Lesson Plan The History of Federal, State, and Tribal Powers, 1788–2020 Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12 Click here to download this five-lesson unit.
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Lincoln’s Refusal to Pardon Nathaniel Gordon Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ “It becomes my painful duty to admonish the prisoner that, relinquishing all expectation of pardon by Human Authority, he refer himself alone to the mercy of the Common God and Father of all men.” —Abraham Lincoln, February 4, 1862...
Video: General "On Juneteenth": A Conversation with Annette Gordon-Reed Recording of a Book Talk on On Juneteenth presented by author Annette Gordon-Reed (Harvard University) in conversation with Edward L. Ayers (University of Richmond).
Video: General History U | American Indian History Introduction American Indian History Introduction Watch Ned Blackhawk (Western Shoshone), Howard R. Lamar Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University, introduce his History U course "American Indian History: Recasting the Narrative" ...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: The Overland Trail Geography, Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ What was life like along the Overland Trail in the 1820s? What hardships did travelers face? On March 7, 2024 our curators were joined by Dr. Sarah Keyes (University of Nevada, Reno) to discuss letters from people on the Trail. View...
Video: Read Along "The Escape of Robert Smalls: A Daring Voyage Out of Slavery" The mist in Charleston Inner Harbor was heavy, but not heavy enough to disguise the stolen Confederate steamship, the Planter, from Confederate soldiers. In the early hours of May 13, 1862, in the midst of the deadly U.S. Civil War,...
Lesson Plan The US Government and Indigenous Peoples before the Trail of Tears, 1770-1839 Government and Civics 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click to download this five-lesson unit.
Spotlight on: Primary Source The Union Army and Juneteenth, 1865 Government and Civics 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ This engraving depicts a White Union soldier reading the Emancipation Proclamation to an enslaved family. It was published in 1864 by Lucius Stebbins, based on a painting by Henry W. Herrick. According to Stebbins, the scene ...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: The March on Washington Government and Civics 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ On August 28, 1963, 250,000 people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The event was covered by approximately 3,000 members of the press. The documents discussed illustrate the...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Fighting for the Rights of Black Lives in the Founding Era 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Prince Hall and James Forten protested the treatment of Black Americans during the Founding Era. In 1788 in Boston, Hall wrote a petition demanding the Massachusetts government protect Black sailors from being kidnapped and sold into...
Video: Read Along "Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre" Government and Civics Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful look at the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst incidents of racial violence in our nation’s history. The book traces the history of...
Video: Read Along "Bread for Words: A Frederick Douglass Story" Government and Civics Frederick Douglass knew where he was born but not when. He knew his grandmother but not his father. And as a young child, there were other questions, such as Why am I a slave? Answers to those questions might have eluded him but...
Video: Read Along "A Ride to Remember: A Civil Rights Story" A Ride to Remember tells how a community came together—both Black and White—to make a change. When Sharon Langley was born in the early 1960s, many amusement parks were segregated, and African American families were not allowed entry...
Video: Read Along "Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks" Literature Gwendolyn Brooks (1917–2000) is known for her poems about “real life.” She wrote about love, loneliness, family, and poverty—showing readers how just about anything could become a beautiful poem. Exquisite follows Gwendolyn from...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Massachusetts 54th 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ On July 18, 1863, the Massachusetts 54th Volunteer Infantry led an assault against Battery Wagner on Morris Island, South Carolina. The battle demonstrated the bravery and fierce determination of African American soldiers even though...
Interactive The History of Race Relations in America: African American Experiences, 1492-Present Government and Civics
Video: Read Along "Martin & Anne: The Kindred Spirits of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank" Anne Frank and Martin Luther King Jr. were born the same year a world apart. Both faced ugly prejudices and violence, which both answered with words of love and faith in humanity. This is the story of their parallel journeys to find...