In this lesson plan drawing on material from Latino Americans, students analyze how regions such as Texas, New Mexico and California had established Mexican and Indigenous communities already in place as the United States expanded westward in the mid 1800s. Students review the different ways that Mexican citizens come to terms with the expansion of the United States and the ways in which they became foreigners in their own lands within a very short time.

The ratification of the Constitution was hotly debated across the country but nowhere as fiercely as in New York. Students read Federalist and Anti-Federalist positions from the New York State Convention to explore the different sides of the debate and to understand who stood on each side.

The Fifteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1870, the third of three “Reconstruction Amendments” ratified in the wake of the Civil War. It prevented the U.S. government and States from denying citizens the right to vote based on “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Prominent suffragists, including Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, advocated for the inclusion of “sex” among these categories, but were ultimately unsuccessful.

Article looking at Slavery and what side they chose to side with during the American Revolution. This could be used as enrichment/extension, or annotated as a class.

Black men in Kentucky who wanted to fight for the Union Army faced extraordinary challenges. In January 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation had declared that all enslaved people in the Confederate States were free. Black men could officially enlist in the Union Army as combat soldiers. But this did not apply to Kentucky because Kentucky had declared that it was on the side of the Union. Although Kentucky was on the Union side, the state did not want to end slavery.

This activity utilizes primary source documents, video from The Good Stuff: Time Capsule and the PBS series Mercy Street to examine the Black Lives Matter Movement and the racial conflicts of today and trace their roots to the Abolitionist Movement of the nineteenth century. For more resources from Mercy Street, check out the collection page. For more resources from Mercy Street, check out the collection page.

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.

It’s 1770. You are Nat Wheeler, a 14-year-old apprentice in Boston. As tensions rise among Patriots, Loyalists, and others, can you decide where your loyalties lie? Play online or download the iPad app.

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.

Set of articles evaluating France's involvement with the American Revolution. Articles can be used as case studies and done as a class or can be used as enrichment for students to explore there are also a few videos that quickly go over their involvement.

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 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.

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.

George Washington: First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen consists of three lessons examining George Washington's leadership in the French and Indian War, at the Federal Convention, and as chief executive. They are based on primary source documents from George Washington Papers. The documents from Washington's Letterbooks include focus questions that may be used in Socratic seminars, cooperative learning, individual and group work.