Essays

The Civil Rights Movement

The essays in this section have been written by leading scholars of American history. They provide additional depth on events and ideas referred to in the introductory essay and, in some cases, different interpretations by historians looking at the same events. These essays are particularly useful in introducing your students to one of the most exciting aspects of studying history—understanding the past from a variety of perspectives.

Integrated class at Anacostia High School in Washington, DC, 1957. (Library of C

A Local and National Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Postwar Washington, DC

Author: Wendell E. Pritchett Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Book inscribed by Martin Luther King, Jr., to Fr. Tom Thrasher of Montgomery. Th

African American Religious Leadership and the Civil Rights Movement

Author: Clarence Taylor Curriculum Subjects: Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
St. Louis Brown’s pitcher Satchel Paige, 1952. (LC-DIG-ppmsca-18778)

Before Jackie: How Strikeout King Satchel Paige Struck Down Jim Crow

Author: Larry Tye Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Different Perspectives on the Civil Rights Movement

Author: Anthony J. Badger Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Civil Rights Movement: Major Events and Legacies

Author: James T. Patterson Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics, Literature Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Muhammad Ali in Chicago, Illinois, March 1974. (NARA)

The Importance of Muhammad Ali

Author: Thomas Hauser Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Odetta performs at the Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963 (

“People Get Ready”: Music and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s

Author: Brian Ward Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Essays from Other Sub-Eras

Martin Luther King Memorial March, April 4, 1998. (GLC08359)

A Place in History: Historical Perspective on Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Author: James Oliver Horton Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Battery B, 338th Antiaircraft Artillery, ca. 1943. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Patriotism Crosses the Color Line: African Americans in World War II

Author: Clarence Taylor Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
The fugitive slave clause in Article 4, Section 2 of the US Constitution. (Gilde

Race and the American Constitution: A Struggle toward National Ideals

Author: James O. Horton Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The History of Women’s Baseball

Author: Kerry Candaele Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Corwin, Robert, photographer. Phil Ochs, Newport Folk Festival, 1966. Photograph

The Sixties and Protest Music

Author: Kerry Candaele Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

The Supreme Court Then and Now

Author: A. E. Dick Howard Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Athletic Sports, 1887. (Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Div.)

Why Sports History Is American History

Author: Mark Naison Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Detail of a broadside promoting women’s suffrage. (GLC08963)

Why We the People? Citizens as Agents of Constitutional Change

Author: Linda R. Monk Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
The County Election, based on a painting by George C. Bingham, 1854. (Gilder Leh

Winning the Vote: A History of Voting Rights

Author: Steven Mintz Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Conference of Republican National Committee Women, 1927. (LOC, P&P)

Women in American Politics in the Twentieth Century

Author: Sara Evans Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+
Chuck Berry - Collection of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

“Fun, Fun Rock ’n’ Roll High School”

Author: Glenn C. Altschuler and Robert O. Summers Curriculum Subjects: Art, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+