ODE
MIDDLE SCHOOL (Grade 8)
​EARLY AMERICAN HISTORY 

U.S. Studies from 1492 to 1877: Exploration through Reconstruction

​The historical focus continues in the eighth grade with the study of European exploration and the early years of the United States. This study incorporates all four social studies strands into a chronological view of the development of the United States. Students examine how historic events are shaped by geographic, social, cultural, economic and political factors.

Historical Thinking and Skills

1. Primary and secondary sources are used to examine events from multiple perspectives and to present and defend a position.
  • Throughout the study of history, historical documents, artifacts and other materials can be examined in terms of the perspective or point of view they represent. 
  • Primary and secondary sources can be studied to understand how the same event might be portrayed from different perspectives. Primary sources provide first-hand information about historical events. Secondary sources provide interpretations of events by people who were not present at the events they discuss. 
  • In using documents, historians determine the applicability of information and separate factual information from opinion and fiction. Historians also use evidence provided by the primary and secondary sources to construct arguments that support a stated position

Resource: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past
Resource: History Matters
Resource: Primary Sources at Yale
Resource: The National Archives
Resource: Boston Massacre
Resource: Famous American Trials
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ Evaluating Eyewitness Reports

Examples of Historical Thinking - Narratives of Slavery - Teaching Strategies

Historian Richard Follett analyzes two narratives of slavery: an investigative report written by Frederick Law Olmsted in 1853 for the New York Times and Solomon Northrup's book Twelve Years A Slave. He discusses each document separately and then compares their very different perspectives on slavery in Louisiana's sugar growing parishes. Follett models several historical thinking skills, including: close reading, specifically the process of analyzing the language, meaning, and in some cases, the silences in both accounts; attention to key source information, including who wrote each account, when, and for what purpose; and exploring how to make sense of multiple perspectives and conflicting accounts to try to understand a complex system that affected individuals in radically different ways.

http://teachinghistory.org/best-pract...

Colonization to Independence

2. North America, originally inhabited by American Indians, was explored and colonized by Europeans for economic and religious reasons. 
  • There were many different American Indian cultures inhabiting North America prior to the arrival of Europeans. In grade five, students learned about the unique characteristics of their cultures. 
  • Economic reasons behind the European exploration of North America include the pursuit for new trade routes to Asia, the quest for new opportunities and the search for resources (e.g., gold, silver). The Europeans found goods that had a market in Europe (e.g., food, timber, fur, tobacco). 
  • The religious reasons for Europeans coming to North America include escaping religious persecution, creating a religious utopia and converting American Indians to Christianity. 

St. Augustine - First Colony

​Explore Research at the University of Florida: Florida Museum of Natural History Distinguished Research Curator Kathleen Deagan discusses research at St. Augustine, Fla., where she has worked since 1976. In 1565, long before Jamestown, Spaniards, free and enslaved Africans and Native Americans crafted our country's first enduring European settlement in St. Augustine. The site of the abandoned first settlement remained buried, lost from memory of history for more than 400 years, until archaeologists rediscovered it at what is today's Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. Deagan and other UF archaeologists helped the Florida Museum produce a traveling exhibit telling the story of St. Augustine, "First Colony: Our Spanish Origins." The exhibit is on display at the St. Augustine Government House until 2016, when it will open at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville.

Jamestown

America the Story of Us: Life in Jamestown

Find out what life was like in the Jamestown settlement. 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Images of the New World
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - American Colonial Life in the Late 1700s: Distant Cousins
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - ​Colonizing the Bay
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​​ Jamestown Changes

Archeologists Uncover the Lives of Jamestown’s Enslaved People

​Much of what we know about the first slaves in America comes from what archaeologists have discovered. One site in particular stands out: the former home of a young African slave woman named Angela. From the Series: America's Hidden Stories: Mystery at Jamestown http://bitly.com/2YWTell

Plymouth

​The Pilgrims Chapter 1

​In the early 17th century, a small group of religious radicals embarked from England to establish a separatist religious community in the New World. They struggled against disease, climate and the native people to establish a colony that would eventually trigger an influx of colonists throughout New England. "The Pilgrims" premieres November 24 at 8/7c on PBS American Experience.

Deconstructing History: Mayflower | History

​How many people were on the Mayflower? And how long did it take for them to get to Plymouth? Get the facts.

Economics
'Mercantilism'

3. Competition for control of territory and resources in North America led to conflicts among colonizing powers
  • National rivalries spurred the powerful European countries to make land claims and to exploit the resources of the Western Hemisphere. 
  • The British, French, Spanish, Swedes and Dutch struggled with each other to control settlement and colonization of North America. One consequence was a series of wars involving colonial powers, colonists and American Indians (e.g., King William’s War, Queen Anne’s War, King George’s War, the French and Indian War). 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ Early Multi-National Influences in the United States
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ Empire and Identity in the American Colonies

Mercantilism

​The economic system of mercantilism is an exchange of raw goods from North America with manufactured goods from England. The practice eventually enrages the colonists, who see it as England's effort to assert its control over the colonies.

 Slavery 


4. The practice of race-based slavery led to the forced migration of Africans to the American colonies. Their knowledge and traditions contributed to the development of those colonies and the United States.
  • The perspective of many Europeans that black Africans were inferior and uncivilized led to the forced relocation of hundreds of thousands of Africans to the American colonies. Although Africans aided Europeans in enslaving and in trading slaves, the practice was race-based and economically motivated. Europeans and many of the American colonists felt that the African slaves provided a source of cheap labor.
  • Africans were not simply victims, but were intricately involved in the economic development of the colonies and, after the American Revolution, the United States. Slaves and freed Africans helped provide labor for northern manufacturers. They were particularly important in the maritime trade in the northern and southern colonies. 
  • Slaves also worked as artisans and domestics. Slavery was the foundation of the agricultural system in most of the Southern colonies and was critical in sustaining the cultivation of rice, cotton and tobacco as cash crops. Slaves from West and Central Africa contributed their knowledge of planting rice and sweet potatoes to the colonies. The cultural contributions of American slaves include their folklore and music. 

Ted-Ed: The Atlantic slave trade: What too few textbooks told you 

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-atlanti...
Slavery has occurred in many forms throughout the world, but the Atlantic slave trade -- which forcibly brought more than 10 million Africans to the Americas -- stands out for both its global scale and its lasting legacy. Anthony Hazard discusses the historical, economic and personal impact of this massive historical injustice. 
Lesson by Anthony Hazard, animation by NEIGHBOR.
History Through Hollywood
Picture
​Amistad (1997)
​In 1839, the revolt of Mende captives aboard a Spanish owned ship causes a major controversy in the United States when the ship is captured off the coast of Long Island. The courts must decide whether the Mende are slaves or legally free.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Stars: Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins
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12 Years a Slave (2013)
​In the antebellum United States, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery.
Director: Steve McQueen
Stars: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender

Slate: The Atlantic Slave Trade in Two Minutes

Life Aboard a Slave Ship | History

​From approximately 1525 to 1866, 12.5 million Africans were forcibly transported across the Middle Passage to serve as slaves in the New World. Life aboard slave ships was agonizing and dangerous; nearly 2 million slaves would perish on their journey across the Atlantic. #HistoryChannel

Roots: The Middle Passage | History

Historians talk about our changing understanding of the horrors of the slave trade's "middle passage" from Africa to America. #Roots

WP: Slavery in the U.S., by the numbers

​Rapper Kanye West made faced backlash for comments he made to TMZ about slavery. Here are the facts about the enslavement of Africans in U.S. history. Subscribe to The Washington Post on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2qiJ4dy

Ex-Slave Fountain Hughes Unedited Interview

100% Real Audio Recordings of Ex-Slave Fountain Hughes 1949

Global News: ​Slave tourism in Ghana

​Tue, Aug 6: Global News takes you inside the last place many African slaves saw, before they were shipped off into slavery in the new world. Sean O'Shea reports.

​Enlightenment
​& the American Revolution

5. The ideas of the Enlightenment and dissatisfaction with colonial rule led English colonists to write the Declaration of Independence and launch the American Revolution.
  • The American Revolution was made possible in part by the chain of political, economic and social changes that occurred during the Enlightenment. The ideas of Enlightenment (e.g., rights of the citizen, natural law, reason, idea of popular government) thinkers fueled the discontent felt by the American colonists with a series of actions instituted by the British government following the French and Indian War (e.g., Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Townshend Acts, Tea Act, Coercive Acts, Quartering Act, Quebec Act). 
  • Enlightenment ideas also influenced the writing of the Declaration of Independence, with an emphasis on natural rights, limitations on the power of the government, social contract and consent of the governed.

Resource: National Archives - Charters of Freedom 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Background on the Patriot Attitude Toward the Monarchy
Resource: King George, Give Us A Break!
Resource: Creating the Declaration of Independence – Interactive website
Resource: National Archives and Records Administration: Digital Classroom, Teaching with Documents

What Was the Enlightenment?

​The European Enlightenment of the 18th century introduced the world to modern science, economics, medicine, and political freedom – or so we’re told. But is what we’re told accurate? Political philosopher Yoram Hazony explores this question and offers some surprising answers in this truly enlightening video.

TedEd: The story behind the Boston Tea Party - Ben Labaree

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-story-b...
Before the Revolutionary War, American colonists were taxed heavily for importing tea from Britain. The colonists, not fans of "taxation without representation", reacted by dumping tea into the Boston Harbor, a night now known as the Boston Tea Party. Ben Labaree gets into the nitty-gritty of that famous revolutionary act.
Lesson by Ben Labaree, animation by Nick Fox-Gieg Animation.

The Battle of Lexington | The American Revolution

John Parker leads a group of militia against overwhelming odds in the Battle of Lexington. | For more, visit http://www.ahctv.com/tv-shows/the-ame...

What Was Revolutionary About the American Revolution?

​Everyone knows the basics of the American Revolution: thirteen North American colonies revolted against British rule and won their independence. But there’s much more to the story: the American Revolution, of all revolutions, was a game-changer for the entire world. How so? And most importantly, why? Renowned historian Allen Guelzo explains.

Schoolhouse Rock!: America - The Shot Heard 'Round the World

Take a pilgrimage through American history with the award-winning series that has engaged generations of school children. With eleven classic animated songs, including "Shot Heard 'Round the World" and "Fireworks," your students will feel the beat of history as they learn about the key milestones, events and people that make up this great country. ​

TedEd: What you might not know about the Declaration of Independence - Kenneth C. Davis

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-you-mi...
In June 1776, a little over a year after the start of the American Revolutionary War, the US Continental Congress huddled together in a hot room in Philadelphia to talk independence. Kenneth C. Davis dives into some of the lesser known facts about the process of writing the Declaration of Independence and questions one very controversial omission. 
Lesson by Kenneth C. Davis, animation by Karrot Animation.

America the Story of Us: Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence marks the first such document declaring the equality of men. 

Declaration of Independence

Resource: LoC - A Guide to the American Revolution, 1763-1783 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - "Common Sense": The Rhetoric of Popular Democracy
Resource: National Archives - Pictures of the Revolutionary War 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ Boycotting Baubles of Britain
Resource: PBS Liberty! The American Revolution
Resource: NPS - The American Revolution, Lighting Freedom's Flame
Resource: American Independence Museum 
Resource: Northern Illinois University- American Archives Documents of the American Revolutionary Period
Resource: History.com - American Revolution 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Colonial Broadsides and the American Revolution 
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Colonial Broadsides: A Student-Created Play
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - ​The American War for Independence (3 Lessons) 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - What Made George Washington a Good Military Leader? (4 Lessons)

Student Reading:

The Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood

Picture
Resource: The Year of the Hangman
ISBN 9780142400784
OVERVIEW
In 1776, the rebellion of the American colonies against British rule was crushed.  Now, in 1777-the year of the hangman-George Washington is awaiting execution, Benjamin Franklin’s banned rebel newspaper, Liberty Tree, has gone underground, and young ne’er-do-well Creighton Brown, a fifteen-year-old Brit, has just arrived in the colonies.  Having been shipped off against his will, with nothing but a distance for English authorities, Creighton befriends Franklin, and lands a job with his print shop.  But the English general expects the spoiled yet loyal Creighton to spy on Franklin.  As battles unfold and falsehoods are exposed, Creighton must decide where his loyalties lie…a choice that could determine the fate of a nation.

Resource: Quizlet - Year of the Hangman
Resource: Timetoast - Year of the Hangman by Gary Blackwood

The Declaration of Independence (as read by Max McLean)

Declaration of Independence:
​A Transcription

Note: The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflects the original.

In Congress, July 4, 1776.

​The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Orson Welles Thomas Paine The American Crisis

The Revolutionary War: Animated Battle Map

​We at the American Battlefield Trust are re-releasing our Animated Battle Maps with newly branded openings. Enjoy learning about our nation's Revolutionary War against Great Britain, the conflict that gave birth to the United States of America. Our collection of animated maps bring battles of the American Civil War to life, complete with troop movement animations, narratives, reenactment footage and more.

PBS - LIBERTY! The American Revolution ​

https://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/liberty.html
LIBERTY! is a six-part series of one-hour documentaries for PBS. It describes how the American Revolution evolved and how a new nation was born in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War, using actors, Revolutionary era scholars, and eyewitness accounts of the time.

LIBERTY! is hosted by award winning journalist and ABC news anchor, Forrest Sawyer. Edward Herrmann is the narrator. It was originally broadcast Nov. 23 - 25, 1997. 
​EPISODE 1: "The Reluctant Revolutionaries" 1763-1774
  • In 1763, the capitol city of America is London, George Washington is lobbying for a post in the British army, and no one thinks of Boston harbor when they hear talk of tea parties. In a dozen years, the colonies are on the brink of rebellion. What happens to bring this country so quickly near war with England?
EPISODE 2: "Blows Must Decide" 1774-1776
  • A total break from Great Britain remains hard for Americans to imagine, even after shots are fired at Lexington and Concord. Words push matters "Over the Edge" in 1776. Common Sense argues that it is the natural right of men to govern themselves. The Declaration of Independence declares this same idea a "self-evident" truth. For Americans, there is no looking back. There will be war with England.
EPISODE 3: "The Times That Try Men's Souls" 1776-1777
  • Days after the Declaration of Independence is signed, a British force arrives in New York harbor. Washington and his troops are driven to New Jersey. With only a few days of enlistment left for many of his volunteers, a desperate Washington leads his army quietly across the Delaware River on the day after Christmas, 1776, to mount a surprise attack on a sleeping garrison in Trenton.
EPISODE 4: "Oh Fatal Ambition" 1777-1778
  • The "united" states remain in dire need of funds and military support. Congress dispatches Benjamin Franklin to France in hopes of creating an alliance which will provide both. Meanwhile, a British army marches down the Hudson River trying to cut off New England from the other colonies. The British are crushed by Americans at Saratoga. The French enter the conflict on the American side.
​EPISODE 5: "The World Turned Upside Down" 1778-1783
  • The British hope to exploit the issue of slavery and to enlist the support of loyalists in the south. They fail. After a series of brutal engagements, the British army heads for Virginia, only to be trapped by the miraculous convergence of Washington's army and the French fleet at Yorktown. The end of the war is at hand.
​EPISODE 6: "Are We to Be a Nation? 1783-1788
  • Peace comes to the United States, but governing the world's newest republic is no simple task. Congress is ineffectual and individual states act like sovereign nations. By the time the Constitutional Convention convenes in 1787, many wonder if the country can survive. The long ratification process helps define what sort of nation the United States is to be—a process that continues to this day.
CHRONICLE OF THE REVOLUTION
Read all about it! These newspaper Chronicles let you experience first-hand the excitement and uncertainty of the American Revolution as it happened. Click on a city to read about the riveting historical headlines that shaped the war and America.
LIBERTY!
THE SERIES
EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS
THE MAKING OF LIBERTY!
THE MEN AND WOMEN OF LIBERTY!
THE SCHOLARS
THE MUSIC OF LIBERTY!
PERSPECTIVES ON HISTORY
Get to know the people and times of the American Revolution by clicking on the activities below.
THE ROAD TO REVOLUTION
Test your knowledge about the American Revolution, and see if you can navigate your way to independence. Every correct answer gets you closer to liberty!
​

​America the Story of Us: American Revolution | History

How the revolution shaped our nation, and the tough and thrilling beginning of the United States. Own America: ​

Was America Founded to Be Secular?

​Did the Founding Fathers want American society to be religious or secular? Joshua Charles, author of Liberty's Secrets, explains.

What if the United States Lost the Revolution?

What if the United States lost the revolution against Britain? What if the US stayed apart of the British Empire and remained colonies? This is a question which many people have always pondered, and as American it affects everything in my society. So what would change in this new world? Not surprisingly, a lot. 

Were the Founders Religious?

What did the Founding Fathers believe about religion? Were they Christians, or just deists? Did they believe in secularism, or did they want Americans to be religious? Joshua Charles, New York Times bestselling author and researcher at the Museum of the Bible, explains. ​

The History Channel - Founding Fathers 

https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/founding-fathers-united-states
​These military leaders, rebels, politicians and writers varied in personality, status and background, but all played a part in forming a new nation and hammering out the framework for the young democracy.
  1. George Washington
  2. Alexander Hamilton
  3. Benjamin Franklin
  4. John Adams
  5. Samuel Adams
  6. Thomas Jefferson
  7. James Madison
  8. John Jay
  9. Additional Founders

FOUNDING FATHERS: US Constitution

​"Founding Fathers" Clip from History Channel

A New Nation &
​Articles of Confederation


6. The outcome of the American Revolution was national independence and new political, social and economic relationships for the American people.
  • The American Revolution achieved national independence for the United States of America, a new country organized under the Articles of Confederation. 
  • As citizens of a new nation, the American people found themselves having to adjust to a new series of relationships. Thirteen colonies owing allegiance to Great Britain transitioned into 13 sovereign states loosely united as a confederation. Each state had to create new governing documents and address issues such as who would become citizens and with what rights, would there be established churches, and what would be done with the institution of slavery. The former colonies moved from support of a mother country under a mercantilist system to 13 separate economies facing currency, banking and trade issues. 
  • One of the successes of the Articles of Confederation was the passage of the Northwest Ordinance in 1787. This ordinance established a precedent for protecting rights and set the stage for national growth.

Resource: American Legion
Resource: Veterans of Foreign Wars
Resource: Transcript of Northwest Ordinance (1787) 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - George Washington: The Living Symbol
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ Benjamin Franklin's Many "Hats"
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ Inventing a New Republican Culture for America 
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​​ Jefferson vs. Franklin: Renaissance Men 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Jefferson vs. Franklin: Revolutionary Philosophers

​What Were the Articles of Confederation? | History

​Before the U.S. Constitution was the law of the land, there were the Articles of Confederation. Find out why they didn't last long.

TED-Ed: The Making of the American Constitution - Judy Walton

​ How did a meeting intended to revise the Articles of Confederation lead to the new Constitution for the United States? Discover how a handful of men--sitting in sweltering heat and shrouded by secrecy--changed the course of history for America in 1787. Lesson by Judy Walton, animation by Ace & Son Moving Picture Co., LLC.
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/who-made-th...

The Articles of Confederation and the Northwest Ordinance

​Visit Study.com for thousands more videos like this one. You'll get full access to our interactive quizzes and transcripts and can find out how to use our videos to earn real college credit. YouTube hosts only the first few lessons in each course. The rest are at Study.com. Take the next step in your educational future and graduate with less debt and in less time.

What Were the Articles of Confederation? | America: Facts vs. Fiction

The Articles of Confederation proved to be more trouble than help with individual states all pushing their interests and agendas, to the point of threatening the country as a whole. ​

U.S. Constitution

7. Problems arising under the Articles of Confederation led to debate over the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

Major domestic problems faced by the leaders of the new republic under the Articles of Confederation led to the creation of a new constitution. Problems under the Articles included: 
  • Maintaining national security;
  • Creating a stable economic system;
  • Paying war debts;
  • Collecting revenue;
  • Regulating trade; and
  • Correcting flaws in the central government. 

Challenges in writing and ratifying the U.S. Constitution included:
  • Issues debated during the convention (e.g., powers of the central government vs. the states, representation of the states vs. the people, the extent of democratic participation, the continued institution of slavery); 
  • The Federalist/Anti-Federalist debate (i.e., Federalists supported a strong national government with its separation of powers into three independent branches, Anti-Federalists opposed a strong central government believing it threatened the power of the states and lacked a bill of rights)

Resource: The Constitutional Convention: What the Founding Fathers Said
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Who Was Really Our First President? A Lost Hero (3 Lessons)
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - ​The Constitutional Convention of 1787 (3 Lessons)
Resource: A Great Compromise
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - ​The First American Party System: Events, Issues, and Positions (3 Lessons)
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ Before and Beyond the Constitution: What Should a President do? (3 Lessons)
Resource: Rights of the People - The Federalist Papers
Resource: The Federalist Debates: Balancing Power Between State and Federal Government
Resource: The Federalist Papers 
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The Federalist and Anti-federalist Debates on Diversity and the Extended Republic (2 Lessons)
*Recommend by LouAnne and KellyAnne from Booklicious.net
Resource: The Three Branches of the United States Government - Joslyn Law Firm
https://www.criminalattorneycincinnati.com/blog/2017/10/the-three-branches-of-the-united-states-government/
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Resource: National Paralegal College - Presidential Powers
*Identified and recommended by Tyler and Ms. Torres from Colorado ​

TED-Ed: How is power divided in the United States government? - Belinda Stutzman

​Article II of the United States Constitution allows for three separate branches of government (legislative, executive, and judicial), along with a system of checks and balances should any branch get too powerful. Belinda Stutzman breaks down each branch and its constitutionally-entitled powers. Lesson by Belinda Stutzman, animation by Johnny Chew.
View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-is-powe...

​USA State and Federal Powers

​A cartoon clip from ignite learning which describes some of the different powers that the USA State Governments have compared to the USA Federal Governments. Thanks to Ignite Learning.

​Three Branches of Government School House Rock

TED-Ed: Why wasn’t the Bill of Rights originally in the US Constitution? - James Coll

When you think of the US Constitution, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Free speech? The right to bear arms? These passages are cited so often that it's hard to imagine the document without them. But the list of freedoms known as the Bill of Rights was not in the original text and wasn't added for three years. Why not? James Coll goes back to the origins of the Constitution to find out. Lesson by James Coll, animation by Augenblick Studios.
​View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-wasn-t-...

The Electoral College

TedEd: ​Does your vote count? The Electoral College explained - Christina Greer

CNBC: Why The Electoral College Exists

PragerU: The Popular Vote vs. the Electoral College

Other PragerU Electoral College Videos:

Ted-Ed: A 3-minute guide to the Bill of Rights

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/a-3-minute-...
Daily, Americans exercise their rights secured by the Constitution. The most widely discussed and debated part of the Constitution is known as the Bill of Rights. Belinda Stutzman provides a refresher course on exactly what the first ten amendments grant each and every American citizen.
Lesson by Belinda Stutzman, animation by Jacques Khouri.

Constitution 101 | Lecture 1

​Learn the meaning of the Constitution and the principles of American government in this new version of Hillsdale's most popular course.
​The form of government prescribed by the Constitution is based on the timeless principles of the Declaration of Independence. These two documents establish the formal and final causes of the United States and make possible the freedom that is the birthright of all Americans.

The First Administrations

Early Political Parties - Part I

Though America’s Founding Fathers distrusted political parties, it wasn’t long before divisions developed among them. Supporters of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, who favored a strong central government and a national financial system, became known as Federalists.
By contrast, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson favored a more limited government. His supporters called themselves Republicans, or Jeffersonian Republicans, but later became known as Democratic-Republicans.
https://www.history.com/topics/us-politics/republican-party

The Federalists versus the Anti-Federalists

Hamilton: The Man Who Invented America

​Alexander Hamilton: You know the name, but what do you know about the man? Joseph Tartakovsky, senior fellow at the Claremont Institute, details how Hamilton took a country with no past and envisioned its future.

Hamilton v. Jefferson: The Central Bank Debate [POLICYbrief]

In 1791, two great minds clashed over an issue of constitutional and historical significance. Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson tried to make the case to President George Washington for and against having a national, central bank. 
8. Actions of early presidential administrations established a strong federal government, provided peaceful transitions of power and repelled a foreign invasion.

Actions of early U.S. presidential administrations established a strong federal government, including: 
  • Assumption of state debts, creation of the national bank, ending the Whiskey Rebellion, negotiating the Jay Treaty (Washington Administration); 
  • Creation of the Navy Department, maintenance of neutrality (Adams Administration);
  • Expansion of U.S. territory with the Louisiana Purchase (Jefferson Administration); 
  • Waging the War of 1812 (Madison Administration); 
  • Winning the McCulloch v. Maryland decision, negotiating treaties to secure U.S. borders, instituting the Monroe Doctrine (Monroe Administration). 

Peaceful transitions of the presidency began with Washington when he established the tradition of a two-term limit. Peaceful transitions occurred despite disputes in the elections of 1800 and 1824. 

Attempts by Great Britain to invade the United States during the War of 1812 were turned back and the Madison Administration preserved the pre-war status of the United States. 

Resource: History.com - The U.S. Presidents
Resource: American President: An Online Reference Resource
Resource: LoC - U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875
Resource: Yale Law School - George Washington - Proclamation of September 15, 1792
Resource: Yale Law School - The Whiskey Rebellion
Resource: Yale Law School - George Washington - Proclamation of September 25, 1794
Resource: Yale Law School - Sixth Annual Message of George Washington 
Resource: NEH, EDSIT​Ement - James Madison: From Father of the Constitution to President (4 Lessons)
Resource: NEH, EDSIT​Ement -​ The Crisis of American Diplomacy, 1793–1808 (3 Lessons)
Resource: LoC - Primary Documents in American History Jay's Treaty
Resource: Yale Law School - British-American Diplomacy The Jay Treaty 1794 and Associated Documents
​Resource: NEH, EDSIT​Ement - The Sedition Act: Certain Crimes Against the United States (5 Lessons)
Resource: LoC - Primary Documents in American History Lousiana Purchase
Resource: ERIC Digest - Teaching about the Louisiana Purchase
Resource: Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial
Resource: C-SPAN - Booknotes A Wilderness So Immense an interview with Jon Kukla
Resource: The Monroe Doctrine: Origin and Early American Foreign Policy  
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The Monroe Doctrine: Origin and Early American Foreign Policy (4 Lessons)
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - President Madison's 1812 War Message (3 Lessons)

TedEd: Inventing the American presidency - Kenneth C. Davis

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/inventing-t...
When the founders of the United States gathered to create the foundations of the country, they decided on three branches of government, with a president central to the executive branch. Kenneth C. Davis explains why this decision was not necessarily inevitable and what variables were up for debate.
Lesson by Kenneth C. Davis, animation by G. Melissa Graziano-Humphrey.

TedEd: The oddities of the first American election - Kenneth C. Davis

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-odditie...
How did George Washington become the first president of the United States in 1789? Who got to decide--or vote--who would become president, and how did they decide the winner? Kenneth C. Davis unveils the surprising story behind America's first presidential election.
Lesson by Kenneth C. Davis, animation by Buzzco Associates, inc.

What Made George Washington Great?

​There would have never been a United States of America without George Washington. John Rhodehamel, author of "George Washington: The Wonder of the Age," details how Washington successfully guided the budding nation through war and nurtured her in peace. This video was made in partnership with the American Battlefield Trust. Learn more about the George Washington and America's Battlefields at https://www.battlefields.org

Washington: The First President | Exclusive | History

​In this digital exclusive from "Washington" learn how George Washington took the framework of the constitution and forged history as the first president of the United States of America. Subscribe for more from other great HISTORY shows: https://histv.co/SubscribeToHistory

The very first inauguration

​Mo Rocca reports on the very first presidential inauguration ceremony held for George Washington, and how it set precedents that last to this day.

​George Washington - First U.S. President | Mini Bio | BIO

​Watch a short biography video of George Washington and learn about the life of the first President of the United States. 

George Washington's final years

​Through eight grueling years of the Revolutionary War, and another eight as the first President of the United States, George Washington was sustained by a dream, of the day he would return to Mount Vernon...

HBO - JOHN ADAMS

https://www.hbo.com/john-adams
​Paul Giamatti plays America’s least understood and most underestimated Founding Father in this award-winning miniseries about the second President of the United States.
johnadams_student-guide.pdf
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johnadams_teachers-guide.pdf
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EPISODE 1 Join or Die
  • ​​Boston, 1770. In the aftermath of the Boston Massacre, John Adams takes an unpopular stand by defending the accused soldiers. Counseled by his beloved wife Abigail, Adams wins the case. Later, Adams is invited to join the newly created Continental Congress and says an emotional goodbye to his family before heading to Philadelphia--and an uncertain future.
EPISODE 2 Independence
  • ​​Following a fruitless session of the Continental Congress, a sabbatical at Adams' Braintree farm is disrupted by news of the attack on Lexington and Concord.
​EPISODE 3 Don't Tread on Me
  • ​​A new period of separation from Abigail looms when Adams is appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to France along with Benjamin Franklin.
​EPISODE 4 Reunion
  • ​​Convalescing in Holland, Adams learns of the British surrender to Washington at Yorktown. The Dutch, unwilling to part with their money during the war, now generously open their pockets to Adams and America.
​EPISODE 5 Unite or Die
  • ​​Elected America's first Vice President, Adams is scolded by Abigail for his vanity, and is frustrated by his exclusion from President Washington's inner circle.
​EPISODE 6 Unnecessary War
  • ​​Abandoned by Jefferson for retaining Washington's cabinet, President Adams holds firm on keeping the nation out of war, despite French aggression and pro-war sentiment among his advisors.
​EPISODE 7 Peacefield
  • ​​In retirement, Adams starts writing his memoirs, then endures a series of tragedies.

KMN's John Adams resource:

kmn_johnadams.pdf
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The War of 1812

The War of 1812: The War of 1812 in Four Minutes

​Kris White of the American Battlefield Trust gives a full overview of the War of 1812. More so than other wars in American history, the War of 1812 is often misunderstood and forgotten. Learn about the causes, battles and legacy in our latest In4 installment.

History through Song
Songs of the War of 1812

The Merrymen - War Of 1812

The Battle of Fort McHenry, through Francis Scott Key's Eyes

Johnny Horton - Battle of New Orleans

Star Spangled Banner As You've Never Heard It

When the British burned the White House

​Two hundreds years ago British forces attacked the Washington, D.C., and torched its landmarks. Mo Rocca goes back in time to one of the most devastating days in U.S. history.

Battle of New Orleans 1815 - War of 1812 DOCUMENTARY

In celebration of Canada Day on July 1, and the US independence day on July 4. Although the War of 1812 ended with no territorial or political changes, it is widely considered decisive for the course of the history of North America. The United States faced one of the best armies in the world - the forces of the United Kingdom and managed to defend its territory, and took the first steps in becoming a global power. Meanwhile, for Canada, this conflict was definitive in terms of finding its identity. The most critical battle of this war happened after the peace treaty was signed. During the battle of New Orleans fought in 1815, the future president of US Andrew Jackson led his ragtag undisciplined ragtag force against the world’s strongest military. ​

America's 2nd War of Independence

​In this video, author Brian Kilmeade sheds light on the largely and unfortunately overlooked War of 1812. Kilmeade explains how this war got started, the daunting odds against a nation in its infancy, and the unlikely hero who secured America’s young nation’s future by pulling off one of the greatest upsets in military history.

War of 1812 in the Old Northwest

In 1812, a very young United States of America had its sights set on expansion to the north and the west. But the British wanted to keep its former colony tightly contained. In the balance were the lands of the Northwestern Frontier. ​

Tecumseh: The Native American Resistance

Kings and Generals animated historical documentary series continues with a video on Tecumseh - the leader of the Shawnee Native American Nation, his early life, rise to prominence, his initial war against the United States, creation of his confederacy, rise of his brother - the prophet Tenskwatawa, the Battle of Tippecanoe against the Americans and his participation in the War of 1812 and the battles of Detroit and Thames. ​
​A Bundle of Twigs Lesson Plan | PBS LearningMedia
In this lesson, to be used with the program The War of 1812, students will learn about Shawnee Chief Tecumseh and the impact that he had on First Nations, ...

Tecumseh and the Prophet - Battle of Tippecanoe 

Our animated historical documentary series on the life of Tecumseh continues with a video on the formation of his Confederacy, the rise of his brother, who would be known as the Prophet and the pushback of the US forces at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

Tecumseh and the War of 1812

In the final episode of our animated historical documentary on the life and struggle of the Native American leader Tecumseh, we will cover the war of 1812, his alliance with the British led by Brock, the battles of Detroit and Thames.

PBS - The War of 1812

https://www.pbs.org/wned/war-of-1812/home/
Features:
In June of 1812, the infant United States, a loose confederation of 18 states, declared war on Great Britain, one of the most powerful countries in the world.  Thus began two-and-a-half years of increasingly bitter and brutal war that involved the United States, Britain, the British colonies of Canada, and many Native tribes.  It was a war that severely tested both a young American democracy and the ties between British colonies and mother country.

The United States of America was the first modern democratic republic in the world, and 1812 was the first official war that the republic had ever fought as a nation.  As such, it immediately brought up numerous questions about the way a democracy conducts war, the powers of the presidency, and the nature of a country made up of independent-minded states.  Some of these questions were answered, and answered well; some of those questions continued to hang over the nation's head, and burdened it painfully as the war went on.

Author and noted scholar Donald Hickey has called the War of 1812 "a futile and costly struggle in which the United States barely escaped dismemberment and disunion."  The country was far from unified as the war began – the vote to declare war in Congress was the closest war vote in American history.  Then one bungled invasion of Canada followed another; British victories on land mounted; a blockade strangled the East Coast; a British army took Washington, and burned the White House and the Capitol; and the American economy fell apart.  With those setbacks, a certain peril came from within as well as without.  In midsummer 1814, many in New England desired nothing less than secession. 

Early Political Parties - Part II

​The Federalist Party dissolved after the War of 1812, and by the 1830s the Democratic-Republicans had evolved into the Democratic Party (now the main rival to today’s Republicans), which initially rallied around President Andrew Jackson.
Opponents of Jackson’s policies formed their own party, the Whig Party, and by the 1840s Democrats and Whigs were the country’s two main political coalitions.
The Campaign of 1840: The Whigs, the Democrats ...
 ' "Critics charged that it was Andrew Jackson's destruction of the U.S. Bank that had led to the crash, and that a new national bank was now ...

The Whigs Collapse! | Why Slavery Killed the Age of Jackson

​The collapse of the Whig Party was one of the most epic political disasters in America’s history. Not only did one of America’ two major parties implode just after holding the White House. It took down the entire Jacksonian party system, ripped American politics apart, and eventually plunged the nation into a bloody civil war.

The Democratic Party

Several resources on the history the the Democratic Party
Compare and Contrast

​For more than 200 years, our party has led the fight for civil rights, health care, Social Security, workers’ rights, and women’s rights. We are the party of Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, FDR, and the countless everyday Americans who work each day to build a more perfect union. Take a look at some of our accomplishments, and you’ll see why we’re proud to be Democrats.
https://democrats.org/who-we-are/our-history/

America 101: Why a Donkey for Democrats? | History

PragerU: The Inconvenient Truth About the Democratic Party

Khan Academy - History of the Democratic Party | American civics | US government and civics 

US Elections 2012: Democratic party history | Guardian Animations

Vox: From white supremacy to Barack Obama: The history of the Democratic Party

VOA: US Democratic Party History

Westward Expansion

9. The United States added to its territory through treaties and purchases.
  • The United States negotiated treaties with and purchases from other countries in an effort to expand its territory and to solidify its borders. 
  • Treaties were negotiated with Spain, Great Britain and Mexico (e.g., Adams-Onís Treaty, Webster-Ashburton Treaty, Oregon Treaty, Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo). 
  • The U.S. expanded its territory through purchases from France, Mexico and Russia (e.g., Louisiana Purchase, Gadsden Purchase, Alaska purchase). 

Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - On This Day With Lewis and Clark
Resource: Teaching With Documents: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Resource: New Perspectives on The West
Resource: Comparative Costs: The Early 19th Century and Today 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Go West: Imagining the Oregon Trail 
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - If You Were a Pioneer on the Oregon Trail
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Davy Crockett, Tall Tales, and History
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The Presidential Election of 1824: The Election is in the House (3 Lessons)
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The 1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson and the Growth of Party Politics (4 Lessons)
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ The Campaign of 1840: William Henry Harrison and Tyler, Too (3 Lessons)

TED-Ed - The historical audacity of the Louisiana Purchase - Judy Walton

When the French offered up the Louisiana Territory, Thomas Jefferson knew this real estate deal was too good to pass up. How did the President justify the purchase that doubled the size of the United States? Judy Walton provides President Jefferson's reasoning. Lesson by Judy Walton, animation by Sumit Seru, Rohit Tandon and Kevin Jaako.
​View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-audacit...

Manifest Destiny

Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way

​Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (also known as Westward Ho) is a 20-by-30-foot (6.1 m × 9.1 m) painted mural displayed behind the western staircase of the House of Representatives chamber in the United States Capitol Building. The mural was painted by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze in 1861 and symbolizes Manifest Destiny, the belief that the United States was destined for Western exploration and expansion originating from the initial colonies along the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean. A study measuring 33 1⁄4 by 43 3⁄8 inches (84.5 cm × 110.2 cm) hangs in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[1]
The darkness turning into light represents the greatness that was believed to lie in the future West.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westward_the_Course_of_Empire_Takes_Its_Way

The Northwest Ordinance

​In 1787, Congress adopts a plan called The Northwest Ordinance which calls for new states to be developed in the Ohio region.
​First Lady Lesson Plan: Exploring the Northwest Territory
Make sure to briefly discuss what states were created from the Northwest Territory and the importance of the Northwest Ordinance as they are the focus of this ...
We're Free... Let's Grow! | iCivics
In this lesson, students learn about the issues raised by this American “first” and the challenges the nation faced with its new Northwest Territory.

Opening the Door West -Trailer

​Six minute trailer for "Opening the Door West," a historical documentary about the first legal settlements made in the westward expansion of the newly formed United States. Rufus Putnam and his "Ohio Company" men, mostly Revolutionary War officers, founded the city of Marietta as the first step in opening up the old Northwest Territory.
Opening The Door West
This feature length historical documentary is the story of the Ohio Company of Associates, a group of Revolutionary War officers and soldiers, and how, in 1788, ...
‎Opening The Door West · ‎More Visuals · ‎The Story · ‎Film Credits

Sound Smart: Manifest Destiny | History

​Historian Matthew Pinsker gives a crash course on the concept of "manifest destiny" and the seeds of westward American expansion.
​Manifest Destiny | Stanford History Education Group
The United States vastly expanded its territory in the 1840s. In this Opening Up the Textbook (OUT) lesson, students examine a present-day ...
​Manifest Destiny | iCivics
In this lesson, students get an introduction to the concept of Manifest Destiny. Even before the phrase “Manifest Destiny” was first used in 1845, many Americans ...

Sound Smart: The Homestead Act | History

Historian Matthew Pinsker explains the Homestead Act in the context of the Civil War, when it was passed.
​PBS - Frontier House: Resources: Lesson Plans - Thirteen
In May 1862, Congress passed the Homestead Act, which declared that any citizen of the United States could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land, ...
Homestead Act Paperwork - Teachers (U.S. National Park ...
Additional ONLINE Lesson Plans created by Homestead National Monument of America in partnership with the National Archives and Records ...

HISTORY - The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen

Picture


“The Men Who Built America: Frontiersmen” spans a formative period of history featuring the first 75 volatile years of the United States – from the Revolution through the California Gold Rush – where Daniel Boone, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, John Frémont, Davy Crockett and Andrew Jackson set forth across uncharted land with determination and self-reliance.
​ #TheMenWhoBuiltAmerica

Business Titans Rise in the Gilded Age | The Men Who Built America (S1, E1) | Full Episode

Out of the turmoil of the Civil War, America enters an age of enlightenment that will change the landscape of the country. The growth is driven by five insightful men who will change the world forever, in Season 1, Episode 1, "A New War Begins."
S 1 E 1
​Into the Wilderness
  • 1h 23m 8s | TV-14 V
  • ​The Revolution begins, and the outbreak of war spreads beyond the colonies into the remote frontier; Daniel Boone’s life-or-death struggle for the future of his settlement becomes a fight for the future of America.
​S 1 E 2
Never Surrender
  • 1h 18m 12s | TV-14 V
  • Shawnee warrior Tecumseh unites the Native American tribes to resist expansion; after Thomas Jefferson orchestrates the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis & Clark make their legendary expedition to the Pacific; and a new war for America begins.
S 1 E 3
Live Free or Die
  • 1h 24m 42s | TV-14 V
  • ​Britain and Tecumseh’s war to take back America expands as Andrew Jackson and Davy Crockett join the fight; the legendary rivalry between Jackson and Crockett begins on the frontier.
​​S 1 E 4
Empire of Liberty
  • 1h 21m 12s | TV-14 V
  • Davy Crockett makes a stand at The Alamo; President Polk risks war with Britain and Mexico, sending John Fr mont and Kit Carson on a secret mission that ignites a war for California and the Pacific.

Lewis & Clark

​Without This Woman's Help, Lewis and Clark Were Goners

​​Lewis and Clark first met Sacajawea and her French husband Toussaint Charbonneau in the Dakota Territory. The couple joined the expedition, acting as translators and guides.

America: Promised Land: Migrants Travel West on the Oregon Trail | History

Over 400,000 people travel West to start a new life and claim new land along the Oregon Trail, including Lucinda Brown. One-hundred seventy years later, one of her descendants sees a kettle from her journey for the first time. #AmericaPromisedLand

The First Women to Complete the Oregon Trail

​In 1836, Narcissa Whitman and her husband Marcus joined a group of missionaries traveling west along the Oregon Trail. It was the first time a woman--or a wagon--had ever attempted the trip.

Advanced Students and/or Teacher Reading:

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Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West 
by Stephen Ambrose ​
​In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson selected his personal secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead a voyage up the Missouri River to the Rockies, over the mountains, down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean, and back. Lewis and his partner, Captain William Clark, made the first map of the trans-Mississippi West, provided invaluable scientific data on the flora and fauna of the Louisiana Purchase territory, and established the American claim to Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Lewis and Clark: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (FULL Audiobook)

PBS - LEWIS & CLARK
The Journey of the Corps of Discovery

LEWIS & CLARK: THE JOURNEY OF THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY | PBS

For the first time in nearly a decade, follow the most important expedition in American history, the first exploration of the West. Witness the remarkable story of Lewis and Clark's 19th-century voyage of danger and discovery from St. Louis to the Pacific.
​LEWIS & CLARK
The Journey of the Corps of Discovery
​The film tells the remarkable story of the entire Corps of Discovery – not just of the two Captains, but the young army men, French-Canadian boatmen, Clark’s African-American slave, and the Shoshone woman named Sacagawea, who brought along her infant son. As important to the story as these many characters, however, was the land itself, and the promises it held.
-Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery is a production of Florentine Films and WETA, Washington, D.C.
  • Inside the Corps 
    • Enter the world of Lewis, Clark and the rest of the Corps of Discovery.
  • Native Americans 
    • Indian tribes already knew the lands that Lewis and Clark discovered.
  • The Archive 
    • Follow an expedition timeline and maps, or read the journals of the Corps.
  • Into the Unknown 
    • In this interactive story, you're leading the expedition now.
  • Interactive Trail Map 
    • Follow Lewis and Clark on their journey through 11 states, with journal entries, Native American history, and events to celebrate the expedition's bicentennial.
  • Classroom Resources 
    • Explore the significance of the expedition using lesson plans and activities.
  • Living History 
    • Listen to expert historians give their thoughts on the expedition.
  • A Forum with Ken Burns 
    • Meet the director of “Lewis and Clark” and ask him your questions.
www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/

Conflict in the West

10. Westward expansion contributed to economic and industrial development, debates over sectional issues, war with Mexico and the displacement of American Indians. 
  • The territorial expansion of the United States continued after the War of 1812. It contributed to economic development by providing land for settlement and development of transportation networks. New resources also were discovered in the acquired territories. 
  • As the country expanded, it developed into sections with distinct economic and cultural characteristics. The sections took different positions on key political issues of the day. Westward expansion escalated the debate over a key sectional issue – whether or not slavery should be extended into the new territories. 
  • Growth of the United States encroached upon Mexico. The annexation of Texas, efforts to purchase Mexican territory and disputes over the Texas-Mexico border led to the Mexican War. 
  • The settlement of the United States led to the displacement of American Indians from their native lands through various means including forced removal through legal and military actions (e.g., Treaty of Greenville, Indian Removal Act). In the 1840s, the idea of Manifest Destiny was used by politicians and leaders to explain and justify continental expansion by the United States. 

Resource: New Perspectives on The West
Resource: Teaching With Documents: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Resource: Values and Beliefs of Manifest Destiny
Resource: Smithsonian - Establishing Borders:The Expansion of the United States, 1846-48
Resource: DMWV - A Concise History of the U.S. - Mexican War
Resource: PBS - U.S. -Mexican War
​Resource: Lincoln/Net: The Mexican-American War

Ken Burns - The West | Documentary

THE WEST is an eight-part documentary series which premiered on PBS stations in September 1996. This multimedia guided tour proceeds chapter-by-chapter through each episode in the series, offering selected documentary materials, archival images and commentary, as well as links to background information and other resources of the web site.
Ken Burns - The West: Episode 1 - (To 1806)
The People 
The West begins as the whole world to the people who live there. It becomes a New World when Europeans arrive, a world shaken by incompatible visions. And almost three centuries later, when Lewis and Clark venture west to find a Northwest Passage, this world becomes the testing-ground for a young nation's continent-spanning dream.
Ken Burns - The West: Episode 2 - (1806 to 1848)
Empire Upon the Trails
Americans head west along many pathways -- following the fur trade into the mountains, fighting for self-determination in Texas, seeking religious freedom in Utah or a better life along the Oregon Trail. But whatever direction they travel, they move closer with every step to a “Manifest Destiny” that will make the West their own.
Ken Burns - The West: Episode 3 - (1848-1856)
Speck of the Future
The Gold Rush brings the whole world to the West, as 49ers from Asia, South America and the eastern states scramble for “a share of the rocks,” littering the hills with mining towns and creating the West’s first metropolis. But in the push to strike it rich, many are violently pushed aside.
Ken Burns - The West: Episode 4 - (1856-1868)
Death Runs Riot
Civil war comes early to the West. In “Bleeding Kansas,” abolitionists battle for free soil. In Utah, federal troops march against Mormon polygamy. And along the Rio Grande, oppressed Mexican Americans rebel. The war between North and South unleashes brute savagery in the West, and leaves behind an army prepared for total war against the native peoples of the plains.
Ken Burns - The West: Episode 5 - (1868-1874)
The Grandest Enterprise Under God
A triumph of the human spirit, the transcontinental railroad opens a new era in the West, carrying homesteaders onto the prairies, bringing cowboys up the cattle trail from Texas, helping give women the vote in Utah and sending buffalo hunters onto the plains, where they drive a symbol of the West -- and a way of life -- to the brink of extinction.
Ken Burns - The West: Episode 6 - (1874-1877)
Fight No More Forever
The federal government tightens its grip on the West, but three bold spirits remain defiant -- Sitting Bull, who prophesies his people's greatest victory but cannot prevent their ultimate defeat; Brigham Young, who must sacrifice a spiritual son to save his church; and Chief Joseph, who triumphs in defeat as an indomitable voice of conscience for the West.
Ken Burns - The West: Episode 7 - (1877-1887)
The Geography of Hope
Newcomers arrive by the millions, bringing a new spirit of conformity to the West. Indian children are taught to forsake their heritage, Mormons are told to abandon a tenet of their faith, and new laws deny Chinese and Mexican Americans a place in society. Yet the legend of the “Wild West” lives on, thanks to the greatest showman of the age.
Ken Burns - The West: Episode 8 - (1887-1914)
One Sky Above Us
As settlers race to claim tribal lands, Native Americans take up the Ghost Dance, trusting in its power to restore a lost way of life until their hopes are crushed at Wounded Knee. The new century marks a new era in the West, an age of aqueducts and smelters. But the West remains what it has always been, a world waiting for a dream.
Ken Burns - The West, Classroom Resources:

The Alamo

America the Story of Us: Alamo | History

​Why the Alamo still captures the imaginations of Americans after two centuries.

Deconstructing History: Alamo | History

​It has become the site and symbol of the battle for Texan independence, but there is much more to the story. Find out why Americans will always remember the Alamo.
History Through Hollywood
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Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (1955)
​American frontiersman Davy Crockett fights in the Creek Indian War, is elected to the U.S. Congress and fights for Texas at the Alamo.
Director: Norman Foster
Stars: Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, Basil Ruysdael |
Picture
​The Alamo (1960)
​In 1836, a small band of soldiers sacrifice their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.
Director: John Wayne
Stars: John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Laurence Harvey
Picture
​The Alamo (2004)
Based on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio Texas.
Director: John Lee Hancock
Stars: Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Emilio Echevarría

Sectionalism and the Civil War

The Republican Party

On July 6, 1854, just after the anniversary of the nation, an anti-slavery state convention was held in Jackson, Michigan. The hot day forced the large crowd outside to a nearby oak grove. At this “Under the Oaks Convention” the first statewide candidates were selected for what would become the Republican Party.
United by desire to abolish slavery, it was in Jackson that the Platform of the Under the Oaks Convention read: “…we will cooperate and be known as REPUBLICANS…” Prior to July, smaller groups had gathered in intimate settings like the schoolhouse in Ripon, Wisconsin. However, the meeting in Jackson would be the first ever mass gathering of the Republican Party.
The name “Republican” was chosen, alluding to Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republican Party and conveying a commitment to the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
https://www.gop.com/history/

Several resources on the history the the Republican Party.
​Compare & Contrast

America 101: Why an Elephant for Republicans? | History

The Daily Conversation: History of the Republican Party (1854-2016)

​PragerU: The Inconvenient Truth About the Republican Party

Vox: How the Republican Party went from Lincoln to Trump

Khan Academy: History of the Republican Party | American civics | US government and civics 

VOA: US Republican Party History

Lincoln–Douglas debates:

The Lincoln–Douglas debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. Wikipedia
Dates: Aug 21, 1858 – Oct 15, 1858

Sound Smart: The Lincoln-Douglass Debates | History

Historian Matthew Pinkser explains the series of debates that would eventually help Abraham Lincoln become a stronger national candidate for president. ​

The Lincoln Douglas Debate

​Professor Eric Foner of Columbia University counts the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 as one of the high points in the history of American politics.
​Wikimedia Commons
File: Ottawa IL Washington Park Lincoln-Douglas Statues2.jpg - Wikimedia Commons
Get this image on: Wikimedia Commons | License details

Lincoln-Douglas Debate: The Question of Slavery

Lincoln speaks on differences between the Democrats and Republicans concerning slavery. Michael Krebs portrays Abraham Lincoln in reenactment at the lone surviving Lincoln-Douglas Debate site. More information about this debate is available at http://www.withlincolnproductions.com....
11. Disputes over the nature of federalism, complicated by economic developments in the United States, resulted in sectional issues, including slavery, which led to the American Civil War.
  • The federal system of government created under the U.S. Constitution raised questions during the first half of the 19th century over the power of the federal government versus the powers reserved to the states. States’ rights arguments were first outlined in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798-99. 
  • The country’s expansion helped it develop sections with distinct economic characteristics. The sections took different positions on key political issues of the day (e.g., tariff policy, the national bank, internal improvements, sales of public lands, slavery). 
  • Northern entrepreneurs favored high tariffs to protect their businesses and avoid competition from foreign products. Many southerners, who imported manufactured products, wanted low tariffs to keep their costs low. They also feared that foreign countries would retaliate against American tariffs by not importing southern cotton and other products. 
  • Northerners favored the operations of a national bank that could help finance new business ventures and facilitate commerce. Western farmers tended to be poor and distrusted banks. They objected to bank policies that made it difficult for them to obtain loans. 
  • Westerners favored government programs to enhance internal improvements such as roads and canals. These improvements enabled more people to travel out west and made it easier to ship agricultural products east. 
  • Southerners tended to object to the expense associated with building internal improvements. They did not see their section of the country benefitting from such programs as most of the construction took place in the North and West. 
  • Westerners, many of whom were poor, favored the cheap sale of public lands as a way to acquire better farmland and attract more people to the west. Many northerners opposed the cheap sale of public lands. They viewed land sales as way for the federal government to generate income. 
  • Southerners viewed slavery as vital to their agricultural way of life and favored the extension of slavery into the territories as cotton cultivation moved west. Northerners who did not rely on slaves for a workforce objected to slavery as a moral wrong and opposed its extension into the territories. 
  • In several key instances, the sectional issues involved arguments over states’ rights (e.g., the Tariff of Abominations, the Webster -Hayne Debate of 1830, the Nullification Crisis of 1832 -33). One sectional issue in particular – the extension of slavery – prompted much debate in the 1840s and 1850s (e.g., the Wilmot Proviso, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas -Nebraska Act). The debate over this issue culminated with the South’s exercise of the ultimate states’ right – secession. 
  • The American Civil War was fought to resolve the issues of states’ rights versus a federal union , and whether or not the nation would continue to embrace slavery. 

Sound Smart: Dred Scott Case | History

Historian Matthew Pinsker presents a quick rundown of the story of Dred Scott, a slave who sued for his freedom, leading to one of the Supreme Court's most infamous decisions.

Sound Smart: Fort Sumter and the Civil War | History

​Historian Matthew Pinsker presents a quick rundown of the battles at South Carolina's Fort Sumter and the start of the U.S. Civil War.

Civil War 1864: A Virtual Reality Experience, Full Version

​Experience Civil War warfare, as never before, with the American Battlefield Trust’s new virtual reality series. This immersive storytelling approach will put you back in time as you navigate in 360 degrees how it may have looked, felt and sounded to be a Civil War soldier. Check out our exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of Civil War 1864 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF6xr...

History through Song
Civil War Songs

Dixie's Land

​2nd South Carolina String Band
Back in 2010, Ryan Kelley of Intersection Films asked us if we would contribute our treatment of “Dixie’s Land” to be the opening of the film documentary that Ryan and his partner, Trent Reeves, were making about the classic Dan Emmett song. We were flattered to be so considered and of course readily agreed. We rendezvoused with the film-makers during the July Gettysburg reenactment that year and filmed our all-acoustic, all-authentic period instrument version.

Shiloh Hill | Tennessee Civil War 150 | NPT

​From the Nashville Public Television produced "Shiloh: The Devil's Own Day" performed by William Lee Golden, with Chris Golden on guitar and Jenee Fleenor on fiddle. Written by M.G. Smith.

Southern Solider & Dixie

​"This video was filmed July 6th, 2013, at the Saturday Night Ball during the commemorative reenactment celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, sponsored and hosted by the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee

Battle Hymn of the Republic | Civil War Songs and Stories | NPT

From the Nashville Public Television / Renaissance Center production of "Civil War Songs and Stories," the Oak Ridge Boys' William Lee Golden performs "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

"The Irish Volunteer" - Irish-American Civil War Song

​"The Irish Volunteer" is a song honoring the 'Fighting 69th' Irish Brigade, a legendary infantry unit composed of Irish-Americans that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. The brigade played a major role in several major battles such as Antietam, and the volunteers suffered some of the highest casualties of the war.

​We'll Fight for Uncle Sam

​U.S. Civil War Song sung by David Kincaid. It's pretty much about Irish Troops in the American Civil War and how they are fighting for the North. It also has a little something about Britain. Set to the tune of "Whiskey in the Jar"

Sound Smart: Compromise of 1850 | History

Matthew Pinsker gives a crash course on the Compromise of 1850, the resolution to a dispute over slavery in territory gained after the Mexican-American War. ​

Sound Smart: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 | History

Historian Matthew Pinsker presents a quick rundown of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.

Frederick Douglass

​America the Story of Us: Frederick Douglass | History

Being a slave who had successfully escaped, Frederick Douglass was able to communicate the plight of slaves as no one else cold. ​

Frederick Douglass: From Slave to Statesman

​Frederick Douglass was born into slavery, but through his own heroic efforts became one of the most influential advocates for freedom in American history. His journey, a tale both agonizing and inspiring, should be known by everyone. Timothy Sandefur, author of "Frederick Douglass: Self-Made Man," guides us through Douglass’ amazing life. This video was made in partnership with the American Battlefield Trust. Learn more about Frederick Douglas at http://bit.ly/2Zf0sSq

Advanced Student and/or Teacher Reading:

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​Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (Original Classic Edition): An American Slave 
by Frederick Douglass
This classic of American literature, a dramatic autobiography of the early life of an American slave, was first published in 1845, when its author had just achieved his freedom. Its shocking first-hand account of the horrors of slavery became an international best seller. His eloquence led Frederick Douglass to become the first great African-American leader in the United States. ​

Life and Times of Frederick Douglass by Frederick DOUGLASS Part 1/4 | Full Audio Book

Harriet Tubman

The breathtaking courage of Harriet Tubman - Janell Hobson

​Take a closer look at the life of escaped slave and American icon Harriet Tubman, who liberated over 700 enslaved people using the Underground Railroad. -- Download a free audiobook version of "The Underground Railroad" and support TED-Ed's nonprofit mission: https://adbl.co/2LEl0sU Check out our full book recommendation: https://shop.ed.ted.com/collections/t... Escaping slavery; risking everything to save her family; leading a military raid; championing the cause of women’s suffrage; these are just a handful of the accomplishments of one of America’s most courageous heroes. Janell Hobson details Harriet Tubman's many fights for freedom. Lesson by Janell Hobson, directed by Yan Dan Wong.

America the Story of Us: Harriet Tubman | History

Born a slave, Harriett Tubman became a famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, leading hundreds of slaves to freedom. ​

Sound Smart: The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 | History

Get a crash course on the causes and consequences of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 with historian Matthew Pinsker.

Sound Smart: Bleeding Kansas | History

​Learn key facts behind Bleeding Kansas, a series of violent confrontations between pro- and anti-slavery forces during the settling of Kansas, from historian Matthew Pinsker.

Ted-Ed: How one piece of legislation divided a nation

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-legisla...
You may think that things are heated in Washington today, but the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 had members of Congress so angry they pulled out their weapons -- and formed the Republican Party. The issues? Slavery and states' rights, which led the divided nation straight into the Civil War. Ben Labaree, Jr. explains how Abraham Lincoln's party emerged amidst the madness.
Lesson by Ben Labaree, Jr., animation by Qa'ed Mai

Was the Civil War About Slavery?

What caused the Civil War? Did the North care about abolishing slavery? Did the South secede because of slavery? Or was it about something else entirely...perhaps states' rights? Colonel Ty Seidule, Professor of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point, settles the debate.

PBS - The Civil War, A Film by Ken Burns

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/civil-war/
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When The Civil War first appeared on PBS in the fall of 1990, no one -- myself included -- was at all prepared for the overwhelming national response that followed. The film was then, as it is now, a timely reminder of the frightful cost our ancestors had paid to make this nation a truly United States. It is a chronicle of making permanent that which was promised, but not delivered, in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. 

In making this documentary we wanted to tell the story of the bloodiest war in American history through the voices of the men and women who actually lived through it. Each of them has a story to tell and their lives are woven into the larger fabric of the war. 

As you view portions of the series in your classroom, your students will meet men and women, many no older than they, for whom the war was a very personal experience. They will meet individuals like Elisha Hunt Rhodes and Sam Watkins who were just ordinary young men thrust into extraordinary circumstances that changed their lives forever. They will also meet the heroes of the Civil War, those who are said to have "made history", and continue to capture students’ attention.

In this special classroom section designed just for educators, you’ll find episode descriptions, broken down chapter-by-chapter; episode specific discussion questions; multidisciplinary lesson plans newly created by award-winning educators; and activity ideas from teachers who have been using the video series for years. We’ve also created a unique search interface with the Library of Congress’ extraordinary Civil War photography collection and have an extensive list of resources to help students delve even more into the rich and full history of the United States.

The series can’t replace the teacher or the classroom, but in conjunction with what you as the teacher do, it can make the era come alive in a way never before possible. In many ways, the series asks as many questions as it answers and should serve as a starting point for active learning and classroom discussion.

At the end of the series, I hope your students will have learned not only about the war but also something about what it was like to be alive in another time, a time when the future of the country was in doubt and its fields and roads and churchyards were battlefields. Most of all, I hope they will have learned to recognize in the America of our own time echoes and effects of those events that cost so many lives almost one hundred and forty years ago.

by Ken Burns
Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 1 - The Cause (1861) 
Beginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the causes of the war, from the Cotton Kingdom of the South to the northern abolitionists who opposed it. Here are the burning questions of Union and States’ rights, John Brown at Harper’s Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the firing on Fort Sumter and the jubilant rush to arms on both sides. Along the way the series’ major figures are introduced: Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant and a host of lesser-known but equally vivid characters. The episode comes to a climax with the disastrous Union defeat at Manassas, Virginia, where both sides now learn it is to be a very long war.

Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 2 - A Very Bloody Affair (1862) 
1862 saw the birth of modern warfare and the transformation of Lincoln’s war to preserve the Union into a war to emancipate the slaves. Episode Two begins with the political infighting that threatened to swamp Lincoln’s administration and then follows Union General George McClellan’s ill-fated campaign on the Virginia Peninsula, where his huge army meets a smaller but infinitely more resourceful Confederate force. During this episode we witness the battle of ironclad ships, partake of camp life, and watch slavery begin to crumble. We meet Ulysses S. Grant, whose exploits come to a bloody climax at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee. The episode ends with rumors of Europe’s readiness to recognize the Confederacy.

Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 3 - Forever Free (1862) 
This episode charts the dramatic events that led to Lincoln’s decision to set the slaves free. Convinced by July 1862 that emancipation was now morally and militarily crucial to the future of the Union, Lincoln must wait for a victory to issue his proclamation. But as the year wears on there are no Union victories to be had, thanks to the brilliance of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee. The episode comes to a climax in September 1862 with Lee’s invasion of Maryland. On the banks of Antietam Creek, the bloodiest day of the war takes place, followed shortly by the brightest: the emancipation of the slaves.

Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 4 - Simply Murder (1863)
The nightmarish Union disaster at Fredericksburg comes to two climaxes that spring: at Chancellorsville in May, where Lee wins his most brilliant victory but loses Stonewall Jackson; and at Vicksburg, where Grant’s attempts to take the city by siege are stopped. During the episode we learn of fierce Northern opposition to Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, the miseries of regimental life and the increasing desperation of the Confederate homefront. As the episode ends, Lee decides to invade the North again to draw Grant’s forces away from Vicksburg.

Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 5 - The Universe of Battle (1863)
This episode opens with a dramatic account of the turning point of war: the Battle of Gettysburg, the greatest ever fought in the Western Hemisphere. For three days 150,000 men will fight to the death in the Pennsylvania countryside, culminating in Pickett’s legendary charge. This extended episode then goes on to chronicle the fall of Vicksburg, the New York draft riots, the first use of black troops, and the western battles at Chickamauga, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee. The episode closes with the dedication of a new Union cemetery at Gettysburg in November, where Abraham Lincoln struggles to put into words what is happening to his people.

Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 6 - Valley of the Shadow of Death (1864) 
Episode six begins with a biographical comparison of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee and then chronicles the extraordinary series of battles that pitted the two generals against each other from the wilderness to Petersburg in Virginia. In 30 days, the two armies lose more men than both sides have lost in three years of war. With Grant and Lee finally deadlocked at Petersburg, we visit the ghastly hospitals north and south and follow General Sherman’s Atlanta campaign through the mountains of north Georgia. As the horrendous casualty lists increase, Lincoln’s chances for re-election begin to dim, and with them the possibility of Union victory.

Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 7 - Most Hallowed Ground (1864)
The episode begins with the presidential election of 1864 that sets Abraham Lincoln against his old commanding general, George McClellan. The stakes are nothing less than the survival of the Union itself: with Grant and Sherman stalled at Petersburg and Atlanta, opinion in the North has turned strongly against the war. But 11th-hour victories at Mobile Bay, Atlanta, and the Shenandoah Valley tilt the election to Lincoln and the Confederacy’s last hope for independence dies. In an ironic twist, poignantly typical of the Civil War, Lee’s Arlington mansion is turned into a Union military hospital and the estate becomes Arlington National Cemetery, the Union’s most hallowed ground.

Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 8 - War is All Hell (1865) 
The episode begins with William Tecumseh Sherman’s brilliant march to the sea, which brings the war to the heart of Georgia and the Carolinas and spells the end of the Confederacy. In March, following Lincoln’s second inauguration, first Petersburg and then Richmond finally fall to Grant’s army. Lee’s tattered Army of Northern Virginia flees westward towards a tiny crossroads town called Appomattox Court House. There the dramatic and deeply moving surrender of Lee to Grant takes place. The episode ends in Washington where John Wilkes Booth begins to dream of vengeance for the South.

Ken Burns - The Civil War: Episode 9 - The Better Angel of Our Nature (1865)
This extraordinary final episode of The Civil War begins in the bittersweet aftermath of Lee’s surrender and then goes on to narrate the horrendous events of five days later when, on April 14, Lincoln is assassinated. After chronicling Lincoln’s poignant funeral, the series recounts the final days of the war, the capture of John Wilkes Booth and the fates of the Civil War’s major protagonists.
The episode then considers the consequences and meaning of a war that transformed the country from a collection of states to the nation we are today.
Ken Burns - The Civil War, Classroom Resources:
Various Civil War Resources:

America the Story of Us: Lincoln | History

Today he is known as one of the greatest American presidents, but at the time of his election no one would have predicted Lincoln's success. ​

How Lincoln Changed the World in Two Minutes

Why do Lincoln's iconic words at Gettysburg still matter to each and every one of us? Professor Doug Douds of the Army War College explains. ​

Lincoln's First Inaugural Address

Johnny Cash: The Gettysburg Address

Sound Smart: Women in the Civil War | History

Historian Matthew Pinsker presents a quick rundown of women's involvement in the U.S. Civil War. ​

Emancipation Proclamation - Abraham Lincoln (Full Audio & Text)

This is a complete reading (and text) of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in ​...

Reconstruction

12. The Reconstruction period resulted in changes to the U.S. Constitution, an affirmation of federal authority and lingering social and political differences. 
  • The conclusion of the American Civil War brought victory for the federal union over the secessionist states, emancipated slaves, and began the period of Reconstruction for the South. 
  • Nationally, Reconstruction took place in part with the passage of the 13 th , 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. These amendments ended slavery and attempted to protect the rights of freedmen. 
  • Reconstruction had a particular impact on the Southern states, as they were required to implement a series of actions before being readmitted to the Union. Federal authority was affirmed, as most Southern states had to complete these actions under Military Reconstruction. 
  • Reconstruction resulted in resentments and new issues. White Southerners resented the new status afforded to blacks. They responded by enacting black codes and forming organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan. Southern Democrats resented the Republican carpetbagger governments imposed on the South and restored Democrats to power as Military Reconstruction came to an end. Congress and the presidency engaged in a struggle to control Reconstruction, which threatened the balance of power between the branches.

Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - The Battle Over Reconstruction (3 Lessons)
Resource: The Battle over Reconstruction
Resource: Opposing Views on Reconstruction
Resource: SC Black Codes: A Lesson on Reconstruction Legislation and Amendments
Resource: Louisiana Black Code
Resource: NYU Law - Neglected Voices
Resource: The Freedmen's Bureau Online
Resource: LOC-African American Perspectives, Pamphlets from the Daniel A. P. Murray Collection 1818-1907

 PBS - Reconstruction: America After the Civil War.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.'s documentary series, Reconstruction: America After the Civil War, explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy, with millions of former slaves and free black people seeking out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law. Though tragically short-lived, this bold democratic experiment was, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, a ‘brief moment in the sun’ for African Americans, when they could advance, and achieve, education, exercise their right to vote, and run for and win public office. 

PBS Learning Media: Reconstruction: America After the Civil War

Video Reconstruction: The Black Codes
  • ​The end of the Civil War brought about the freedom of four million slaves. The era of...Grades 7-12

Video Reconstruction: The 15th Amendment and African American Men in Congress 
  • After the war was over and slavery abolished,...Grades 7-12

Video Reconstruction: Ida B. Wells - Pioneer of Civil Rights
  • Long before Rosa Parks there was Ida B. Wells, a Civil Rights pioneer. At...Grades 7-12

Video Reconstruction: The Birth of a Nation - Rewriting History through Propaganda
  • The Birth of a Nation was a 1915 silent film,...

PBS: Inside Look | Reconstruction: America After the Civil War

​Official website: https://to.pbs.org/2U7XbRu | #ReconstructionPBS
​See how our past affects our present with this inside look of Reconstruction with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Reconstruction: America After the Civil War premieres Tuesday, April 9 at 9/8c.

Reconstruction: The Civil War in Four Minutes

​Join Caitlin Verboon of the University of Maryland as she discusses the difficulties that a divided nation faced after the conclusion of the American Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Learn about the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fourteenth Amendment, the Fifteenth Amendment, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875, and find out how the era of Reconstruction affected U.S citizens in both the North and the South. Learn More At: https://www.battlefields.org/learn/bi...

Voter fraud, suppression and partisanship: A look at the 1876 election

With nine days left until Election Day, many Americans hope the race finishes smoothly — unlike the disputed election of 1876. As the United States celebrated the centennial of the Declaration of Independence, a heated competition between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden was rife with accusations of voter fraud and suppression. Mo Rocca speaks to historians about how the tight race was eventually decided. ​

CBS Sunday Morning: The story of Reconstruction

n the years following the Civil War known as Reconstruction, newly-freed African American men could finally vote, and would be elected to represent Southerners in Congress. But it was a period that would be transformed into an era of segregation and Jim Crow laws, and be taught to succeeding generations as a failed political experiment. Yet, Reconstruction is now being given its due in school curriculums, and in a new PBS documentary by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates. Mo Rocca talks with Gates, as well as with historian Eric Foner and author Lawrence Otis Graham, about some of the most noted African American figures in the post-Civil War era.

Reconstruction: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

​The period immediately following the Civil War (1865 -1877) is known as Reconstruction. Its promising name belies what turned out to be the greatest missed opportunity in American history. Where did we go wrong? And who was responsible? Renowned American history professor Allen Guelzo has the surprising answers in this eye-opening video. This video was made in partnership with the American Battlefield Trust. Learn more about the Reconstruction at Battlefields.org: http://bit.ly/2NzppkE

OH I'M A GOOD OLE REBEL - CONFEDERATE ANTI RECONSTRUCTION SONG

How Southern socialites rewrote Civil War history

The United Daughters of the Confederacy altered the South's memory of the Civil War.

Geography 
Spatial Thinking and Skills

13. Modern and historical maps and other geographic tools are used to analyze how historic events are shaped by geography.
  • Modern and historical maps, as well as other geographic tools (e.g., GPS, GIS, Internet-based mapping applications, aerial and other photographs, remote sensing images) can be used to analyze how historical events have been influenced by the distribution of natural resources and geographic location. 
  • These tools can be used to understand changes over time. They may be used to help illustrate sectionalism, unification or movement. 

Resource: Map Collections
Resource: Geography and Its Impact on Colonial Life

HISTORY - HOW THE STATES GOT THEIR SHAPES

http://www.history.com/shows/how-the-states-got-their-shapes
​The United States is like a giant jigsaw puzzle, with each state having a uniquely shaped border to fit into its neighbouring states. Americans are familiar with each state's shape, but how did those shapes come about? That's what this series, hosted by former `Daily Show' correspondent Brian Unger, explains. Unger crisscrosses the country talking to local experts and everyday people in search of the stories behind the boundaries. Religion, transportation and Mother Nature are just a few of the factors that have caused the states' borders to evolve over time, some of which may be continuing to evolve.
Church and States 
Ever since the Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower, what we believe and how we believe has shaped the American map. Could Utah have been bigger than Texas? How did religion shatter New England into such odd little shapes? And did the Civil War actually begin… in Kansas?
Force of Nature 
How have massive geological events helped create the American map? Long before the Founding Fathers drew the map, mother nature shaped some states. How did an asteroid create the border for three states and change history? How did glaciers plow the great plains and how did natural disasters continue to alter the map?
State of Rebellion
How did the most rebellious states took shape? How did they earn their outsized features and outspoken reputations. For instance, why does Montana looks like it took a bite out of Idaho? Why wasn't Texas broken up into five states? And why exactly do we have not one but two Carolinas?
The Great Plains, Trains, & Automobiles 
The history of transportation is hidden in the lines of the map. From canals to trains and cars, how did getting around help draw the American map? Could Chicago have been in Wisconsin? Why are states out West or so big and boxy? And why did we almost had a state called Forgottonia?
Mouthing Off
We all live in the same country, so why do we sound do different? It's a matter of where you are on the map. Why didn't the southern accent exist until after the Civil War? How did California athletes end up coining so many new words? Why do we have so many different words for the same things — like pop versus soda? Will one particularly strong accent cause New York to break up and create a 51st state?
A River Runs Through It 
How has water has literally shaped the States? There's surprising history hidden in the blue, squiggly lines on the map. Did the founding fathers make a mistake along the Georgia Tennessee border? Can that boundary actually change because of water? Why does Maine have so much water? Why was Nevada was left high and dry? — All these answers can be found in the unique shapes of these states.
Culture Clash 
Will rivalries within our states break them into pieces? Cultures compete against each other all over the map. In extreme cases, they can divide states in two. How did World War II preserve the shape of California? Will part of Maine break off and become Northern Massachusetts? And as new cultures move into Florida, will the state's cowboy tradition get pushed off the map?
A Boom with a View
Did money make our map? Through boom and through bust, the sweet smell of profit has drawn and redrawn our states. How did Green Bay help carve our border with Canada? What does football have to do with fur? Is North Carolina the real "Golden State"? And why should we all move to North Dakota?
Use It or Lose It Watch 
If you thought our borders were set in stone, you'd be wrong. Who stole a corner of Washington, DC? Is Ohio actually a state? And why isn't St. Louis our nation's capital? One thing's for sure — our map could look very different. How did we create order out of so much chaos? With the vote.
Living on the Edge 
What secrets are hiding in our map? What's behind the "blank spots" like Area 51? What possessed the citizens of Key West to throw down their margaritas and secede from Florida? And even in the heartland, there are those living on the edge — in Kansas, old missile bunkers are now five bedroom dream homes. And what about the county in Georgia that was left off the state's quarter?

Geography 
Human Systems

14. The availability of natural resources contributed to the geographic and economic expansion of the United States, sometimes resulting in unintended environmental consequences.
  • The expansion of the United States, both geographically and economically, was influenced by the availability of its natural resources. This expansion sometimes resulted in unintended consequences. 
  • Forest resources and the abundance of fish and fur-bearing animals stimulated the growth of industries in the Northeast. The soil and climate of Virginia was conducive for growing tobacco. Although England originally settled Virginia to discover gold and silver and to trade with Indians for fur, the cultivation of tobacco helped make the colony prosper. Likewise, rice became an important crop in South Carolina, although originally it was thought to be an area for growing sugarcane. 
  • Cotton became a primary crop in the South. Intensive cotton cultivation, however, drained southern soils of essential nutrients and helped force the westward expansion of plantation agriculture. 
  • Expansion westward encouraged the building of canals and railroads, which in turn influenced further western migration. The stagnant waters of the canals often caused diseases and sparks from railroad engines sometimes caused prairie fires. The new settlers in the West affected the environment by destroying native vegetation to cultivate land for farming and by carving up the open plains with barbed-wire fences to protect cropland from animals. 

Resource: American Experience: Native Americans

TEDx Taklks: What Do Landscapes Tell Us About Our Culture? | Linnea Sando | TEDxHelena

​What do landscapes tell us about our culture? What is the value of reading landscapes? Landscapes can say a lot about a community's culture and values. Ph.D. Candidate, MSU Linnea Sando is a Ph.D. Candidate in Earth Sciences at Montana State University. She teaches, researches and writes about the geography of our human world. Her research has explored the creation and evolution of place identities across the American West, ethnic landscapes in eastern South Dakota and the influence of agricultural economies on places in the Midwest and West. Linnea's research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at regional and national conferences. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Geography
​Patterns of Settlement

15. The movement of people, products and ideas resulted in new patterns of settlement and land use that influenced the political and economic development of the United States.
  • The development of the colonies reflected the origins of its settlers (e.g., the English in the New England colonies, the Germans in Pennsylvania) and the displacement of native Indians. 
  • Slavery in the northern colonies was not as prevalent as in the southern colonies and slaves generally were used in a variety of endeavors. Many more African Americans were enslaved in the South where they were mainly used to raise labor-intensive crops. These differences influenced the ideas and political perspectives regarding the institution of slavery as the colonies gained independence and developed as a country. 
  • The opening of lands west of the Appalachians for white settlers led the government to move Indians further west either through treaty negotiations or by forcible removal. Sections of North America developed new patterns of settlement and land use due to the movement of people (e.g., immigration, importation of slaves, displacement of American Indians). These new patterns of settlement and land use influenced the political and economic development of the United States (e.g., Northwest Ordinance of 1787, Land Ordinance of 1785). 
  • The movement of people and products necessitated the construction of better transportation networks (e.g., roads, canals, railroads).

Resource: Western Expansion
Resource: National Atlas

A Brief History of U.S. City Planning

I'm on Patreon! Consider supporting this channel: https://www.patreon.com/citybeautiful

Maptastic (ep 3): Mapping how railroads built America

​A new look at antique US railroad maps reveals how cities grew over the past 200 years. The FT's Alan Smith and Steven Bernard trace how cities, people and the economy spread from coast to coast.

Geography
​Cultural Settlement Patterns

16. Cultural biases, stereotypes and prejudices had social, political and economic consequences for minority groups and the population as a whole.
  • Cultural biases, stereotypes and prejudices contributed to American Indian removal, the enslavement of Africans, violence against Mormons, and the view of women as second-class citizens. Responses to prejudice contributed to Indian wars, slave rebellions, the Mormon migrations and efforts for women to gain equal rights. 
  • Cultural biases, stereotypes and prejudices also impacted other groups, including immigrants. The prejudices could be based on origin (e.g., Ireland, China) or religion (e.g., Judaism, Catholicism). Many immigrants were restricted from certain jobs and limited as to where they could live. 

Resource: Injustice

The Immigration History of the United States of America

​This mini documentary explains the history of settlement in the United States of America: from the "Natives" who first populated the land to the Mexican migrants who arrive today. Subscribe to TDC: https://www.youtube.com/TheDailyConve...

Animated Map Shows History Of Immigration To The US

​In 1607, the English established their first permanent settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. Over the coming centuries, millions of people from around the globe were attracted to this New World that came to be the US for a chance at a better life. Today, more than 1 in 8 Americans are immigrants, and almost all are descendants of those born in foreign lands.

How The US Map Has Changed In 200 Years

​It didn't take long for the US to begin expanding westward after winning independence from British rule. By the mid-1800s, the country had pushed its territorial bounds across North America to the Pacific Ocean, and began dividing up territory into its present-day 50 states.

A National Identity 

17. Americans began to develop a common national identity among its diverse regional and cultural populations based on democratic ideals.
  • The democratic ideals that became the cornerstone for the development of a common national identity were freedom, equality, rights and justice. Many of these ideals were reflected in the colonial governments, formed the basis for the colonists’ disagreements over British policies, and were embedded into the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. 
  • The sense of “being an American” began to form around the time of the American Revolution and gradually replaced the stronger sectional and state identities that were more prevalent before the Civil War. The creation of the public education system helped foster these ideals. 
  • Many immigrants came to the United States in pursuit of these democratic ideals with the hope of assimilating as Americans.

Resource: American Identity: Activity Ideas

How Nations Make Up National Identities | NYT - The Interpreter

​Nationality feels powerful, especially today. But the idea of identifying with millions of strangers just based on borders is relatively new. We explain why it was invented — and how it changed the world.

National Identity In The Early 1800s | BRI's Homework Help Series

Bill of Rights Institute

American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity - Gallery Views

​Learn more about the exhibition American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity on view at the Met May 5, 2010 - August 15, 2010: http://tinyurl.com/MetAmericanWoman

HISTORY - AMERICA'S SECRET SLANG

​If you think about it, English can be confusing, especially to those first learning the language -- as George Carlin pointed out, we park in driveways and drive on parkways. While we take common phrases and idioms for granted, there's usually a back story. In "America's Secret Slang," host Zach Selwyn explores how terms like "slush fund" and "fly off the handle" entered the lexicon. Revelations include how the circus gave America the word "jumbo," how actors led to the word "upstage," and a connection between George Washington and the word "groggy."
http://www.history.com/shows/americas-secret-slang
Coming to America 
Ever wonder why American cowboys say "'git along little doggies" when they're talking about herding cattle? Or why a losing wrestler "cries uncle?" And why do we say "ouch" when we stub a toe? The answers to all these questions can be traced to the millions of immigrants who've flooded into the US over the past 200 years and created a language that's entirely America. Join us as we reveal the history behind America's secret slang.
Y'all Speak Country 
The American South has given us words like "y'all" and "rednecks" as well as dozens of colorful phrases like "fly off the handle," "having an axe to grind," and "barking up the wrong tree." But what are the origins of these expressions and why has one group of people contributed so much to the American language? The answers reveal the hidden history behind the American south and its secret slang.
West Word, Ho! 
Expressions from "riffraff" to "betting your bottom dollar", "passing the buck," "acid test" and even "heard it through the grapevine" all come from America's frontier days. But have you ever wondered why these phrases were first used and what they mean today? The answers reveal the hidden history behind America and its secret slang.

Government 
Civic Participation and Skills

18. Participation in social and civic groups can lead to the attainment of individual and public goals.
  • Throughout early American history, there are examples of how participation in social and civic groups led to the attainment of individual and public goals. Social groups included the American Temperance Society, which strived to reduce the consumption of alcohol, and the National Trades’ Union, which sought to improve working conditions. Civic groups included the Sons of Liberty, which worked to protest British colonial policy, and the American Anti-Slavery Society, which worked to emancipate slaves. 

Resource: Increasing Opportunities for Involvement
Resource: The Sons of Liberty

Ted-Ed: Historical role models

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/historical-...
Many notable American historical figures are considered role models -- but why? George Washington was devilishly smart, and Abraham Lincoln was a brave leader, but have you heard of Sybil Ludington or Beriah Green? Amy Bissetta expounds on the lessons of character we can learn from these historical giants, whether you've heard of them or not.
Lesson by Amy Bissetta, animation by Mark Phillips.

Public Opinion

19. Informed citizens understand how media and communication technology influence public opinion.
  • Media and communication technology influence public opinion through a variety of means. Historically, this includes improvements in printing, mail delivery, distribution of newspapers and the telegraph, which heightened public awareness and provided information. They also exposed people to arguments, emotional appeals and propaganda. 
  • Public opinion in early American history was influenced by pamphlets, books and newspaper articles (e.g., Common Sense, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Federalist Papers, The Liberator). The invention of the telegraph transformed news and hastened the rise of independent, mass-circulation newspapers in the 19th century.

Resource: Is the Media Part of the Story?
Resource: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Ted-Ed: How to choose your news

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-choo...
With the advent of the Internet and social media, news is distributed at an incredible rate by an unprecedented number of different media outlets. How do we choose which news to consume? Damon Brown gives the inside scoop on how the opinions and facts (and sometimes non-facts) make their way into the news and how the smart reader can tell them apart.
Lesson by Damon Brown, animation by Augenblick Studios.

Pros and cons of public opinion polls - Jason Robert Jaffe

​View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/pros-and-co... How do public opinion polls work? And, more importantly, are they accurate? Jason Robert Jaffe reveals the complexities and biases of polls and provides tips on how to think about polls as we make everyday decisions. Lesson by Jason Robert Jaffe, animation by Flaming Medusa Studios.


Government 
Roles and Systems of Government

20. The U.S. Constitution established a federal system of government, a representative democracy and a framework with separation of powers and checks and balances. 

The federal government established by the U.S. Constitution divides power among a central government and territorial subdivisions – the national and state governments. This allows both levels of government some degree of independence. 

The United States is a republic or representative democracy in which elected officials representing the people make laws and public policy. 

The U.S. Constitution provides for a separation of powers among the three branches of government (e.g., the legislative branch has the power to impose taxes and declare war, the executive branch has the power to command the military and grant pardons, the judicial branch has power to hear cases involving maritime law and controversies between the states). 

The U.S. Constitution also provides for a system of checks and balances among the three branches of government. These checks and balances include the: 
  • Power of the president to veto acts of Congress (e.g., Jackson’s veto of the re-charter of the Bank of the United States in 1832); 
  • Power of the Senate to approve presidential appointments (e.g., the approval of Daniel Webster as secretary of state in 1841); and 
  • Independence of Supreme Court justices who hold their offices “during good behavior” (e.g., the impeachment trial of Samuel Chase in 1805)

Resource: The Constitution of the United States of America
​Resource: NEH, EDSITEment - Balancing Three Branches at Once: Our System of Checks and Balances
Resource: National Constitution Center
Resource: Museum of American Finance, Jackson Vetoes Re-Carter of the Second Bank of the US
Resource: USHistory.org - 24d. The War Against the Bank
Resource: UVA, Miller Center - Bank Veto (July 10, 1832) Transcripts
Resource: Digital History - The Celebrated Bank War
Resource: NNDB - Daniel Webster
Resource: History.com - Daniel Webster
Resource: USDS Office of the Historian, Biographies of the Secretaries of State - Daniel Webster
Resource: United States Senate - November 30, 1804 Senate Prepares for Impeachment Trial
Resource: University of Missouri–Kansas City - The Impeachment Trial of Samuel Chase (1805) by Douglas O. Linder
Resource: PBS- Samual Chase
Resource: Maryland Law Review - The Trials of Mr. Justice Samuel Chase

Ted-Ed: History vs. Andrew Jackson

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/history-vs-...
Andrew Jackson was both beloved and loathed during his presidency. In this imaginary courtroom, you get to be the jury, considering and weighing Jackson's part in the spoils system, economic depression, and the Indian Removal Act, as well as his patriotism and the pressures of the presidency. James Fester explores how time shapes our relationship to controversial historical figures.
Lesson by James Fester, animation by Brett Underhill.

Government
Protection of Rights 


21. The U.S. Constitution protects citizens’ rights by limiting the powers of government.
  • Throughout the U.S. Constitution (including the Bill of Rights), the rights of citizens are protected by limiting the powers of the government. 
  • The Constitution prohibits the federal government from passing bills of attainder or ex post facto laws and from suspending writs of habeas corpus. The Bill of Rights provides additional protections (e.g., the federal government is prohibited from infringing on the freedoms of speech, press, religion, assembly and petition). Citizens also are entitled to due process of law, are guaranteed the right to trial by jury and the right to counsel, and are protected from cruel and unusual punishments. 
  • After the Civil War, Amendments 13, 14 and 15 extended basic rights to the freedmen. 

Resource: The Constitution of the United States of America
Resource: 13th Amendment
Resource: 14th Amendment

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution: A History

The Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution in 1868 to empower the federal government -- including particularly federal courts -- to stamp out a culture of lawless tyranny and oppression in the South by enforcing basic civil rights of newly freed blacks and their white supporters. This culture of oppression took many forms, including widespread censorship, the systematic disarmament of freedmen and white unionists, and the wholesale denial of economic liberty. At the heart of the Fourteenth Amendment was the Privileges or Immunities Clause, which the Supreme Court effectively deleted from the Constitution in the 1873 Slaughterhouse Cases. Today, that judicial error continues to take its toll on important freedoms like private property and the right to earn an honest living, which receive virtually no protection from courts despite their obvious importance to ensuring the economic autonomy of the freedmen following the Civil War and all Americans today.  

How Does the Constitution Protect Individual Rights? [No. 86 LECTURE]

​Everyone knows that the Constitution was designed to protect the rights of the people. But how exactly does it accomplish that? Professor Randy Barnett discusses how the separation of powers and the amendment process play important roles in protecting citizens from the abuses of a powerful federal government.


Economics 
Decision Making and Skills

22. Choices made by individuals, businesses and governments have both present and future consequences.

Economic choices are made because wants are unlimited, but resources are scarce. In any economic decision, whether it is an individual, business or government, there are consequences for the present and the future. 

Businesses must weigh the consequences of hiring more workers, investing in research and development, and lowering or raising prices against potential profits in the short and long term. 

Governments must consider which public goods and services (e.g., highways, courts, military protection, education) they provide with available revenue (from taxes). They also must weigh the immediate and future impact of raising or lowering revenue through tax and tariff policy. 

Historical decisions based in part on economic choices include: 
  • Exploring new lands; 
  • Importing slaves to the Americas; 
  • Imposing new taxes on the American colonies; 
  • Purchasing the Louisiana Territory from France; 
  • Building textile mills using water power; 
  • Setting up a ferry business or building a toll bridge; and 
  • Imposing tariffs
Resource: Understanding the Colonial Economy
Resource: Monticello - Louisiana Purchase
Resource: HistoryNet - Louisiana Purchase
Resource: Smithsonian - How the Louisiana Purchase Changed the World
Resource: The South’s Decision to Secede: A Violation of Self Interest?
Resource: The Early 19th Century and Today

US Economic History 1 — How Mercantilism Started the American Revolution

The British Empire’s mercantilist plan backfired — and led to the American Revolution. Video created with the Bill of Rights Institute to help students ace their exams.  ​

US Economic History 2 — Interstate Commerce & the Constitution

​The Constitution’s Interstate Commerce clause was supposed to liberate American markets. Video created with the Bill of Rights Institute to help students ace their exams. This is the second video in a series of nine with Professor Brian Domitrovic, which aim to be a resource for students studying for US History exams, and to provide a survey of different (and sometimes opposing) viewpoints on key episodes in U.S. economic history. How do you think we did?

US Economic History 3 — National Banks’ Rise and Fall

Does a national bank make the US economy more stable or more chaotic? Video created with the Bill of Rights Institute to help students ace their exams. ​

US Economic History 4 — Economic Causes of the Civil War

​Federal tariffs and slavery caused tensions that led to the Civil War. Video created with the Bill of Rights Institute to help students ace their exams.

Economics 
Production and Consumption

23. The Industrial Revolution fundamentally changed the means of production as a result of improvements in technology, use of new power resources, the advent of interchangeable parts and the shift from craftwork to factory work.
  • The first Industrial Revolution in the United States took place in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and greatly improved the country’s economic growth. It fundamentally changed the means of production through improvements in technology, use of new power resources, the advent of interchangeable parts and the shift from craftwork to factory work. 
  • Although this revolution began with the textile industry, it quickly moved to the production of other goods. Improvements in technology and use of new power resources (e.g., steam engine, cotton gin, mechanical reaper, sewing machine) changed the means of production. 
  • The development of interchangeable parts and mass production techniques brought greater efficiency to the production process and helped shift the nature of work from craftwork to factory work.

Resource: Industrial Revolution
Resource: Textile Industry History
Resource: Women in World History - Textile Workers Industrial Revolution
Resource: Forbes - Washington's Coddling Of U.S. Textile Industry Is Hurting Shoppers
Resource: A History of US

HISTORY - THE MEN WHO BUILT AMERICA

http://www.history.com/shows/men-who-built-america
John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan rose from obscurity and in the process built modern America. Their names hang on street signs, are etched into buildings and are a part of the fabric of history. These men created the American Dream and were the engine of capitalism as they transformed everything they touched in building the oil, rail, steel, shipping, automobile and finance industries. Their paths crossed repeatedly as they elected presidents, set economic policies and influenced major events of the 50 most formative years this country has ever known. From the Civil War to the Great Depression and World War I, they led the way.

The Men Who Built America: Traits of a Titan

Today's business leaders weigh in on what America's first titans of industry all had in common.

Economics 
Markets

 24. Governments can impact markets by means of spending, regulations, taxes and trade barriers.
  • Examples of how governments can impact markets by means of spending, regulations, taxes and trade barriers can be found in early American history. 
  • Spending by the U.S. and state governments has impacted markets by financing the building of roads and canals. The United States also purchased land for later development (e.g., the Gadsden Purchase). 
  • Regulations have been used by governments to control markets by limiting the production or exchange of goods (e.g., British trade policy for the colonies, including the Navigation Acts). 
  • Tariffs have been used to make American-produced goods more competitive in the domestic market by raising the price of imported goods (e.g., the Tariff of 1828). 
  • Trade barriers are used by governments to impact markets. They are the means used to prevent certain exchanges of goods (exports or imports) between nations (e.g., the Embargo Act of 1807). 

Resource: Transportation: They Say We Had a Revolution (Part 1)
Resource: NEH, EDSITEment -​ I Hear the Locomotives: The Impact of the Transcontinental Railroad

Why do competitors open their stores next to one another?

View full lesson on ed.ted.com - http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-comp...
Why are all the gas stations, cafes and restaurants in one crowded spot? As two competitive cousins vie for ice-cream-selling domination on one small beach, discover how game theory and the Nash Equilibrium inform these retail hotspots. 
Lesson by Jac de Haan, animation by Luke Rowsell.

Economics 
Financial Literacy

25. The effective management of one’s personal finances includes using basic banking services (e.g., savings accounts and checking accounts) and credit.
  • The Founders of the United States were generally divided on the idea of a nationwide central bank. Eventually, the First Bank of the United States was created to serve as the government’s fiscal agent and depository for funds. These historical events serve to segue into the study of banking services as part of financial literacy (as required in the Ohio Revised Code for grades seven or eight). 
  • For individuals, the use of banking services and credit enable them to manage their finances effectively. Savings accounts can be used to save for short- and longterm financial goals. 
  • Savings accounts earn interest from banks as payments for the use of the saver’s money. 
  • Checking accounts can be used to pay for goods and services instead of using currency. Some checking accounts carry service fees (including overdraft fees) and some checking accounts earn interest. 
  • There are various types of credit. Banks can make loans and offer credit cards to customers. Loans must be paid back to the bank with interest payments for the use of the money. Credit cards can be used to pay for goods and services instead of using currency. Credit cards may carry service fees. Credit cards offer various payment plans but carrying a balance on an account will require interest payments.

Resource: Junior Achievement: Student Center
Resource: Work, Earnings and Economics: Using ‘Lyddie’ by Katherine Paterson

Ted-Ed: What gives a dollar bill its value?

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-gives-...
The value of money is determined by how much (or how little) of it is in circulation. But who makes that decision, and how does their choice affect the economy at large? Doug Levinson takes a trip into the United States Federal Reserve, examining how the people who work there aim to balance the value of the dollar to prevent inflation or deflation.
Lesson by Doug Levinson, animation by Qa'ed Mai.

National Council for the Social Studies: Social Studies in the Middle School 

A Report of the Task Force on Social Studies in the Middle School
Approved by NCSS Board of Directors, January 1991

Tedd Levy, Chair, Norwalk, Connecticut; Pat Nickell, Vice Chair, Lexington, Kentucky; Peggy Altoff, Baltimore, Maryland; Loretta Hannum, Williamsburg, Virginia; Alan Haskvitz, Alta Loma, California; Mel Miller, Washington, Michigan; Richard Moulden, Bellevue, Washington

IntroductionToday's young people are a source of growing social and academic concern. According to the Carnegie Corporation, nearly half of some 28 million adolescents in the United States between the ages of ten and seventeen are moderately or extremely vulnerable to "multiple high-risk behaviors" such as school failure, drugs and alcohol, unsafe sex, and violence that puts their future in serious jeopardy. Although these problems exist in all classes and groups, they are intensified by the decline in harmonious two-parent families, economic and social adversity, most pronounced in urban areas, and among the poor and minorities.

The problems of young adolescents and the changing nature of society are causing a reexamination of education and, in particular, the education of young people at the middle level.

http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/middleschool