Digital History
Digital History: Equality Postponed [Pdf]
Read the background of the controversial Supreme Court decision in the Plessy v Ferguson case. Follow the arguments for and against "separate but equal." [pdf]
Digital History
Digital History: The Industrial Revolution [Pdf]
This site covers both the initial Industrial Revolution in the United States in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and the second revolution that highlighted new inventions and the businessmen who financed industry. Read brief...
Digital History
Digital History: John D. Rockefeller in Cleveland [Pdf]
John D. Rockefeller was a determined (some would say ruthless) businessman, who managed to gain control of all the oil refineries in Cleveland by 1872. Read about how he expanded his business while putting others out of business. [pdf]
Digital History
Digital History: The Theory of Laissez Faire [Pdf]
The economic philosophy of laissez-faire was espoused by Adam Smith in his book, Wealth of Nations. Read about the concepts of this philosophy, how it pertained to American business in the late 19h century, and what the drawbacks to...
Digital History
Digital History: Empire 'S Challenge to Standard [Pdf]
In the era of big business and business tycoons in the late 19th century, John D. Rockefeller held a very high position. Read about how he thwarted an attempt by two railroad owners to keep Rockefeller from controlling all the oil...
Digital History
Digital History: Business Organizations [Pdf]
After a brief description of various ways that businesses are organized, find out about the monopolies formed in the age of big business in the late 19th century, focusing primarily on Standard Oil. [pdf]
Digital History
Digital History: Robber Baron or Industrial Statesman [Pdf]
John D. Rockefeller was a controversial figure in the business world of the 19th century. Read about his actions to consolidate his control of the oil refining business in all its aspects. Find arguments claiming that he was an...
Digital History
Digital History: The Sherman Anti Trust Act and Standard Oil [Pdf]
As the influence of large corporations spread in the age of big business, push-back was inevitable. Read about the Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the government's attempts to rein in the laissez-faire attitudes of corporations and the lack...
Digital History
Digital History: Standard Oil on Trial [Pdf]
The anti-trust case against Standard Oil, based on the Sherman Antitrust Act, pitted the federal government against the largest corporation in the United States. Read the trial preparation information including the arguments of the...
Digital History
Digital History: Cuba Libre! [Pdf]
The rationale behind the United States' going to war against Spain was to insure Cuba's independence. Read the highlights of the Proctor Report, President McKinley's message to Congress asking for intervention, and the Teller Resolution...
Digital History
Digital History: The Philippines [Pdf]
Read about how the United States gained the Philippines as a territory as a result of the Spanish-American War. Find out how several senators felt about this acquisition. The resulting Philippine-American War resulted in extreme hardship...
Digital History
Digital History: How the Us Obtained the Panama Canal [Pdf]
The story behind building a canal through the isthmus of Panama is one of incompetence and corruption on the part of the French, who first attempted the feat. Many of the actions of the United States in acquiring the land through which...
Digital History
Digital History: The Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary [Pdf]
The United States' intervention in Latin American countries has been interpreted in several ways. First read about President Theodore Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine before investigating the times the corollary was invoked....
Digital History
Digital History: Alliances in Europe: 1914 [Pdf]
Learn about the alliances among countries in Europe prior to World War I. These alliances led Europe into war because of the assassination of the Austrian Archduke. Play the simulation game to see which countries were allied to which...
Digital History
Digital History: Neutrality and the Lusitania [Pdf]
American neutrality in World War I was sorely tested with the attack and sinking of the passenger ship, Luisitania. Read information about the attack and find conflicting reactions by Franklin Roosevelt and William Jennings Bryan about...
Digital History
Digital History: America Goes to War [Pdf]
President Woodrow Wilson tried to maintain American neutrality in World War I. Find out why he decided that the U.S. needed to join the war and read a portion of his message to Congress asking for a declaration of war against Germany....
Digital History
Digital History: The Fourteen Points and the Versailles Treaty [Pdf]
President Woodrow Wilson, in his hope that World War I was the war to end all wars, issued his Fourteen Points almost one year before the end of the war as a bluepoint to guarantee peace across the world. Read a summary of the points and...
Digital History
Digital History: The Rise of the Dictators [Pdf]
Use this lesson plan to explore the economic and political conditions in Europe after World War I as a result of the Treaty of Versailles that led to the rise of dictators in several countries. Read about the rise of Lenin and Stalin in...
Digital History
Digital History: The Aftermath of the Decision [Pdf]
A touching and horrifying description of the devastation caused by the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which brought about the surrender of Japan in World War II. Suggested student exercises accompany the information....
Digital History
Digital History: From Wartime Allies to Cold War Enemies [Pdf]
This timeline traces the devolution of the relationship between the United States and Soviet Union from the end of World War II, where these two countries were allies, albeit suspicious of each other, and almost a year after the end of...
Digital History
Digital History: Solutions to Five Crises [Pdf]
This site highlights the five foreign policy crises that needed the attention of Harry S. Truman at the end of World War II. Read about the US actions on these crises and determine how these actions affected foreign policy over the next...
Digital History
Digital History: How China Became a Communist Country [Pdf]
A great overview of the revolution in China, the conflict between the Nationalists and Chiang Kai-shek and the Communists and Mao Zedong, and the eventual victory of the Communist Party. Read about the failure of Chiang Kai-shek, the...
Digital History
Digital History: The 14th Amendment and the Jim Crow Laws [Pdf]
Read about the background of the passage of the 14th Amendment which resulted in the famous case before the Supreme Court, Plessy v Ferguson, almost thirty years later. Suggested student exercises ask students to assess the issue of...
Digital History
Digital History: Discrimination in Public Accommodations [Pdf]
Segregation and Jim Crow laws codified a color line in the United States. African-Americans began pushing back against segregation in the 1950s and 1960s. Read about the non-violent actions taken and how these actions resulted in the...