In this activity students will analyze the Senate Journal of the First Congress and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article II of the Constitution in action.

This activity is designed to prepare students for the Constitution-in-Action Lab at the National Archives in Washington, DC. It is a part of a package of activities associated with the lab experience.

In this activity students will analyze the Oaths of Senators for the Impeachment Trial of William Jefferson Clinton and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article I, sections 1-7 of the Constitution in action.

This activity is designed to prepare students for the Constitution-in-Action Lab at the National Archives in Washington, DC. It is a part of a package of activities associated with the lab experience.

In this activity students will analyze the Declaration of Intention for Albert Einstein and identify how the document demonstrates content contained within Article I, sections 8-10 of the Constitution in action.

This activity is designed to prepare students for the Constitution-in-Action Lab at the National Archives in Washington, DC. It is a part of a package of activities associated with the lab experience.

The Constitution acted like a colossal merger, uniting a group of states with different interests, laws, and cultures. Under Americaâ"s first national government, the Articles of Confederation, the states acted together only for specific purposes. The Constitution united its citizens as members of a whole, vesting the power of the union in the people. Without it, the American Experiment might have ended as quickly as it had begun.

In this activity, students analyze a photograph and infer the experiences of a Chinese man who was used in an ethnographic display. Primary resources used. Appropriate for teaching the effects of imperialism or how cultures viewed one another as "other." Online resource.

The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. Unlike the other founding documents, the Declaration of Independence is not legally binding, but it is powerful. Abraham Lincoln called it "a rebuke and a stumbling-block to tyranny and oppression." It continues to inspire people around the world to fight for freedom and equality.

The National Archives provides primary source sets, educator resources and articles, and printable primary sources analysis sheets. This page on the site outlines how to analyze primary source documents. Document analysis is the first step in working with primary sources. Teach your students to think through primary source documents for contextual understanding and to extract information to make informed judgments.

In this activity, students analyze various primary documents related to presidential decisions. After examining the documents, they determine which president was involved and place the document on a map. They decide if decisions made were part of domestic or foreign policy. Through discussion and analysis, students are led to understand that the decisions a president makes are part of his legacy. Requires a basic knowledge of key historical events. Online resource, includes discussion questions. Complex.

This document is an order to show cause in the Marbury v. Madison Supreme Court case. An order to show cause explains that a defendant is expected to appear before the judge and defend his or her actions. The document shows damage from the 1898 fire in the Capitol Building.

For this activity, students analyze primary documents to understand food manufacturing conditions before and after food regulations were passed in 1906. Connects to the Progressive Era and the history of regulation. Students sequence documents and photographs in this online resource. Guided questions provided.

Go to National Archives and search for the electoral college, if the link does not work, this Text/HTML has a ton of information on the electoral college as well as historical results. You can also see the actual ballots sent in by each state as well as all electors chosen by each party within a state. LW

Students match primary sources to the reasons individuals immigrated to the United States.

Zoom in on digital copies of the original documents. Each includes classroom resources and lessons. Lesson idea: Assign groups one of the nine documents then have them give quick presentation about them--be sure each group highlights the importance of the document.

On May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (five separate cases consolidated under a single name), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that separate but equal public schools violated the 14th Amendment.

In this ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that slaves were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the Federal Government or the courts. The opinion also stated that Congress had no authority to ban slavery from a Federal territory.

This is an activity where students are required to match the photograph of a famous abolitionist with a description of his or her accomplishments. Students learn about abolition and steps that were taken to end slavery.

In this activity, students match photographs of different types of technology used during WW1 and explain how each impacted the war. Then, students read an eyewitness account of the war.

President John Adams sent this message nominating John Marshall to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

The road to Emancipation was indeed stony! Enslaved people struggled to free themselves and loved ones, one person at a time.

This activity includes primary sources from the official records of the U.S. District Court at Boston that tell the story of William and Ellen Craft, a young couple from Macon, GA, who escaped to freedom in Boston in 1848. The two traveled together, Ellen as a White gentleman (she was the daughter of an African-American woman and a White master and passed as White), and William as her slave valet. They made their way to Boston, and lived in the home of Lewis Hayden, a former fugitive and abolition activist.

With the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act in September, 1850, the Crafts' respective owners employed the legal system to regain their escaped property. A U.S. Marshal was sent to the home of Lewis Hayden. Hayden refused to let the marshal in and threatened to ignite kegs of gunpowder; the Marshal left. Ellen and William fled to Britain, where they remained for 20 years. They eventually returned to the United States and settled back in Georgia.

In this activity, students will examine historic documents about these fugitives from slavery. Then, using the documents, they will construct historical narratives to tell their story. They can explore perspective and use standard elements of writing (plot, character, setting, conflict, impact). Thinking about essential questions/topics, they will begin their writing with a topic/opening sentence that sets out the main idea.