Click here to download this lesson.

Click here to download this four-lesson unit.

Click here to download this two-lesson unit.

Click here to download this three-lesson unit.

Click to download this lesson plan.

Click to download this two-lesson unit:

Overview Students will examine primary sources including letters, a patent, photos, and diagrams to identify and describe the technological invention and development of the telegraph that evolved during the nineteenth century. Background Prior to 1830, communication across the country was limited to overland mail, which took approximately a month to reach its destination, or by the pony express, which took about two weeks. In 1837, Samuel F. B. Morse invented a faster way to communicate. His invention, the telegraph, sent messages from one machine to another along a wire. A telegraph operator…

Click to download this three-lesson unit.

Click to download this three-lesson unit:

Click to download this three-lesson unit:

Click to download this four-lesson unit.

Click to download this two-lesson unit.

Click to download this five-lesson unit.

Click here to download this two-lesson unit. This unit was created in partnership with World101 from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Click here to download this two-lesson unit. This unit was created in partnership with World101 from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Click here to download this two-lesson unit. This unit was created in partnership with World101 from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Click here to download this two-lesson unit. This unit was created in partnership with World101 from the Council on Foreign Relations.

Click to download this three-lesson unit.

Click to download this four-lesson unit.

Click to download this five-lesson unit.

Click to download this four-lesson unit.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, 1776 Background The concept of "Liberty" is one that many hold dear. However, what liberty means to each individual may vary depending on his or her situation. During the American Revolutionary War period, many saw opportunity to speak out and test the waters of liberty. With the issuance of the Declaration of Independence and its…

Click to download this lesson plan.

Overview Since Japanese people began migrating to America in the mid-nineteenth century, there has been resentment and tension between Americans and Asian immigrants. In California at the turn of the century laws were passed making it difficult for Japanese to own land in America, become naturalized, or to even migrate to America. By the 1920s California had banned almost all immigration from Japan, and laws made interracial marriage illegal. After World War I and the failed attempts of America to create and join the League of Nations, there were strong national feelings of isolationism and…

Background In January 1969, America’s recently elected conservative president Richard Nixon took office, young Americans were engaged in a radical and vivacious counterculture, and a devastating war in Vietnam continued amidst a diminishing degree of popular support. While President Lyndon Johnson had largely inherited the Vietnam crisis, his Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964 allowed for his complete control as the commander in chief over Congress. While Johnson relied on his advisors for support and success in Vietnam, his original hopes for a brief conflict ending in 1966 with a divided and…

Overview In the early twentieth century, President Theodore Roosevelt was a dynamic force in a relatively new movement known as conservationism. During his presidency, Roosevelt made conservation a major part of his administration. As the new century began, the frontier was disappearing. Once common animals were now threatened. Many Americans, including Roosevelt, saw a need to preserve the nation's natural resources. He wanted to protect animals and land from businesses that he saw as a threat. Roosevelt said, "the rights of the public to the natural resources outweigh private rights, and…

Introduction When George Washington was a teenager, he wanted to make a good impression on his elders. Good manners were important to him. He made sure that he knew how by copying Rules of Civility from a French rulebook in his own handwriting. Rules of Civility was a list of 110 rules for people to follow. These rules dealt with different situations, such as how to be respectful to people, how to be polite when dining with others, and how to behave. Here are ten of the rules: Every Action done in Company ought to be with Some Sign of Respect to those that are Present. In the Presence of…

Introduction During the time of the American Revolution, much of the land in the colonies was not mapped. In his early years, George Washington was a surveyor and measured land to figure out the location of property. Materials Rope or string measuring 10- to 12-feet long Stakes—if working on grass Tape—colored if possible Graph, centimeter, or one-inch grid paper Chalk—if working in a playground Plastic cones if needed Procedure Before going outside, have students mark the rope or string with tape at one-foot intervals to make a tape measure. Outside, select a location to survey that has…

Introduction Benjamin Franklin was a scientist and an inventor. As he got older, he noticed he needed glasses for reading and seeing things far away. Franklin solved this problem by inventing bifocals, which were glasses made with two different lenses, one for seeing things up close, and the other for seeing things far away. Water acts just like corrective lenses made of plastic or glass. The water refracts or changes the direction of a light beam. A water lens is known as a convex lens because it curves out in the middle. Franklin used convex lenses for both parts of his bifocals. One part of…

Introduction Present the following scenario to your students. You can either read it to them or enlist students to act it out. The scenario is about two children who lived in 1734 and were the age of your students. "Anna Elizabeth and her brother Samuel live in a small house with a thatched roof. Their father built the house himself. Both children help their parents by completing many chores each day. Anna Elizabeth is learning how to run a home. She feeds the chickens and gathers eggs each morning. Her mother is teaching her how to spin yarn and weave cloth on a loom. She already knows how to…

There certainly can’t be a greater Grievance to a Traveler, from one Colony to another than the different values their Paper Money bears. —an English visitor, ca.1742 Introduction Students use different kinds of paper money to purchase items to learn about the problem in colonial times when each colony had its own currency. The students will find that it is nearly impossible to complete tasks due to the confusion. Procedure With student help, generate a list of things that colonial people might have sold in stores. Demonstrate how to fold an 8½"-by-11" piece of paper to create nine sections…

Background Under the leadership of Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a convention for the rights of women was held in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848. It was attended by between 200 and 300 people, both women and men. Its primary goal was to discuss the rights of women—how to gain these rights for all, particularly in the political arena. The conclusion of this convention was that the effort to secure equal rights across the board would start by focusing on suffrage for women. The participants wrote the Seneca Falls Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions, patterned after the…

BackgroundWomen always played a significant role in the struggle against slavery and discrimination. White and black Quaker women and female slaves took a strong moral stand against slavery. As abolitionists, they circulated petitions, wrote letters and poems, and published articles in the leading anti-slavery periodicals such as the Liberator. Some of these women educated blacks, both free and enslaved, and some of them joined the American Anti-Slavery Society and founded their own biracial organization, the Philadelphia Women’s Anti-Slavery Society.The little-known history of most of these…

Essential QuestionDid militancy help or hinder the abolitionist movement?MaterialsAbolition Excerpts (PDF)Timeline of the Abolitionist Movement (PDF) BackgroundAlthough the original Constitution of the United States did not mention the word "slavery" in its text, it recognized the existence and legality of this institution. It protected the rights of slaveholders with regard to the return of runaway slaves, by increasing representation for slaveholders through the three-fifths compromise, and the slave trade would be continued for twenty years (until 1808). As the United States developed so…

"Did John Brown fail? John Brown began the war that ended American slavery and made this a free Republic." —Frederick Douglass Background The late 1840s and the 1850s were a turbulent and complex time in American history as the country ground inexorably toward civil war. Abolitionist and pro-slavery positions hardened both north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line as events built toward a bloody confrontation. John Brown would be a catalyst that triggered the violent reaction. As he wrote just before his execution: "I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty, land: will…

Overview Over two days, students will examine the attitudes that children from northern states had about slavery during the 1830s to 1860s and how abolitionists tried to change their way of thinking. They will also explore how woman abolitionists used anti-slavery fairs to generate support for the anti-slavery cause. Materials Chart paper Rose and Miss Belle, MerryCoz.org The Slave-Boy's Wish The Slave’s Friend, two covers, MerryCoz.org A Child’s Anti-Slavery Book cover, Cornell University Anti-Slavery Fair Poster #1, Cornell University Anti-Slavery Fair Poster #2, Ontario County Records and…

AimWhat can the statistics tell us about the rise and fall of the second two-party system? How did the breakdown of this system contribute to the onset of the Civil War?OverviewIt is appropriate in this presidential election year to examine the antebellum era through the lens of elections and electoral politics.Although an "era of good feeling" had followed the War of 1812, signs of political dissension were appearing as early as the presidential election of 1824. The issues contested in elections and debated in the legislative sessions from 1824 to 1861 were critical ones: the direction that…

OverviewStudents will examine aspects of Article II of the Constitution for specific information related to the requirements for and method of electing the president.Materials (attached)KWL Chart (PDF)The United States Constitution: Article II; Section 1 (excerpts) (PDF)The Presidency: Unofficial Requirements (PDF)American Presidents: A Reference Resource on the website of the Miller Center, The University of Virginia at millercenter.org/presidentEssential QuestionShould the qualifications to become president be changed?Learning ObjectivesStudents will:Students will identify the Constitutional…

Lesson Overview The students will examine, explain, and evaluate Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution for specific information concerning the eligibility requirements and election process for the office of President of the United States and develop a position and express a viewpoint on the lesson’s "essential question": "How democratic is the American election process for the office of president?" Lesson Objectives Students will be able to Identify and explain the constitutional eligibility requirements and the process and procedure for the election of the president Evaluate the extent…

Introduction The accounts of African American slavery in textbooks routinely conflate the story of enslaved men and women into one history. Textbooks rarely enable students to grapple with the lives and challenges of women constrained by the institution of slavery. The collections of letters and autobiographies of enslaved women in the nineteenth century now available on the Internet open a window onto the lives of these women and allow teachers and students to explore this history. Using the classroom as a historical laboratory, students can use these primary sources to research, read…

Overview Students will examine posters and broadsides from the 1800s to examine attitudes about slavery in the United States at that time. Materials Overhead or copies for all students of the poster packet (PDF) Poster Inquiry Sheet for each student (PDF) Chart paper Essential Question How can the posters and broadsides of the 1800s help us to understand various attitudes towards slavery in the United States prior to the Civil War? Introduction During the 1800s, people used public notices such as posters and broadsides to advertise slave sales, rewards for missing slaves, anti-slavery meetings…

BackgroundThe study of immigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries goes beyond the study of the ethnic make-up of the immigrants of this era, the challenges and hardships they encountered in the United States, and their place in urban and/or labor history. While each of those areas of immigration history holds an important place in any study of the twentieth century, these immigrants also made a significant contribution to the emerging twentieth century popular culture. Using the classroom as an historical laboratory, students can use primary sources to research, read…

Aim / Essential Question How successful were photographs in demonstrating the conditions of immigrants during the Gilded Age? Background The latter portion of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century witnessed the start of photojournalism - investigators scouring the slums and ghettos of American cities. Just forty to fifty years following the devastating and powerful photographs taken by Matthew Brady during the Civil War, these new chroniclers of the urban scene, along with the print "muckrakers," recognized that photographic images could have an effect on perceptions of social…

Background For most Norwegians in the nineteenth century, America remained a remote and exotic place until the first immigrants began to write home. These "American letters," which traveled from the immigrants back to former neighbors, friends, and family in the old country and which were freely shared with others, had a great influence on the extent and nature of nineteenth century migration from Europe, and especially from Norway, to the United States. Once these early Norwegian immigrant letters reached Norway, quite a few of them were transformed into pamphlets and used as emigrant guides…

OverviewStudents will examine immigration documents and interviews in order to describe the experience of Chinese immigrants entering California in the 1900s.Students will use depth and complexity icons as tools to develop higher-level thinking skills.MaterialsOverhead or copies for all students of Soo Hoo Lem Kong's Document and Interview to Enter the U.S. (PDF)Copies for all students of Soo Hoo Lem Kong's Interview to Enter the U.S. Reader's Theater (PDF) - script version of the interview8 by 11 inch paper for each studentDepth and Complexity Frame (PDF) for each student and an overhead for…

Background Martin Luther King Jr. Day, January 21, is celebrated by Americans each year to remember and recognize the life and work of the man. Martin Luther King Jr., however, represents far more than the contributions of a single individual. He is the symbol of a movement that included varied organizations and wide support. Understanding the broadness and diversity of the Civil Rights Movement is an important way of honoring both the man and his cause. Using the classroom as an historical laboratory, students can use primary sources to research, read, evaluate, and understand the goals of…

Essential Question To what extent have the conditions of American workers improved over the past 100 years? Background After the Civil War, the United States witnessed an accelerating movement of people westward, a rapidly increasing number of immigrants, and the large growth of urban areas. Along with these trends, the massive changes in how corporations were organized and operated and the growth of the labor movement during this period wrought significant changes in American life. The right to organize, to bargain for wages and working conditions, the equitable distribution of wealth and…

Learning Objectives Students will use literature to gain insight into the lives of the Wampanoag people and their participation in the first Thanksgiving celebration. Students will present information on different aspects of the Wampanoag lifestyle. Materials chart paper for KWL chart children’s literature on the Wampanoag (see suggested books in this lesson) paper for each group pencils and markers Essential Question Why should we remember the Wampanoag people when we celebrate Thanksgiving? Background Information The Wampanoag have lived in the coastal area of Massachusetts and Rhode Island…

Background Slavery played a prominent role in America’s political, social, and economic history in the antebellum era. The "peculiar institution" was at the forefront of discussions ranging from the future of the nation’s economy to western expansion and the admission of new states into the Union. The public discourse in the first half of the nineteenth century exposed the nation’s ambivalence about slavery and race. Politicians were increasingly pressured to make their opinions known, and Abraham Lincoln was no exception. Objectives Students will: Read the letters and speeches of Abraham…