This self-paced lesson provides historical context for Thanksgiving and presents students with writing-based activities. This is an activity that students can complete, or it can be assigned as a take-home activity (pending computer and Internet access) for family participation.

Discover the history of the Petersen House from 1849 to today. Known as the house where Lincoln died, the Petersen House changed from a family home into a museum and is now a historic site.

Andrew Jackson was both beloved and loathed during his presidency. In this imaginary courtroom, you get to be the jury, considering and weighing Jackson’s part in the spoils system, economic depression, and the Indian Removal Act, as well as his patriotism and the pressures of the presidency. James Fester explores how time shapes our relationship to controversial historical figures.

Many people in the United States and Latin America have grown up celebrating the anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s voyage. But was he an intrepid explorer who brought two worlds together or a ruthless exploiter who brought colonialism and slavery? And did he even discover America at all? Alex Gendler puts Columbus on the stand in History vs. Christopher Columbus.

This video gives an overview of civilian life during the American Civil War. It contrasts the Northern and Southern experience. A great resource to helping students understand the ordinary experience instead of only focusing on the generals and presidents of the time.

This document includes images of the 1862 Homestead Act. Passed on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres of surveyed public land for a minimal filing fee and 5 years of continuous residence on that land.

On July 14, 1861, Sullivan Ballou, a major in the Second Rhode Island Volunteers, wrote a poignant letter home to his wife in Smithfield. He wrote of his deep love for her, his desire to see their sons "grow up to honorable manhood," and the possibility that he might not return; saying, "If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name." One week later, Major Ballou was killed in the first Battle of Bull Run.

Learn how the issue of slavery divided the nation in this excerpt from The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns. By mid-century, the country was deeply divided. Southerners feared the North might forbid slavery. Northerners feared slavery might move west. As each new state was added to the union, it threatened to upset the delicate equilibrium of power.

This media literacy centered lesson focuses on Benjamin Franklin as a master media manipulator while also exploring how Franklin’s iconic Join, or Die imagery has been remixed, reused, and reappropriated over time. Students will consider the historical context of America’s first major political cartoon and weigh media literacy concepts such as how media influences beliefs and opinion, how different people view media differently, and how context can change a media message.

Learn how geography has shaped the lives of the people of Boston and see how different Boston’s landscape is today in this interactive activity—produced by WGBH and featuring materials from the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library. Explore colonial Boston and the geographic and human-made features of the Shawmut Peninsula in 1723: hills, ships and shipyards, and a narrow “neck” connecting the town to the mainland.

On September 6, 1522, the "Victoria" sailed into harbor in southern Spain. The battered vessel and its 18 sailors were all that remained of a fleet that had departed three years before. Yet her voyage was considered a success, for the "Victoria" had achieved something unprecedented – the first circumnavigation of the globe. Ewandro Magalhaes shares the story of Magellan’s journey. Has questions for comprehension and discussion

War is expensive; in addition to munitions and equipment, soldiers need to be paid for their services–and it was no different during the Civil War. Storyteller Peter Bonner recounts tales of Civil War paydays. Because wages were so low, no weapons were allowed out of fear someone would kill the paymaster. Confederate soldiers were paid an average of $12 a month, or about $.39 a day.

North America didn’t always have its familiar shape, nor its famed mountains, canyons, and plains: all of that was once contained in an unrecognizable mass, buried deep in Rodinia, a huge supercontinent that lay on the face of the Earth. Peter J. Haproff explains how it took millions of years and some incredible plate tectonics to forge the continent we know today.

The Andersonville Raiders were a band of rogue soldiers incarcerated at the Confederate Andersonville Prison during the American Civil War. These soldiers terrorized their fellow prisoners, stealing their possessions and sometimes even committing murder.

A collection of videos explaining aspects of the American Revolution that are not commonly talked about. Each Video is approximately 2 min long.

In this Origin of Everything video, students learn about colonialism and resource control by analyzing the 19th century demand for rubber in Western countries.

The US Supreme Court has been designed to be reactive to legislative decisions made in other branches of government, as opposed to an active legislative body that seeks to create and institute new laws. VOX explains how a case can make its way to the Supreme Court and how the court prioritizes case selections. The website has multiple questions for teachers to use.

If you live in the United States, you may live in the Eastern Standard Time Zone. Or maybe you live in Mountain Standard Time or one of the other standardized time zones. But these time zones have not always been around. In fact, it's a fairly recent development. William Heuisler explains the history of time and how trains changed everything.

On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln legally changed the status of over 3 million people from “slave” to “free.” But his emancipation proclamation wasn’t a law — it was an executive order. The framers of the American Constitution made this power available to the executive branch. But what exactly is this tool, how does it work, and what’s the extent of its power? Christina Greer explains. Questions available for teachers to use.

Can geography save your life in case of, say, a zombie apocalypse? Understanding the push and pull factors that create geographic movement -- or how people, resources, and even ideas travel -- might help you determine the location that's best for survival. David Hunter playfully analyzes the geography skills that you'd need to escape the zombies. Includes multiple questions for testing comprehension and having discussions