In this unit students will develop a thorough knowledge of the text of the Monroe Doctrine and understand how this document represented a major shift in American foreign policy. Students will demonstrate learning by combining prior knowledge and outside sources to dig deeper and discover more relevant information related to the adoption and application of the Monroe Doctrine throughout United States history.

This resource is a lecture about Nixon and the Constitution by R. B. Bernstein.

Students will develop a rich understanding of the arguments in favor of and in opposition to the ratification of the US Constitution. They will examine and analyze key excerpts from "Federalist No. 51," George Mason’s Objections to the Constitution, and notes from Alexander Hamilton’s Plan of Government speech. As the students discuss the arguments presented, they will come to understand that Americans did not unilaterally agree on their new form of government.

These lessons on the Bill of Rights are part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core–based units. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulating their understanding of the complete document by answering questions in an argumentative writing style to fulfill the Common Core Standards. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

This lesson on the Bill of Rights is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core–based units. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, demonstrating their understanding through visual and oral presentations. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

These lessons on the Bill of Rights are part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core–based units. These units were written to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Students will demonstrate this knowledge by writing summaries of selections from the original document and, by the end of the unit, articulating their understanding of the complete document by answering questions in an argumentative writing style to fulfill the Common Core Standards. Through this step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.

In these three lessons the students will analyze and assess Executive Order 10730, which was issued by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on September 23, 1957, in response to a crisis concerning the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Additionally, the students will compare and contrast reactions to President Eisenhower’s executive order by examining and evaluating letters that were written to the White House by American citizens in response to this policy. The students will use close textual analysis to draw conclusions and present arguments as directed in each lesson. They will compose a persuasive essay supported by textual evidence from the documents to express and defend their viewpoints.

Students will examine, explain, and evaluate a variety of literary and visual primary sources that describe and depict the development and impact of railroads on sectional relationships, national unity, and economic growth during the nineteenth century; analyze and assess eyewitness accounts, a notable photograph, and two maps of railway routes; read, discuss, and draw conclusions about the text and major concepts; make a sound response to one of several possible "essential questions."

This unique copy of the US Constitution was printed by Claxton and Babcock in Albany, New York, between February 11 and March 21, 1788. Copies of the Constitution were widely distributed following the document’s signing by the members of the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, and six states had already ratified it. So why was this late printing even undertaken?

Historian James Oliver Horton briefly examines the protections for slavery embedded in the US Constitution.

Until 1804, American presidents were elected under a system established in the US Constitution in which each member of the Electoral College voted for two presidential candidates. The candidate who received the most votes became president; the candidate with the second-most votes became vice president.

This resource provides brief explanations of all the amendments that are part of the Bill of Rights.

In a series of three brief clips, Larry Kramer, Dean of Stanford Law School, provides some insights into understanding and teaching various details of the constitution.

Interactive Timeline about WWI and the United States with story map below. Gives a concise overview of the First World War and the timeline provides a summary of major events from the war and the homefront.

On May 25, 1787, the fifty-five delegates to the Constitutional Convention began meeting in a room, no bigger than a large schoolroom, in Philadelphia’s State House. They posted sentries at the doors and windows to keep their "secrets from flying out." They barred the press and public, and took a vow not to reveal to anyone the words spoken there. There were speeches of two, three, and four hours. The convention, which lasted four months, took only a single eleven-day break. Explore these primary sources to learn more.

Jack Rakove, William Robertson Coe Professor of History and American Studies at Stanford University, briefly discusses James Madison's role in the framing and ratification of the Constitution, as well as the legal approach of Originalism.

This unit is part of Gilder Lehrman’s series of Common Core State Standards–based teaching resources. These units were developed to enable students to understand, summarize, and analyze original texts of historical significance. Through a step-by-step process, students will acquire the skills to analyze any primary or secondary source material.