Syracuse University
World War II
During World War II propaganda was as important to the war effort as the soldiers in the field. Scholars consider how the government communicated messages of patriotism with propaganda by examining pieces from World War II. Then, they...
Teaching for Change
History Detectives: Voting Rights in Mississippi, 1964
Promises made and promise broken. Spies and activists. Voting rights in Mississippi are the focus of a instructional activity that has class members research the history of the struggle in Mississippi. Learners take on the role of voting...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
World War I and Alabama's Rainbow Division
As part of their study of World War I, class members investigate the role of Alabama's 167th Infantry Regiment, part of the Rainbow Division, in World War I.
National Endowment for the Humanities
The Strategy of Containment, 1947–1948
How do people stop the spread of an ideology they don't think is right? Scholars research the policy of containment during the start of the Cold War. Small groups analyze primary sources to determine how the United States combated...
US House of Representatives
“‘The Negroes’ Temporary Farewell,” Jim Crow and the Exclusion of African Americans from Congress, 1887–1929
Despite some advances made during the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War, the period from 1887 through 1929, African Americans serving in Congress suffered severe setbacks due to Jim Crow Laws and voter suppression. Class members...
City University of New York
Woman's Suffrage and World War I
How did women use President Wilson's ideals and rhetoric in their bid for suffrage? To answer this essential question, class groups analyze primary written documents and visual images.
National Woman's History Museum
Rosie the Riveter: The Embodiment of the American Woman’s Economic and Social Awakening
Critical events force change. World War II forced a change in perceptions of and attitudes toward women. When thousands of men joined the military American factories were left shorthanded. Young historians investigate how media was used...
National Woman's History Museum
Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin
Political activist, suffragette, pacifist, and the first woman elected to Congress, Jeannette Rankin has been largely ignored in history and history textbooks. Young historians set out to rectify that situation by examining primary...
Japan Society
Japan in the World Since 1945
What have US-Japanese relations been like since the conclusion of World War II? Why do some commentators identify Japan's postwar years as a subordinate independence? Invite your young historians to research Japan's status in the world...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
A College Student's Perspective on WWI
Some things remain the same, such as the world being on the brink of war, or college attendees writing home requesting money. As part of their research into events that led up to President Wilson's declaration of war on Germany, class...
National WWII Museum
Dr. Seuss and WWII
What famous children's author and illustrator created World War II political cartoons featuring such subjects as fascism, the war effort, discrimination, and the dangers of isolationism? The who in this story is Dr. Seuss, and what...
City University of New York
Jim Crow and Voting Rights
Class groups examine primary source documents to determine how the voting rights of African Americans were restricted after the failure of Reconstruction, and how African American participation in World War II lead to change.
Library of Virginia
Antebellum Freedom
From indentured servitude to involuntary race-based servitude, slavery has taken many forms in American history. Class members examine three manumission petitions that reveal how the rights of African Americans and African American...
Syracuse University
American Industrial Revolution
While the Industrial Revolution may have fueled America's rise to the top of world markets, the child laborers often faced dangerous conditions. Using primary source images and other information, scholars consider what these children...
PBS
Using Primary Sources: Wide Open Town
A picture speaks a thousand words, no matter how old! Scholars use political cartoons from the era of Prohibition and the Temperance Movement to analyze what, a primary document (in this case, a bootlegger's notebook) is telling them...
US House of Representatives
Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970
The third instructional activity in a unit that traces the history of African Americans serving in the US Congress examines the period from 1929 through 1970. After reading a contextual essay that details the few African Americans...
PBS
The Sixties: Dylan Plugs in and Sells Out
Before Woodstock, there was Newport. Get plugged in to the social changes of the 1960s with a lesson that looks at Bob Dylan's performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival as a symbol of the radical changes that marked the era.
Delegation of the European Union to the United States
The Founding and Development of the European Union
How did Europe transition from a period of conflict to a period of sustained peace? As class members continue their study of the history and development of the European Union, groups examine the events in six time periods, from the EU's...
Center for History Education
Women's Rights in the American Century
Today, many young people find it hard to understand why it took over 150 years for women in the United States to get the right to vote—why there was even a need for the suffrage movement. As they read a series of primary source...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Eleanor Roosevelt and the Rise of Social Reform in the 1930's
Eleventh graders explore the various roles that Eleanor Roosevelt took on. In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze the views that Eleanor Roosevelt held as an advocate for social justice. Young scholars evaluate her contributions...
US House of Representatives
Black Americans in Congress Speak Their Mind
To conclude their study of Black Americans in Congress, groups select a statement made by one of the Members, examine the Member's profile on the provided link, and create a display that includes state represented, years of service, an...
Global Oneness Project
Documenting Architectural Heritage
Imagine going from being one of the richest, most important cities in the world to one of the poorest. Imagine the history captured in the architecture of such a city. Imagine these same now abandoned buildings being destroyed. How would...
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Nellie Bly to Dr. Peter Bryce: 19th Century Asylum Reform
What kind of treatment could a patient expect in an asylum during the 1800's? The abusive and neglectful conditions in 19th century asylums are the focus of a lesson plan that examines the work of reformers Nellie Bly, Dorothea Dix, and...
National WWII Museum
“My Dear Little Boys…” Interpreting a letter home from the war
Letters have long been prized by historians as primary sources for what they reveal not only about events but also about the emotional responses of the writers to these events. "My Dear Little Boys," a letter written by Leonard Isacks on...