Classroom Resources Infographic: Reform Movements of the Progressive Era Economics, Government and Civics, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 9, 10, 11, 12 View this infographic as a PDF.
Classroom Resources Historical Context: American Slavery in Comparative Perspective Economics, World History 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Of the ten to sixteen million Africans who survived the voyage to the New World, more than one-third landed in Brazil and between 60 and 70 percent ended up in Brazil or the sugar colonies of the Caribbean. Only 6 percent arrived in...
Classroom Resources Historical Context: "Birth of a Nation" Art, Geography, Government and Civics, Literature 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ In 1915, fifty years after the end of the Civil War, D. W. Griffith released his epic film Birth of a Nation . The greatest blockbuster of the silent era, Birth of a Nation was seen by an estimated 200 million Americans by 1946. Based...
Classroom Resources Historical Context: Black Soldiers in the Civil War Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ By early 1863, voluntary enlistments in the Union army had fallen so sharply that the federal government instituted an unpopular military draft and decided to enroll Black as well as White troops. Indeed, it seems likely that it was...
Classroom Resources Historical Context: Movies and Migration Art 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Many of our most memorable images of the past come from movies. Films set in the past provide a vivid record of history: of the "look," the clothing, the atmosphere, and the mood of past eras. Nevertheless, movies remain a...
Classroom Resources Historical Context: The Breakdown of the Party System Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ As late as 1850, the two-party system seemed healthy. Democrats and Whigs drew strength in all parts of the country. Then, in the early 1850s, the two-party system began to disintegrate in response to massive foreign immigration. By...
Classroom Resources Historical Context: The Confederacy Begins to Collapse Economics, Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ By early 1863, the Civil War had begun to cause severe hardship on the southern home front. Not only was most of the fighting taking place in the South, but also as the Union blockade grew more effective and the South's railroad...
Classroom Resources Historical Context: The Constitution and Slavery Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ On the 200th anniversary of the ratification of the US Constitution, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, said that the Constitution was "defective from the start." He pointed out that the framers...
Classroom Resources Historical Context: The Economics of Slavery 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Like other slave societies, the South did not produce urban centers on a scale equal with those in the North. Virginia's largest city, Richmond, had a population of just 15,274 in 1850. That same year, Wilmington, North Carolina's...
Classroom Resources Historical Context: The First National Census Economics, Geography, Government and Civics 6, 7, 8 Early in August 1790, David Howe, an assistant federal marshal, began the difficult task of counting all the people who lived in Hancock County, Maine. One of 650 federal census takers, charged with making "a...perfect enumeration.....