Complete this focused inquiry and answer the compelling question: Should All Americans Celebrate Emancipation? After examining sources, which includes videos from Ken Burns UNUM, students will analyze the effects of the Emancipation Proclamation and construct a claim answering the compelling question.

Complete this focused inquiry and answer the compelling question: Was the Homestead Act a Successful Government Policy for All Americans? After examining sources, which includes a video from this Ken Burns UNUM Migration and Settlement playlist, students will analyze the success of the Homestead Act and construct a claim answering the compelling question.

Confederate gunners fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. Fort Sumter fell 34 hours later. It was a bloodless opening to the bloodiest war in American history.

Bowdoin College video analyzing the elections process and history of representatives, senators, and the United States president. Handouts for students and suggested activities are provided below the video.

Students examine the life of Francisco Menendez--a powerful warrior and leader of Fort Mose, the first free Black settlement in North America in this video from Secrets of Spanish Florida: A Secrets of the Dead Special. Utilizing video, discussion questions, teaching tips, and maps of the region, students analyze this important community and its place in American history.

Students explore what it means to speak out for your beliefs, or to right a wrong. After watching a short video, they will reflect on Douglass’s courage and the importance of literacy in his activism. They will read excerpts from Douglass’s autobiographies and examine an 1850 etching of Douglass being pulled away from a stage prior to giving a speech. Finally, they will reflect on Douglass’s importance as both a historical figure and as a role model for their own lives.

With the help of Northern missionaries, the Freedmen’s Bureau and African American churches, formerly enslaved people made impressive strides under the protection of federal reconstruction policies. Thousands of freedmen, old and young alike, were learning to read and write. A handful of these schools would grow into Black colleges, which began to appear across Tennessee, as the need for African American teachers intensified.

Learn about the risks involved for members of the French Resistance and the civilian communities in which they operated, in this excerpt from World on Fire | MASTERPIECE. Pretending to be a seamstress, a French Jewish woman in the Resistance finds a way to support the movement and fight against Nazi occupation in France.

Learn the story of Venture Smith, an African boy who was enslaved and brought to America in 1737. In this interactive lesson, students will explore the differences between slavery in the North and South as they learn about Smith’s journey from slavery to freedom.

This video from The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross explains the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and what led to its implementation.

The 1850 Fugitive Slave Act empowered the Federal Government to get involved in the business of recapturing slaves who ran away to Northern states. It represented a last-ditch effort for wealthy and well-connected slave owners to hold onto the bondage of slavery. This clip explores the impact of demands made by Southern slave-holding states on Federal legislation and the freedom of African Americans in the North.

Explore this documentary film clip and engage students in historical thinking using the Library of Congress Primary Source Analysis Tool. In this inquiry-based resource for Harriet Tubman: Visions of Freedom, students view a video clip examining how Harriet Tubman used her knowledge of Maryland as a border state to influence decisions that impacted the Civil War, analyze primary source photographs and maps from the era, and consider discussion prompts for more dialogue and deeper reflection.

Students learn to generate ideas for innovation using two different approaches in this lesson plan from NOVA Education. In the first approach, ideas are generated based on inspiration drawn from existing materials and found objects. In the second approach, students generate ideas based on the needs of different user demographics around the world. All ideas generated by these two approaches contribute to the design thinking process for creating innovative solutions to the world's complex problems.

George Washington Carver was a complex man who had many gifts — a Renaissance man. He was a scientist, teacher, humanitarian, environmentalist and an artist. He was a spiritual man, and a man of quiet perseverance. Born enslaved, Carver defied the odds.

Analyze the Siege of Yorktown using the report General George Washington sent to the Continental Congress with a transcription of the primary source provided by George Washington’s Mount Vernon. After a decisive week of fighting at the Siege of Yorktown, General George Washington wrote this letter to the President of the Continental Congress, Thomas McKean; his account of the preceding action shows the Colonial forces are positioned for success.

Dive into media-rich resources from George Washington’s Mount Vernon that highlight his role as a leader during the American Revolution. See the progress of the war through the actions and decisions of General George Washington, such as direct confrontation, military strategy, disease prevention, and spy techniques

The Germans from Russia have a unique heritage of immigration, first from Germany to Russia, then from Russia to America. This timeline shows their migration to Russia, and their subsequent immigration to America.

PBS Learning video about a candidate getting the nomination through either primaries or caucuses. Information about delegates and super delegates and "Super Tuesday". Available in English and Spanish.

Choctaw traditions link their mounds with their ancestors, corn, and the sky. The story defining these connections describes a moment long ago during which two hunters came upon a mysterious woman standing on a mound. She was hungry, so they offered her a hawk, and she promised to repay the kindness as she disappeared into the sky. When the hunters returned to the mound later, corn had grown in her place. And so the Choctaw regard this unknown woman as the reason they have corn.