Lesson Plan The Decision to Escalate in Vietnam 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Click here to download this three-lesson unit.
Video: Read Along "Soldier for Equality: Jose de la Luz Saenz and the Great War" José de la Luz Sáenz (Luz) believed in fighting for what was right. Though born in the United States, Luz often faced prejudice because of his Mexican heritage. Determined to help his community, even in the face of discrimination, he...
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,...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Civil War Diaries of William Woodlin, 8th USCT, & Cyrena Hammond 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ During the Civil War, 22-year-old William Woodlin, a musician in the 8th United States Colored Troops, and 18-year-old Cyrena Hammond, from Clarendon, New York, kept diaries about their experiences and observations. They recorded the...
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.
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...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Robert F. Kennedy's Report on Civil Rights Government and Civics 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ At the end of 1962, President John F. Kennedy asked his brother, Attorney General Robert Kennedy, to compile a report on the civil rights enforcement activities of the Justice Department over the previous year. In this report,...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Address to the Nation Announcing Operation Desert Storm, 1991 Government and Civics, World History On January 16, 1991, President George H. W. Bush announced the beginning of the military campaign to end an Iraqi occupation of neighboring Kuwait. The address was broadcast live on radio and television. It was the culmination of five...
Video: Inside The Vault Inside the Vault: Treason in the American Revolution: Benedict Arnold and John André 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13+ In September 1780, the discovery of General Benedict Arnold’s plot to surrender West Point to the British was a deeply shocking revelation. Arnold, whose name is now synonymous with the word “traitor,” was once a well-respected...
Spotlight on: Primary Source A family torn apart by war, 1777 The Revolutionary War divided families. In 1774, eighteen-year-old Lucy Flucker married twenty-four-year-old Henry Knox. Lucy’s parents were powerful, wealthy Tories, and they were not happy with the match. Henry Knox was the son of...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Japanese announcement of the attack at Pearl Harbor, 1941 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 In January 1941, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto began developing a plan to attack the American base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For eleven months, the Japanese continued to refine their plans while at the same time working diplomatically to...
Spotlight on: Primary Source A frightening mission over Iwo Jima, 1945 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Lieutenant Bob Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th United States Army Air Force in the Pacific. This Spotlight is part of a series of documents detailing the experience of airmen in World War II. Click...
Spotlight on: Primary Source A soldier’s reaction to the death of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 1945 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Lieutenant Bob Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th United States Army Air Force in the Pacific. This Spotlight is part of a series of documents detailing the experience of airmen in World War II. Click...
Spotlight on: Primary Source The Battle of Iwo Jima: A family waits for news, 1945 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 Lieutenant Bob Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th United States Army Air Force in the Pacific. This Spotlight is part of a series of documents detailing the experience of airmen in World War II. Click...
Spotlight on: Primary Source Bob Stone joins the US Army Air Forces, 1943–1944 Lieutenant Bob Stone served as a bombardier in the 431st Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 7th US Army Air Force in the Pacific. This Spotlight is part of a series of documents detailing the experience of airmen in World War II. Click here for...
Video: Book Breaks Amanda Bellows - "The Explorers: A New History of the United States in Ten Expeditions" World History Amanda Bellows’s writing has appeared in the New York Times , the Washington Post , and Talking Points Memo . She currently teaches at The New School in New York City. Order The Explorers at the Gilder Lehrman Book Shop We receive an...
Spotlight on: Primary Source "Men of Color, To Arms! To Arms," 1863 After the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted on January 1, 1863, Black leaders including Frederick Douglass swiftly moved to recruit African Americans as soldiers. “A war undertaken and brazenly carried on for the perpetual...
Classroom Resources Infographic: The Vietnam War Military Statistics Government and Civics, World History 9, 10, 11, 12 Download Infographic as PDF Questions for Discussion In what year were the greatest number of US service members stationed in Vietnam? In what year were there the greatest number of US battle deaths in Vietnam? How many...
Lesson Plan The Trail of Tears 5, 6, 7, 8 Historical Background In 1830, under President Andrew Jackson, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act directing the executive branch to negotiate for American Indian lands. The act set the tone for President Jackson in dealing with...