, Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

Change in Gross National Product 1879-89 + 6 percent 1889-99 + 4 percent 1899-1909 + 4 percent 1909-19 + 2 percent 1919-29 + 3 percent 1929-39 0 percent 1939-49 + 4 percent 1949-59 + 4 percent 1959-69 + 4 percent 1969-79 + 3 percent...

Classroom Resources

Statistics: Immigration in America, Ku Klux Klan membership: 1915-1940s

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The following charts are presented in the book The Ku Klux Klan in the City, 1915–1930 by Kenneth T. Jackson. The first chart represents the states with the highest recorded membership in the Klan during this time period. The...

Classroom Resources

Abraham Lincoln Highlights

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, founded in 1994 promotes the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. Drawing on the 80,000 documents in the Gilder Lehrman...

Classroom Resources

Cultural Encounters: Teaching Exploration and Encounter to Students

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Some 40,000 years from now, give or take a few millennia, someone, somewhere in the universe may find and listen to the Golden Record, NASA’s attempt to describe Earth and its peoples to anyone out there who might be interested. There...

Classroom Resources

Guided Readings: American Foreign Policy in the 1970s

Government and Civics, World History

9, 10, 11, 12

Reading 1 Why are we in South Vietnam? We are there because we have a promise to keep. Since 1954 every American President has offered support to the people of South Vietnam. . . . We have made a national pledge to help South Vietnam...

Classroom Resources

Infographic: Industrialization: Changing Living Standards

Economics

9, 10, 11, 12

View this infographic as a downloadable PDF. If you would like to learn more about Industrialization, view Industrialization - American Labor and Industrialization - The Growth of Industry . ...

Classroom Resources

Infographic: Industrialization: American Labor

Economics

9, 10, 11, 12

View this infographic as a downloadable PDF. If you would like to learn more about Industrialization, view " Industrialization: Changing Living Standards " and " Industrialization: The Growth of Industry ." ...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: Cultures of the Americas, 1200 BC–AD 1600

5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Mound Builders (Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River) Key Groups : Adena (500 BC), Hopewell (100 BC) Religion and Culture : Known as mound builders because they buried the dead in large earth mounds, these groups lived in small...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: The Human Meaning of Migration

World History

13+

For more than two centuries novelists and autobiographers have explored the human meaning of migration. In hundreds of stories, novels, and autobiographies, these writers have examined what it means to be uprooted, voluntarily or...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: The Language of Cultural Mixture and Persistence

World History

9, 10, 11, 12

The study of migration encourages us to think about the process of cultural adjustment and adaptation that takes place after migrants move from one environment to another. In the early twentieth century, Americans commonly thought of...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: Slavery Fact Sheet

Economics, Geography, Religion and Philosophy, World History

9, 10, 11, 12

Geography Enslaved Africans came primarily from a region stretching from the Senegal River in northern Africa to Angola in the south. Europeans divided this stretch of land into five coasts: Upper Guinea Coast: The area delineated by...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: Life on the Trail

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Each spring, pioneers gathered at Independence and St. Joseph, Missouri, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, to begin a 2,000 mile journey westward. For many families, the great spur for emigration was economic: the financial depression of the...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: The Survival of the US Constitution

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The United States has the oldest written national framework of government in the world. At the end of the twentieth century, there were about 159 other national constitutions in the world, and 101 had been adopted since 1970. While...

Classroom Resources

Infographic: "Bookending" the Twentieth Century

Economics, Geography, Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

View this infographic as a downloadable PDF.

Classroom Resources

Statistics: The Changing Lives of American Farmers

Economics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

9, 10, 11, 12

Agricultural Productivity 1800 1900 Wheat Worker-hours to produce an acre 56 15 Yield per acre 15 14 Corn Worker-hours per acre 86 38 Yield per acre 25 26 Cotton Worker-hours per acre 185 112 Yield per acre 147 191 ...

Classroom Resources

Infographic: Industrialization: The Growth of Industry

Economics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math

View this infographic as a downloadable PDF. If you would like to learn more about Industrialization, view " Industrialization: American Labor " and " Industrialization: Changing Living Standards ." ...

Classroom Resources

Study Aid: National Expansion

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12

National Expansion Free States Slave States Connecticut Delaware Massachusetts Georgia New Hampshire Maryland New Jersey North Carolina New York South Carolina Pennsylvania Virginia Rhode Island Kentucky (1792) Vermont (1791)...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: Post-World War I Labor Tensions

Economics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The years following the end of World War I were a period of deep social tensions, aggrevated by high wartime inflation. Food prices more than doubled between 1915 and 1920; clothing costs more than tripled. A steel strike that began...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: Why Do People Migrate?

Economics, World History

13+

In trying to understand why people migrate, some scholars emphasize individual decision-making, while others stress broader structural forces. Many early scholars of migration emphasized the importance of "push" and "pull" factors....

Classroom Resources

Statistics: Slaves and Slaveholdings

Economics

6, 7, 8

Slaveholding, 1860 Non-slaveholders 76.1 percent 1-9 slaves 17.2 percent 10-99 6.6 percent over 100 0.1 percent Distribution of Slaves Number of slaves held 0 1-6 7-39 40+ Percent of white families 75 15 9 1 Percent of slaves held 0...

Classroom Resources

Statistics: America in Our Time

Economics

9, 10, 11, 12

America in Our Time Consumer Price Index Price Increase 1972 2 percent 1974 8 percent 1976 5 percent 1978 8 percent 1980 12 percent 1982 4 percent 1984 4 percent Consumer Prices, 1967 3-bedroom house $17,000 New Cadillac de Ville...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: Slavery in a Capitalist World

Economics, World History

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Why were the South's political leaders so worried about whether slavery would be permitted in the West when geography and climate made it unlikely that slavery would ever prosper in the area? The answer lies in the South's growing...

Classroom Resources

Historical Context: The Constitution and Slavery

Government and Civics

9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

On the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the US Constitution, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, said that the Constitution was "defective from the start." He pointed out that the framers...

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