History and Social Studies

African Voices

Explore African art, history, and political and social themes through essays, timelines, images, and games.

African Studies Center

Cultural, educational, and statistical resources covering the African continent. From the University of Pennsylvania.

The Federal Procession in New York, 1788. Engraving

First Federal Congress Project

Chartered by the University Research Center affiliated with the Department of History at the George Washington University, this site has a dual mission: collecting, researching, editing and publishing the universally acclaimed Documentary History of the First Federal Congress, 1789-1791, and serving as a research center on the most important and productive Congress in U.S. history.

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JFK, LBJ, and the Fight for Equal Opportunity in the 1960s

Created March 2, 2010

This lesson provides students with an opportunity to study and analyze the innovative legislative efforts of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson in the social and economic context of the 1960s.

Interactive: Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart

Created February 23, 2010

Boycotting Baubles of Britain

Created December 22, 2009

This lesson looks at the changes in British colonial policies and the American resistance through the topic of tea, clothing, and other British goods. Students analyze and interpret key historical artifacts as well as visual and textual sources that shed light on how commodities such as tea became important symbols of personal and political identity during the years leading up to the formal Declaration of Independence in 1776.

Lesson 1: NAACP’s Anti-Lynching Campaign in the 1920s

Created December 22, 2009

This lesson focuses on the constitutional arguments for and against the enactment of federal anti-lynching legislation in the early 1920s. Students will participate in a simulation game that enacts a fictitious Senate debate of the Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill. As a result of completing this activity, students will gain a better understanding of the federal system, the legislative process, and the difficulties social justice advocates encountered.

Colonizing the Bay

This lesson focuses on John Winthrop’s historic "Model of Christian Charity" sermon which is often referred to by its “City on a Hill “ metaphor. Through a close reading of this admittedly difficult text, students will learn how it illuminates the beliefs, goals, and programs of the Puritans. The sermon sought to inspire and to motivate the Puritans by pointing out the distance they had to travel between an ideal community and their real-world situation.

John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, and Judicial Review—How the Court Became Supreme

Chief Justice John Marshall (r.) and Associate Justice Joseph Story

If James Madison was the "father" of the Constitution" John Marshall was the "father of the Supreme Court"—almost single-handedly clarifying its powers. This new lesson is designed to help students understand Marshall's brilliant strategy in issuing his decision on Marbury v. Madison, the significance of the concept of judicial review, and the language of this watershed case.

Was There an Industrial Revolution? Americans at Work Before the Civil War

In this lesson, students explore the First Industrial Revolution in early nineteenth-century America. By reading and comparing first-hand accounts of the lives of workers before the Civil War, students prepare for a series of guided role-playing activities designed to help them make an informed judgment as to whether the changes that took place in manufacturing and distribution during this period are best described as a "revolution" or as a steady evolution over time.

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