Native American groups had to choose the loyalist or patriot cause"”or somehow maintain a neutral stance during the Revolutionary War. Students will analyze maps, treaties, congressional records, first-hand accounts, and correspondence to determine the different roles assumed by Native Americans in the American Revolution and understand why the various groups formed the alliances they did.

Students study the interaction between environment and culture as they learn about three vastly different indigenous groups in a game-like activity that uses vintage photographs, traditional stories, photos of artifacts, and recipes.

By researching these "ordinary" people and the now historic places where they brought about change, students will discover how the simple act of sitting at a lunch counter in North Carolina could be considered revolutionary, and how, combined with countless other acts of nonviolent protest across the nation, it could lead to major legislation in the area of civil rights for African Americans.

Examines the history of the United States as a "nation of immigrants" within a broader global context. Considers migration from the mid-19th century to the present through case studies of such places as New York's Lower East Side, South Texas, Florida, and San Francisco's Chinatown. Examines the role of memory, media, and popular culture in shaping ideas about migration. Includes optional field trip to New York City.

A collection of nine excerpts from historical accounts of epidemics: two from ancient sources, one from the Black Death in 14th century Europe, one from the 1665 Plague of London, one from the late 18th century Yellow Fever outbreak in Philadelphia, two from smallpox epidemics on Native American reservations in the late 19th century, and two from the influenza pandemic of 1918.

All readings include a brief introduction to the historical context, a glossary, discussion questions, and sources. Discussion questions can be edited to support learning in various disciplines.

The presidential election of 1824 represents a watershed in American politics. The collapse of the Federalist Party and the illness of the "official candidate" of the Democratic-Republicans led to a slate of candidates who were all Democratic-Republicans. This led to the end of the Congressional Caucus system for nominating candidates, and eventually, the development of a new two-party system in the United States. In this unit, students will read an account of the election from the Journal of the House of Representatives, analyze archival campaign materials, and use an interactive online activity to develop a better understanding of the election of 1824 and its significance.

Examine a collection of primary source documents about railroads in the United States.

This unit is centered around an anchor text that may be common among content area teachers in a high school setting. Although this unit may be incorporated into any high-school English class, it is aligned with Common Core standards for 9-10. This unit will primarily focus on informational and argumentative texts, and can be used to incorporate more informational texts (as directed by the Common Core) into English classrooms at the high school level. This unit is best suited to a collaborative model of development in which ELA and content area teachers share an anchor text (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and communicate about how to connect diverse skills to common texts and essential questions.

This course uses readings and discussions to focus on a series of short-term events that shed light on American politics, culture, and social organization. It emphasizes finding ways to make sense of these complicated, highly traumatic events, and on using them to understand larger processes of change in American history. The class also gives students experience with primary documentation research through a term paper assignment.

Many of EDSITEment's lesson plans incorporate engaging interactives alongside primary sources to teach about a range of content topics in U.S. history. Timelines, maps, decision making scenarios, and more are available as introductions to eras in history, significant events, and as catalysts for student inquiry.

uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. TwHP has created products and activities that help teachers bring historic places into the classroom. Lesson plans turn students into historians as they study primary sources, historical and contemporary photographs and maps, and other documents, and then search for the history around them in their own communities.

tells the stories of three cities established after the Comstock Lode discovery in 1859 brought a reverse migration from California. The stories, told by this travel itinerary of 57 places, feature the mining and agricultural city now known for gaming, the remarkable collection of 19th-century buildings created with wealth generated by the Comstock Lode, and the state capital.

The shooting death in Sanford, Florida, of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin at the hands of 28-year-old George Zimmerman in February 2012 has touched off debate on many issues, including the role of race in both the shooting and the subsequent investigation by the Sanford Police department. This exercise consists of two student readings. The first reading examines the debate surrounding Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law. What is the "Stand Your Ground" law? What do supporters and critics have to say about it? What effect has it had? The second reading takes a wider look at the gun control debate. Should stronger gun control laws be passed? Questions for student discussion follow each reading.

From CK-12, U.S. History Sourcebook - Advanced covers U.S. history from Colonial America through World War I. This book provides high school U.S. History teachers and students with sets of primary and secondary sources about important topics. Some teachers will use it as a supplement to a traditional textbook. For those looking to leave the textbook behind entirely, it will provide a course with basic structure and continuity, and will reduce the burden of finding new primary sources for each class meeting. However, it is not yet comprehensive enough to meet the coverage requirements of, for example, an Advanced Placement test.

From CK-12, U.S. History Sourcebook - Basic covers U.S. history from Colonial America through World War I. This book provides high school U.S. History teachers and students with sets of primary and secondary sources about important topics. Some teachers will use it as a supplement to a traditional textbook. For those looking to leave the textbook behind entirely, it will provide a course with basic structure and continuity, and will reduce the burden of finding new primary sources for each class meeting. However, it is not yet comprehensive enough to meet the coverage requirements of, for example, an Advanced Placement test.

Some controversies arise when our shared values and principles conflict with one another. Police “stop-and-frisk” policy is one such issue. In stop-and-frisk, police officers stop, question, and conduct a pat-down search of pedestrians or occupants of cars. This unit will allow students the opportunity to explore and evaluate this issue through a variety of nonfiction sources, evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the authors’ arguments. The focus of this unit is on the close reading of texts, and on building and supporting an argument.

This Unit contains 4 lessons:
Lesson 1: Stop-and-frisk Overview
Lesson 2: Analysis of Court Opinion
Lesson 3: Stop-and-frisk Evaluating the Positions
Lesson 4: Stop-and-frisk Debate

In this curriculum unit, students reconsider the events leading to U.S. entry into World War I through the lens of archival documents.

Segregation in the South in the 1950s might not have existed if, in 1883, the Supreme Court hadn’t declared The Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional. A federal law enacted during Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Act of 1857 was to guarantee African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations like hotels, restrooms, and other public spaces, and public transportation, and prohibited exclusion from serving on a jury. Additionally, the 14th Amendment declared that all races were to be granted equal treatment under the law. However, an 1883 Supreme Court decision clarified that the law did not apply to private persons or corporations. In the decade that followed, a number of other federal court decisions and state laws severely restricted the rights of African Americans. For example, in 1890, the State of Louisiana passed a law that required railroads to provide “equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races.”

In 1870, the United States was primarily an agricultural nation. Most Americans made a living from farming. Flash forward fifty years and the United States underwent a major transformation as more Americans left farming in search of industrial jobs in cities.With the discovery and usage of raw materials, creation of new inventions, and expansion of big business; the Industrial Revolution transformed the American economy and the lives of millions of Americans.