C3 Teachers
Women’s Rights: What Does It Mean to Be Equal?
A guided-inquiry lesson asks seventh graders to research the compelling question, "What does it mean to be equal?" Guided by three supporting questions, researchers complete three formative performance tasks and gather evidence from...
Center for History Education
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire: Is Anyone to be Punished for This?
The stories of bodies falling to the pavement and girls dying in their seats echo to the present day. The New York City Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire—which killed 147 people, mostly young women and girls—galvanized the labor movement...
DocsTeach
A Revolution, a Reaction and a Reform: Getting Ready for National History Day
Get ready for National History Day! A thought-provoking activity focuses on a hypothetical project for National History Day (NHD). Academics review three primary sources to determine if they would meet the criteria for a NHD project....
Center for History Education
Reshaping American Society: How did Immigration and Urbanization Affect America in the mid 1800s?
From the Know-Nothings to the Bible Riots, immigration and urbanization changed the face of America in the middle of the 1800s. Using documents that range from immigrant experiences to renderings of violent conflict between immigrants...
C-SPAN
Jane Addams and John Dewey
Imagine living where there was eight inches of garbage on the street! These were the situations the Progressive movement sought to reform. Using video clips about John Dewey and Jane Addams, learners consider the philosophies and impact...
DocsTeach
The SS Quanza and European War Refugees
World War II not only resulted in major loss of life, but it also displaced thousands of people. An eye-opening activity uses primary documents to explore the refugee crisis during World War II. Scholars compare the event to modern-day...
DocsTeach
The New Deal: Revolution or Reform?
Scholars weigh in on FDR's New Deal policies in an in-depth activity. The resource uses historical documents to explore whether the New Deal polices were reformatory or revolutionary. Learners review documents, rate them using a scale,...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2010
Just how successful were the reform movements of the ninteenth and twentieth centuries? Using documents ranging from the writings of Mother Jones to the marriage vows of Lucy Stone, individuals consider the question in a scaffolded...
New York State Education Department
US History and Government Examination: June 2012
The reform movements—such as abolition, the push for women's suffrage, and the labor movement—shaped modern America. A document analysis activity and essay prompt help learners consider why. Other items in the high-level exam include an...
Library of Congress
Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal: An Educational Voyage
Following the book, Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal, readers complete an activity for each chapter, take part in discussions, and respond to several questions. To show what they know, scholars create an alphabet book using primary...
Curated OER
Reform Movements (1)
In this online interactive American history worksheet, high schoolers answer 12 multiple choice questions regarding American reform movements. Students may submit their answers to be scored.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: John Mayfield, Triumph of Nationalism: America, 1815 1850
An essay in which historian John Mayfield claims Americans' evangelical passion is the "religious equivalent of nationalism."
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Racial Uplift Ideology in the Era of "The Negro Problem"
History professor Kevin Gaines explores the idea that educated blacks are responsible for the welfare of the majority of the race and how the uplift ideology undermined collective social advancement.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Political Cartoons
Offers teaching activities, four political cartoons, and a narrative about reforms proposed by three major presidential candidates in 1912: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.
US National Archives
Nara: Teaching With Documents: Petition of Amelia Bloomer Regarding Suffrage
Amelia Bloomer was a prominent advocate of women's rights in the 19th century. She invented bloomers to replace the skirt hoop, in an effort to free women from much of their cumbersome apparel. She later used her newspaper, The Lily, to...
Mount Holyoke College
Mt. Hoyoke College: Chinese Exclusion Act
Provides full length, section-by-section text of the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed by the 47th U.S. Congress in 1882.
PBS
Pbs: Not for Ourselves Alone
This site, a companion to a PBS program, explores the lives of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. With ample use of video and audio commentary, the site chronicles their work, their friendship and thus the history of the...
PBS
Pbs: Jane Addams and Hull House
An interesting interview with Robyn Muncy, a Professor of History, about Addams and the philosophy of the women who started the Hull House.
Other
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The fascinating history of the WCTU and the many causes it advocated.
Other
D Archives: Alice Stone Blackwell, Objections Answered
Read this 1915 essay by Alice Stone Blackwell, who outlines the basic reasons women should be granted equal voting rights in the U.S.
University of Pennsylvania
Twenty Years at Hull House With Autobiographical Notes
The text and pictures of the book written by Jane Addams about her experiences at Hull House.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: Liberty for All? Webisode 3
Webisode 3 - Liberty for All? The history of the United States is presented in a series of webisodes, within each are a number of segments.Included are links to lesson plans, teacher guides, resources, activities, and tools.
Virginia Tech
Dhr: How Did Abolitionism Lead to the Struggle for Women's Rights?
Online learning experience consists of a self-contained module focussing on abolitionism and the struggle for women's rights. The module includes an introduction outlining the module objectives and historical questions, background...
Other
Naacp: How the Naacp Began
Information about the history of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.