Lesson Plan Native American Cultures and the Impact of the Boarding Schools 3, 4, 5 Click to download this four-lesson unit.
Spotlight on: Primary Source Anti-corporate cartoons, ca. 1900 Art, Economics, Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ These cartoons illustrate the growing hostility toward the practices of the big businesses that fueled the industrial development of the United States. In "The Protectors of Our Industries" (1883), railroad magnates Jay Gould and...
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...
Spotlight on: Primary Source John Mosby on the silver issue, 1895 Economics In the late nineteenth century, Democrats and Republicans fought over whether the gold standard ought to be retained or if the United States should switch to a free silver system. In 1890, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was passed,...
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 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 Theodore Roosevelt and the Trusts Economics, Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12 Background Thick dark smoke billowing out of smokestacks several stories high proliferated across city skylines, heralding America's rise to world prominence and industrial supremacy. After the Civil War, Americans embraced the smog...
Lesson Plan The Erie Canal and the Rise of the Market Economy Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 9, 10, 11, 12 Objectives Students will examine primary documents and secondary sources to analyze effects of technology on economic growth in the first half of the nineteenth century. Students will be able to identify the major economic trends of...