Website
US National Archives

Nara: Teaching With Documents: The Homestead Act of 1862

For Students 9th - 10th
A lesson plan about the Homestead Act of 1862 with much background information about previous land grants made by the U.S. government,
Primary
Calisphere: University of California Libraries

University of California: Calisphere: Californio Society, 1830s 1880s

For Students 9th - 10th
Collection of photos and drawings depicting early California elite and maps of land use from which students can learn about the transformation of the California economy and its political and cultural development in the 1800s.
Handout
Country Studies US

Countyr Studies: United States History: The Last Frontier

For Students 9th - 10th
This site describes the settlement of the West happened quickly with the passage of the Homestead Act of 1862 and the push for the Transcontinental Railroad. With the explosion of the mining and ranching industries, the West was all but...
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln: Domestic Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive look at the domestic policies of the Lincoln Administration. Although the many issues involved with the Civil War were top priority, many decisions about other domestic problems were made that had a lasting effect. From...
Handout
Legends of America

Legends of Kansas: Exodusters of Kansas

For Students 9th - 10th
A look at the exodusters and the reasons the blacks left the South and migrated to Kansas after the Civil War.