John Quincy Adams spent his entire life serving his country, but only managed to become President through a corrupt bargain. Find out the juicy details and how his rivals responded.

This resource contains a facsimile of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, which repealed the Missouri Compromise and reopened the issues of slavery in the western territories. The Act allowed the settlers of the Kansas and Nebraska territories to determine the legality of slavery for themselves. This served to deepen sectional tensions.

Discover what the Underground Railroad was, the role it played in our country’s history, and why Northern Kentucky was such a key location. In this interactive lesson, students will develop a written response to the questions, “What was the Underground Railroad, and why is Kentucky an important part of its history?” They will gather evidence from reading assignments, video segments from KET’s Kentucky Life, and more.

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources focused on the protests that led to the American Revolution.

At the end of an arduous 6 month, 1600 mile trek northward to Spain's new colonial capital of Santa Fe, Spanish colonists faced one last hurdle, the La Bajada Mesa. Noted archeologist Michael Marshall walks us through the trail as it travels up the mesa. Historian Dr. Estevan Rael-Gálvez shares his thoughts on the significance of the Camino Real.

What are the stories of U.S. Latinos and how do they inform the broader American narrative? From southern Florida to the San Juan Islands of Washington state, from the pre-history of the nation through today's most contentious issues, Latino experiences illuminate our country’s history and its struggle to live up to its ideals. This collection of lesson plans, videos and classroom resources invites teachers and students to explore the history, people and issues chronicled in the PBS series, Latino Americans. Along the way, it engages students in dramatic real-life stories and offers primary texts that serve the goals of the Common Core.

Students will view a video clip from Ken Burns: The Civil War and analyze the surrender terms, as well as the events leading to Lee’s surrender. Then they will review selections from General Grant’s memoirs. Discussion questions follow, which can be used for general class discussion or individual assessment. Answers to the questions are included.

Relations between Great Britain, its North American colonies, and the Native Americans were often difficult. The British wanted to solve these problems so they could reduce the number of British troops needed and thereby reduce expenses. One attempt to bring peace was the Proclamation of 1763. This edict created a line of settlement beyond which colonists were forbidden to settle. A transcription is included below in Support Materials.

Explore the meaning of the idiom “let the cat out of the bag” through present day conversation examples alongside a look into the past, in this video from Say What?! With visuals and a story that takes students to “Ye Olde Marketplace,” students discover this idiom's possible origin. Huzzah!

This resource includes teaching tips, discussion questions, vocabulary, and a critical thinking activity where students practice comparing and contrasting and using descriptive language.

Focusing on state curriculum for elementary school students, this collection of educational materials features video segments from Idaho Public Television’s Lewis and Clark: Moments in Time series, which is based on excerpts from the journals of Lewis and Clark.

Is there a cause so great you would sign a document knowing if the cause did not prevail, you could be hung? The Liberty Boys in the thirteen colonies thought so, and the signers of the Declaration of Independence did just that. A ranger at Wormsloe Plantation, Joe Thompson, explains what the Stamp Act meant to the colonists and how the Liberty Boys meeting at Tondee's Tavern reacted.

Patrick Henry's impassioned plea at the Second Virginia Convention in 1775, "Give me liberty or give me death," defined the American Revolution. This one-hour documentary-drama captures this seminal moment in American history by balancing experts' commentary on the events preceding the Second Virginia Convention with dramatic re-enactments of the historic moments that followed.

After five grueling months at sea, a small group of soldiers, laborers, and aristocrats from England completed a 3000-mile journey across the Atlantic and stepped off their ship to greet an unfamiliar new land. The year was 1607 and the land they chose to live on became the first permanent settlement of the British in North America: Jamestown. This set of primary resources includes images and documents that provide a window into this time period, as well as a Teacher's Guide with historical context and teaching suggestions.

Explore a collection of images highlighting life during the Civil War. The Union Army Balloon Corps was established to observe enemy positions from above, in balloons piloted by aeronauts like Professor Thaddeus S. Lowe. The U.S. Military Telegraph Corps was created to support the communications needed between officers on the battlefield and President Lincoln. More than a thousand operators sent and received messages across 4,000 miles of telegraph wires. Over 400,000 soldiers were held in Union and Confederate prison camps, an estimated 56,000 of whom died while imprisoned. The Civil War also created a refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes.

The search for Lincoln’s parent’s marriage certificate proved to be challenging due to developing county parameters at the time.

Trace the role of messenger birds throughout history and learn the meaning of the idiom “a little bird told me,” in this video from Say What?! From Ancient Egypt to World War I, this video combines conversational use of the idiom with written stories and legends to showcase its meaning.

This resource includes teaching tips, discussion questions, vocabulary, and a research and writing activity that prompts students to reimagine the “messenger bird.”

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources and focuses upon the lives of Tejanos and Hispanics during the Westward Expansion.

Best known for her novel Little Women, learn about the impact of the abolitionist movement on Louisa May Alcott’s life and writing and her experience working as a nurse during the Civil War in this video from the American Masters film Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind ‘Little Women.’ Engage students with discussion questions, a close reading of passages from Alcott’s book Hospital Sketches, connections to the PBS show Mercy Street, and research about other abolitionists.

Explore the impact of transcendentalism on the life of Louisa May Alcott and American society in this video from the American Masters film Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind 'Little Women.' Emphasizing self-reliance, civil disobedience, intuition, the importance of nature, and knowing oneself, transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau left a permanent mark on American identity and values. Alcott spent much of her life surrounded by deep thinkers like Emerson and Thoreau and echoes of their influence can be found in her writing and the way she lived her life. Engage students with discussion questions, a close reading of quotes from Emerson and Thoreau, and connections to the movement in popular culture today.

This resource contains images related to and a facsimile of the 1803 Louisiana Purchase Treaty. In this transaction with France, signed on April 30, 1803, the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. For roughly 4 cents an acre, the United States doubled its size, expanding the nation westward.