Spotlight on: Primary Source Diary of World War I nurse Ella Osborn, 1918–1919 World History 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 At the outbreak of World War I, Ella Jane Osborn was a surgical nurse at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. In January 1918, she volunteered to serve with the American Expeditionary Forces as a member of the Red Cross’s nursing...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Why Black men fought in World War I, 1919 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 During World War I, approximately 370,000 black men in the US military served in segregated regiments and were often relegated to support duties such as digging trenches, transporting supplies, cleaning latrines, and burying the dead....
Spotlight on: Primary Source Emma Goldman on the restriction of civil liberties, 1919 Government and Civics 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Emma Goldman was born to a Jewish family in Kovno, Russia (present-day Lithuania). In 1885, at the age of sixteen, she emigrated to the United States, becoming a well-known author and lecturer promoting anarchism, workers’ rights,...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Frederick Douglass: Advocate for Equality 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Most people know Frederick Douglass as an abolitionist, but his fight for equality did not end after the Thirteenth Amendment. In the February 18, 2021 session of Inside the Vault, educator Mandel Holland and Hamilton cast member...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Lucy Knox 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ During the siege of Boston in 1775, 19-year-old Lucy Knox gave up everything she knew and left Boston with her husband’s sword hidden in her clothes. She would never see her parents or siblings again. Lucy’s letters to her husband,...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The Union Army and Juneteenth, 1865 Government and Civics 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ This engraving depicts a White Union soldier reading the Emancipation Proclamation to an enslaved family. It was published in 1864 by Lucius Stebbins, based on a painting by Henry W. Herrick. According to Stebbins, the scene ...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: The March on Washington Government and Civics 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The event was covered by approximately 3,000 members of the press. The documents discussed illustrate the...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Fighting for the Rights of Black Lives in the Founding Era 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Prince Hall and James Forten protested the treatment of Black Americans during the Founding Era. In 1788 in Boston, Hall wrote a petition demanding the Massachusetts government protect Black sailors from being kidnapped and sold into...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Massachusetts 54th 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ On July 18, 1863, the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry led an assault against Battery Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina. The battle demonstrated the bravery and fierce determination of African American soldiers even though...