Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Developments in Democracy
Learning activity in which students study the ideas of Enlightenment philosophers, Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, and Rousseau. Lesson includes individual, group and whole class activity in which students write, discuss and debate the role...
iCivics
I Civics: The Enlightenment Mini Lesson
The Enlightenment was a period of time, starting around 1715, when people developed new ideas about human existence, including people's basic rights and the purpose of government. When our Founding Fathers created a government for the...
The British Museum
British Museum: Online Tours: Enlightenment: Art and Culture
Online tour of objects in the museum's galleries explains attempts by eighteenth-century scholars to classify art according to Enlightenment ideas and ideals.
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: The American Revolution and the Enlightenment
Through this activity, 9th graders will delve into some of the revolutionary documents and consider the ideas of "authority" and "power" from the perspectives of those who had such a great stake in America's revolutionary struggle.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Enlightenment Philosophers and American Government
[Free Registration/Login Required] The lesson is designed to review the main thoughts and ideas of the Enlightenment philosophers and how their ideas contributed to the American governmental system.
Other
Hillcrest High School: The Colonies Come of Age: The Commercial North [Pdf]
A chapter from a history text that looks at the Northern colonial economy, colonial town life, the immigrant groups who settled there, slavery in the North, the role of women, the Salem witchcraft trials, and the influence of the...
PBS
Enlightenment: Brown v. Board of Education
Site offers background, further study links, the issue before the court, the ruling and results, and discussion ideas for the landmark Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.
Other
Pccd: The Enlightenment
Enlightenment ideology, which placed reason and argumentation in the focus of investigation and man in its center, was most prominent in shaping the political thinking and discourse of the period. The views of most revolutionary leaders,...
Ohio State University
Osu History Teaching Institute: The Trial of Galileo
Students will become familiar with the Trial of Galileo Galilei, will understand who Galileo was, and how the controversy around his ideas about the solar system reflected the conflict of ideas in a time of change.
Curated OER
Macmillan/mc Graw Hill: The World, Vol. 1: Changing Ideas: Lesson 5 Quiz
Choose the correct answer for each of the five multiple choice questions in this self-check quiz to evaluate your comprehension of rebellion in the Age of Imperialism.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Philosophy and Literature: Intellectual Climate
Discusses the intellectual atmosphere in the 1800s as America struggled to find its identity. The influences of the Enlightenment and Romanticism are described, and the ideas of various writers and philosophers.
iCivics
I Civics: Rousseau Mini Lesson
Explore the ideas of Enlightenment thinker, Jean-Jacques Rousseau. His writings on natural and social freedom, the social contract, and democracy shaped the American system of government in a variety of ways.
Curated OER
Macmillan/mc Graw Hill: The World, Vol. 1: Changing Ideas: Lesson 2 Quiz
Choose the correct answer for each of the ten multiple choice questions to evaluate your comprehension of exploration during the Enlightenment.
Curated OER
Macmillan/mc Graw Hill: The World, Vol. 1: Changing Ideas: Lesson 7 Quiz
Choose the correct answer for each of the five multiple choice questions in this self-check quiz to evaluate your comprehension of the Age of Imperialism.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Political Experience
Read about how the state governments in the new American nation served as the laboratory to try out new ideas of governing and treating citizens. See how remarkably similar the ideas put forth in state constitutions were to each other.
iCivics
I Civics: Montesquieu Mini Lesson
Meet the Baron de Montesquieu, one of the great thinkers of the 18th century. He spent a lot of time thinking about how governments should be created and maintained. These ideas guided the Founding Fathers when they wrote the...
Digital History
Digital History: Utopian Socialism
A good look at the Utopian communities that were attempted in the first half of the 19th century. They had differing reasons for their development, but their common focus was trying a unique way of communal living. Read about the Oneida...
University of Groningen
American History: Biographies: John Locke
The University of Groningen provides information about the 17th century British liberal philosopher. Includes concise biographical information and a link to the text of "A Letter Concerning Toleration." Read about what part of his...
PBS
Pbs Teachers: George Washington and Civic Virtue (Lesson Plan)
A lesson for gaining knowledge and insight into the founders' ideas of civic virtue - civic knowledge, self-restraint, self-assertion, and self-reliance. Includes an examination of an excerpt from a primary source document: George...
iCivics
I Civics: John Locke Mini Lesson
Introduce students to the ideas and writings of John Locke that influenced the likes of Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers.
Other
Wikipedia: Simple English Wikipedia: Buddhism
An easy-to-read entry on Buddhism, from open-source encyclopedia Wikipedia, that answers basic questions about the religion and its practices. Explains the Buddhist belief system and what the word "Buddha" means. Also discusses Buddhist...
Curated OER
Paris Embellished and Expanded, Date Unknown
Historical overview of Louis XIV and XV reigns in France as a comparison between an absolute monarch and an enlightened monarch. Details the varying styles of two monarchs-one oppressive to the human spirit and a counter-cultural...
Curated OER
Selenographia Sive Lunae Descriptio
Historical overview of Louis XIV and XV reigns in France as a comparison between an absolute monarch and an enlightened monarch. Details the varying styles of two monarchs-one oppressive to the human spirit and a counter-cultural...
Curated OER
Selenographia Sive Lunae Descriptio
Historical overview of Louis XIV and XV reigns in France as a comparison between an absolute monarch and an enlightened monarch. Details the varying styles of two monarchs-one oppressive to the human spirit and a counter-cultural...