Lesson Plan Frederick Douglass: What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July? 7, 8, 9, 10 Click to download this five-lesson unit :
Lesson Plan The Mexican-American War: Arguments for and against Going to War Geography, Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Click here to download this three-lesson unit.
Spotlight on: Primary Source Davy Crockett on the removal of the Cherokees, 1834 Government and Civics 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ In this letter, written in December 1834, Davy Crockett complains about President Andrew Jackson’s forced removal of the Cherokees from their homes to Oklahoma. Crockett opposed that policy and feared Vice President Martin Van Buren...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Andrew Jackson to the Cherokee Tribe, 1835 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Elected president in 1828, Andrew Jackson supported the removal of American Indians from their homelands, arguing that the American Indians’ survival depended on separation from whites. In this 1835 circular to the Cherokee people,...
Spotlight on: Primary Source An African American protests the Fugitive Slave Law, 1850 Economics 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ This 1850 letter written by Henry Weeden is a statement against slavery by a free African American. Weeden was one of Boston’s leading abolitionists. In the 1840s, he had been an activist for the integration of Boston’s schools. [1]...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Abstinence pledge card, 1842 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Mathew Theobald, a Catholic priest in Dublin, Ireland, founded the Cork Total Abstinence Society on April 10, 1838. About sixty followers joined Theobald in swearing off alcohol completely and signed his abstinence pledge book....
Lesson Plan Woman Abolitionists Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12 Background Women 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...
Lesson Plan Militancy and the Abolitionist Movement 9, 10, 11, 12 Essential Question Did militancy help or hinder the abolitionist movement? Materials Abolition Excerpts (PDF) Timeline of the Abolitionist Movement (PDF) Background Although the original Constitution of the United States did not...
Lesson Plan Abraham Lincoln on Slavery and Race 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ 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...
Lesson Plan Native American Policy Government and Civics 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 Background: Two conflicting policies have governed this country’s treatment of Native Americans—assimilation and removal. As the United States expanded, it became necessary to issue formal policy statements and make treaties with...