Essays

American Indians

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.

A pre-Columbian earthwork, located at the Cahokia site in Illinois. (Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

Cahokia: A Pre-Columbian American City

Author: Timothy R. Pauketat Curriculum Subjects: Grade Levels: 9

Detail of the Great Lakes region in 1718, from Carte de la Louisiane et du cours du Mississippi, by Guillaume de l'Isle. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Change and Crisis: North America on the Eve of the European Invasion

Author: Christopher L. Miller Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Detail from a 1682 map of North America, Novi Belgi Novaeque Angliae, by Nicholas Visscher. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

The Columbian Exchange

Author: Alfred Crosby Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, World History Grade Levels: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Letter to William Johnson, British commissioner of Northern Indian Affairs, 1761. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

The League of the Iroquois

Author: Matthew Dennis Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics Grade Levels:

Old house, rural Montana. (Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

A New Look at the Great Plains

Author: Elliott West Curriculum Subjects: Geography Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Essays from Other Sub-Eras

Summary of a debate on the subjugation of the Indians between Bartolomeo de Las Casas and Juan Gines Sepulveda in 1550. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

Indian Slavery in the Americas

Author: Alan Gallay Curriculum Subjects: Economics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

French enter the River of May in Florida, engraving by Theodor de Bry in Brevis Narratio eorum quae in Florida Americae [1591]. (Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division)

Native American Discoveries of Europe

Author: Daniel K. Richter Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography, World History Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+

Early twentieth-century photograph by Joseph K. Dixon. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)

The Impact of Horse Culture

Author: Elliott West Curriculum Subjects: Economics, Geography Grade Levels:

Statue of Po’pay given by New Mexico for display in the National Statuary Hall Collection. (Courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol)

The Pueblo Revolt

Author: Edward Countryman Curriculum Subjects: Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy Grade Levels:

Justice of the Plains: The Movement Westward, John S. Curry (LC-DIG-highsm-02850

Women of the West

Author: Virginia Scharff Curriculum Subjects: Geography, Government and Civics Grade Levels: 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+