CommonLit
Common Lit: Text Sets: Westward Expansion
Throughout the 1800s, Americans pushed ever westward in the search of prosperity and the American dream. It was a time of growth and adventure for settlers, and loss for most American Indians. This collection includes 7 Grade-Leveled...
Nebraska Studies
Nebraska Studies: The Conversion Struggle
The story of the problems on converting native Americans to a Christian religion. It uses the example of Christian missionaries who were trying to convert the Pawnee tribe in the 1830s.
Read Works
Read Works: The Old Stone House
[Free Registration/Login Required] Intended to support elementary students' reading comprehension, historical information is provided. The significance of "The Old Stone House" during the Battle of Brooklyn in the American Revolution is...
Ancestry
Rootsweb: The Creek War
Following the Revolutionary War, more and more settlers began to migrate into what was the territory of the Indians. By the early 19th century, there was open hostilty between whites and Indians. Farmers wanted more land and the Indians...
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Pocahontas
Learn more about Pocahontas through the accounts of her adventures. This information explains the relationship between Pocahontas and the English settlers.
Read Works
Read Works: French Native American Relations in the Great Lakes Region
[Free Registration/Login Required] This historical passage discusses the relations between the French and Native Americans in the Great Lakes Regions during the 1700's and 1800's. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that...
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Bacon's Declaration
This site provides the full text of Bacon's Declaration of the People, submitted to Sir William Berkeley, July 30, 1676. This declaration states the settlers' anger towards taxes and Indian attacks.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change
This site has a lesson about the ranching industry, creation of California towns and the changes over time. Contains information, inquiry question, historical context, maps, readings, and images.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Frontier Life: The Crow Indians and Montana Settlers
Find out how the Crow Indians were affected by the opening of the Montana Territory to white settlement. From a companion essay to the PBS series, Frontier House.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: The Iron Horse: Ideology
From a lengthy essay on the history of the railroad in the United States. This section describes the role of townsite agents who, in addition to helping plan a town, acted as 'information brokers' to advise would-be merchants of the...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Contested Territories
This site highlights the westward expansion of settlers in North America and the effects this expansion had on Native Americans between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
Other
Trail of Tears Assoc: The Story Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
Follow the early history of Native American and European contact in America. As more settlers moved west, a law was passed to relocate the Cherokee from Arkansas. The routes they followed and the cruelties they suffered came to be known...
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
History Is Fun: Jamestown Questions and Answers [Pdf]
This document presents important questions about the Jamestown settlement, along with detailed answers. Topics include the Native American Powhatan Indians and their interactions with the settlers, the purpose of creating the settlement...
National Geographic
National Geographic: Society: A History of Trade in New York City
A lesson based on the New York City seal that explores the trading relationship between the Dutch and Native Americans in New Amsterdam.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Square Dancing
Square dancing has been part of American culture since the colonial settlers blended their varied traditions together. Contains historic photos, and an audio track of "Gents Go Center." Requires RealPlayer.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Colonizing the Bay
John Winthrop's "Model of Christian Charity" was delivered as a sermon aboard the Arabella, as the Puritans approached their destination of Massachusetts Bay in 1630. The speech spells out his vision of the society they hoped to create...
Texas A&M University
Sons of Dewitt Colony Texas: Empresario System
The empresario system in Texas provided a contract between settler and state. Find out the terms and responsibilities of each party in this site from Texas A&M University. Keep reading to find the duties of an epresario as outlined...
Other
Trail Tribes: Traditional and Contemporary Native Culture
An excellent resource on the tribal groups located along the trails followed by explorers Lewis and Clark. Each group has a section devoted to its modern and historical cultures, as well as the tribe's relationship with the United States...
Other
Lumen Learning: Encroachment and Resistance
In the latter part of the 1800s, settlers began to ignore treaties when expanding westward. The government followed suit by declaring they would no longer negotiate new treaties, that they had the power to enforce laws on reservation...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of Natural History: Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake
This very thorough site will fascinate those interested in forensic anthropology. You will learn what you can read from bones, how a face can be reconstructed from a skull, clues you can read from a burial, and about forensic cases both...
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Pocahontas
Among the most famous women in early American history, Pocahontas is credited with helping the struggling English settlers survive.
My Hero Project
My Hero: Chief Joseph
This brief student-written article on Chief Joseph and his efforts to maintain peace between his people and the white settlers includes several links to further information and books for further reading and research.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Trail of Tears and Forced Relocation of Cherokee
This Teaching With Historic Places unit, designed for students in grades 5-12 is about the conflict between American settlers and the Cherokee Nation. Students will outline events leading up to the forced relocation of the Cherokee in...
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