Lesson Plan Pilgrims, the Plymouth Colony, and Thanksgiving, 1608-1621 Government and Civics, Religion and Philosophy, World History 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click here to download this five-lesson unit.
Spotlight on: Primary Source A Jamestown settler describes life in Virginia, 1622 Economics, Geography 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ The first English settlers in Jamestown, Virginia, who arrived in 1607, were eager to find gold and silver. Instead they found sickness and disease. Eventually, these colonists learned how to survive in their new environment, and by...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The surrender of New Netherland, 1664 Geography 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ The Dutch colonization of New Netherland (which included parts of present-day New York, Delaware, New Jersey, and Connecticut) began in the 1620s. From the outset, New Netherland was a multiethnic, multireligious society: about half...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The death of enslaved Africans on a voyage, 1725 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Slavery in English America underwent profound changes during the first two centuries of settlement. During the early seventeenth century, some Black laborers were enslaved; others, however, were treated like White indentured servants...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Proclamation of 1763, 1763 Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ At the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, France surrendered Canada and much of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys—two-thirds of eastern North America—to England. The Proclamation of 1763 “preserved to the said Indians” the lands west...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Map of the New World, with European settlements and American Indian tribes, 1730 Geography 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ This map, "Recens edita totius Novi Belgii in America Septentrionali," depicts present-day New England, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and parts of Maryland and Pennsylvania. Created by Dutch mapmakers in 1730, the map reflects the...
Spotlight on: Primary Source A bond for the manumission of a slave, 1757 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ In 1757, New York tavern keeper Eve Scurlock freed five slaves in her will, citing their fidelity, service, and good behavior. Among them was a woman named Ann, to whom Scurlock also willed money, clothing, and household items. Though...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The Province of Massachusetts Bay requests aid from Queen Anne, 1708 Economics, Government and Civics 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ Queen Anne’s War (1702–1713) was the second of four great wars for empire fought among France and England and their Indian allies. This struggle broke out when the French raided English settlements on the New England frontier....
Spotlight on: Primary Source George Washington on attending church, 1762 Economics, Religion and Philosophy, Science, Technology, Engineering and Math 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ In 1762, Virginia planter and future president George Washington, just thirty years old, had reason for optimism. He had inherited Mount Vernon a decade earlier, and it had prospered under his management; plus he had married Martha...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Landing of Henrick Hudson, 1609 Geography 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ In 1609, Henry Hudson was chosen by the Dutch East India Company to search for a passage to Asia. In September of that year, Hudson landed on the shores of the river that would be named for him and claimed the lands along it for the...