As he formed his own political voice and ideologies, Frederick Douglass broke away from his abolitionist mentor, William Lloyd Garrison, to start the newspaper "The North Star" and give Black abolitionists a voice. This caused a rift in their relationship, as Douglass started to emerge as a political leader in his own right. He used words as battle axes, which can be seen fully in one of his most famous speeches, "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?".

Aims to develop a teaching knowledge of the field through extensive reading and discussion of major works. The reading covers a broad range of topics -- political, economic, social, and cultural -- and represents a variety of historical methods. Students make frequent oral presentations and prepare a 20-page review essay.

In this lesson, students will learn about Sojourner Truth’s egalitarian spirit in the face of institutional discrimination. After viewing a video about her life, students will examine an 1864 photograph of Truth and read excerpts of her most famous speech. The lesson concludes with students choosing a new name for a current-day exemplar of perseverance.

How many of these songs can you sing by heart? Fill in the blanks to complete the first line of these national songs and oaths.

What is the significance of the statues in the National Statuary Hall Collection? Which individuals are featured in this collection? How does their inclusion reflect the time in which they were selected?

Show what you know! Click on a picture, and drag it next to the words that it matches.

How many U.S. Government symbols and structures can you identify? Test your knowledge with this fun quiz!

Learn about the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. After watching the excerpts from Underground Railroad: The William Still Story, debate scenarios involving school rules and discuss the role of individual rights in society. Then, consider whether immoral rules or laws should still be followed.

U.S. symbols, songs, and structures. Show what you know using this downloadable crossword puzzle.

U.S. symbols, songs, and structures. Show what you know! Draw a line from the words to the picture that they match.

This is a lesson about learning U.S. symbols, states, and flags using an Adobe Spark webpage to present material on a projector, computer lab, or individual student devices. Students will create an Adobe Spark collage, presentation, or video using textor audio with photos they took and/or copyright-friendly photos properly cited.  

Students will watch excerpts from Ken Burns’s film Not For Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony, a video about Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and read a speech by Harper. They will then analyze the factors that led these women to become iconoclastic advocates for women’s rights and compare how and why their experiences differed. Students will then create a diagram, recipe, or slide show that demonstrates how these women’s life circumstances, personal qualities, significant experiences, and role models contributed to their actions. The activity will culminate in students reflecting on what makes a change-maker and considering their own capacities as change-makers.

When you think of the US Constitution, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Free speech? The right to bear arms? These passages are cited so often that it's hard to imagine the document without them. But the list of freedoms known as the Bill of Rights was not in the original text and wasn't added for three years. Why not? James Coll goes back to the origins of the Constitution to find out. Includes mutliple choice and open ended questions

With 2020 marking one hundred years since ratification of the 19th Amendment that gave some women the right to vote in the United States, women's history is about more than just looking back. Our Teacher's Guide provides compelling questions, lesson activities, and resources for integrating women's perspectives and experiences throughout the school year.