National Humanities Center
Teaching The Great Gatsby: A Common Core Close Reading Seminar
The 41 slides in a professional development seminar model how to use close reading techniques to examine the many layers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. In addition to passages from the novel, slides provide biographical...
Digital History
Digital History: Era of Good Feelings: Growth of American Nationalism
Part of an on-line textbook, this essay deals with the rise of nationalism in James Monroe's Era of Good Feelings and Monroe's attempts to solidify that idea.
Bill of Rights Institute
Bill of Rights Institute: Justice Thomas on National Identity
An examination of a speech Justice Clarence Thomas delivered in 2009 highlighting his thoughts on the Bill of Rights as well has his views on the importance of American civic responsibility.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Philosophy and Literature: History and Literature
Discusses the state of literature and written history in the 1800s as they related to the development of a national identity, and the role Romanticism played. With the passage of time, more serious literature emerged and authors began to...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Social Realism: W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. DuBois is featured here for his writings which advocated human rights for all, but particularly for African Americans in the early twentieth century. Click "W. E. B. DuBois Activities" for related materials.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: Becoming American: The Chinese Experience (Educator's Guide)
A 48-page guide designed for teachers who are using "Becoming American," a PBS series on Chinese immigration to the United States in their classrooms. The guide examines the historical events and significance of Chinese migration to...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages a Literary Survey
A series of 16 Instructional Units on American Literature with texts, videos, instructor guides, and more. Topics include: Native Voices, Exploring Borderlands, Utopian Promise, Spirit of Nationalism, Masculine Heroes, Gothic...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Phillis Wheatley
Phillis Wheatley, an African-American slave, is featured for her neoclassical poetry of pre-nineteenth century America. Click on "Phillis Wheatley Activities" for more resources.
Digital History
Digital History: Black Nationalism and Black Power
There were two methods of protesting discrimination of African Americans during the Civil Rights Movement: follow Martin Luther King, Jr. or Malcolm X. Find out about the Black Panther Party, Black Nationalism, and Black Power.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Thomas Jefferson
Arguably one of the most accomplished American in history, this brief biography features Thomas Jefferson and his written contributions to American literature. Click "Thomas Jefferson Activities" for related materials.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1980 Present: Continuity and Change in the Postwar Era
How much did the events of the tumultuous postwar era reshape American national identity? Kim discusses the extent to which developments like the Cold War, the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam, and student protests of the 1960s changed...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson
This features a brief biography of Ralph Waldo Emerson, an optimistic Transcendentalist author who's personal life was filled with tragedy. See "Ralph Waldo Emerson Activities" for related materials.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Philosophy and Literature: Quest for Nationalism
Describes the struggle of Americans to develop a unified sense of national identity in the 1800s.
Texas Education Agency
Texas Gateway: The American Spirit: Defending and Building Our Nation
Given background information about selected historical figures, students will be able to analyze the importance and contributions of women and people of various racial, ethnic, and religious groups to the national identity and the...
A&E Television
History.com: How the Chicano Movement Championed Mexican American Identity and Fought for Change
Chicano activists took on a name that had long been a racial slur -- and wore it with pride. In the 1960s, a radicalized Mexican-American movement began pushing for a new identification. The Chicano Movement, aka El Movimiento, advocated...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Lewis Cass: Triumph of Nationalism: America, 1815 1850
An argument by the Michigan Territorial governor, Lewis Cass, that claimed state laws superseded the rights claimed by Native American tribes like the Cherokee.
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History: O Logy: Stuff to Do: Mint Your Own Coin
The information on coins tells us a lot about the national identity of the country where it was made. Learn about the language and symbolic content of coins by creating one of your own that communicates something about your personal...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Triumph of Nationalism: Culture of the Common Man
A collection of twelve primary resources, primarily from American literature, that addresses questions about how the United States could function as a democracy, and differences between the concepts of the North and the South concerning...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Power: Taming the Octopus: Theodore Roosevelt, the New Nationalism
Theodore Roosevelt's speech in 1910 arguing for the vigorous involvement of government in American life.
Digital History
Digital History: Creating a Distinctly American Culture
Truly American literature based on American legend, native scenes, and American culture began to find a place in the 1820s. Read about three of the American writers that introduced American literature to a reading public.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: Early American Trade With China: American Ideas About Trade [Pdf]
American businessmen in the late 18th and 19th centuries were very interested in finding markets all over the world for their goods and actively pursuing opportunities for foreign trade. The young nation needed to earn money to pay back...
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Where Do You Feel Most American
A touching website from the National Public Radio devoted to stories of Americans who feel a national pride and an American identity.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Spirit of Nationalism: Susanna Rowson
American Passages presents a brief biography of Susanna Rowson, accomplished author and actress of the nineteenth century. Click on "Susanna Rowson Activities" for related materials.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: American Political Thought
Use this impressive collection of resources to enhance lessons about the history of political thoughts in the United States.