Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition ★★★★★
The Missouri Historical Society has developed an extensive award-winning web site and web-based curriculum developed to complement their Lewis and Clark, The National Bicentinnal Exhibiton. Written for grades 4-12, the units focus on nine major themes of the exhibit and feature hundreds of primary sources from the exhibit. The curriculum uses the Lewis and Clark expedition as case studies for larger themes such as Diplomacy, Mapping, Animals, Language, and Trade and Property. It presents both the Euro-American perspective and a particular Native American perspective. The online exhibit has two sections. One is a thematic approach that highlights the content from the main galleries of the exhibit. The other is a map-based journey that follows the expedition and introduces primary sources along the way, including interviews with present-day Native Americans.
Washington Papers ★★★★★
This electronic collection of papers by and for George Washington contains a staggering 17,400 letters and documents. The site also offers a timeline, slideshow, and WebQuest under the “Educational Resources” tab.
Alexander Hamilton Exhibition ★★★★★
This interactive site by the New York Historical Society features a timeline of Hamilton’s life, a narrated tour of the exhibit’s most prominent items, and the “Hamilton Log,” which takes students through nearly every week of Hamilton career with selected writings.
The Price of Freedom: Americans at War ★★★★☆
This Smithsonian website skillfully integrates Flash video and text to examine armed conflicts involving the U.S. from the Revolutionary War to the war in Iraq. Each conflict contains a brief video clip, statistical information, and a set of artifacts. There is also a Civil War mystery, an exhibition self-guide, and a teacher’s guide. The War of 1812 and Eastern Indian Wars sections contain an introductory movie and short essay on each conflict as well as historic images and artifacts.
The Star Spangled Banner ★★★★☆
Explore facts about the real flag flown at Fort McHenry that inspired the national anthem of the United States. Features a high-quality render of the flag annotated with facts about its construction, like a missing star and a stitched signature.
They Made America ★★★★☆
This engaging American Experience web site complements a PBS four-part television series and focuses on the lives and accomplishments of twelve American inventors through out the nation’s history. “Who Made America?” is a Flash-generated feature to learn about each inventor and one can view each profile by category, chronologically, geographically. The web site also contains primary documents, first-hand reports, and a discussion area in the About the Series section. The “Revolutionaries” section is about four early American innovators “who got the new nation up and going.”
The Triumph of Nationalism: The House Dividing ★★★★☆
This National Humanities Center has produced this site on nationalism and sectionalism in the United States from 1815 to 1850. If features primary sources and the contributions of a dozen high school history teachers.
Thomas Jefferson (PBS) ★★★★☆
This site accompanies Ken Burn’s PBS film on Jefferson and explores the Enlightenment spirit in Jefferson’s words and provides an archive of his most important and controversial writings.
The Thomas Jefferson Digital Archive ★★★★☆
Provides more than 1,700 texts written by or to Thomas Jefferson. The site also includes a biography of Jefferson and The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia, which organizes more than 9,000 quotes according to theme and other categories.
Thomas Jefferson Papers ★★★★☆
From the Library of Congress. The largest collection of its kind with 27,000 documents.
Jefferson’s Blood ★★★★☆
This companion site to the PBS Frontline program deals with the controversy regarding Thomas Jefferson and his relationship with Sally Hemings, his slave. It contains video clips and historical evidence surrounding the controversy.
Lewis and Clark (PBS) ★★★★☆
A companion to Ken Burns’ PBS film, this site provides background on the world of Lewis and Clark, an archive of their expedition, audio excerpts by historians, a discussion of Native American tribes they encountered, classroom resources, and an interactive story where you lead the expedition.
Lewis and Clark and the Revealing of America ★★★★☆
The exhibition features the trek of the Corps of Discovery as a culmination in the quest to connect the East and the West by means of a waterway passage. The exhibition’s epilogue focuses on the transcontinental railroad, which replaced the search for a direct water route with a “river of steel.” The site also features a virtual tour and animations of the cross-country exploration.
Discovering Lewis and Clark ★★★★☆
This site has more than 1400 pages and revolves around a nineteen-part analysis of the Lewis and Clark expedition by historian Harry Fritz.
Religion in 18th-Century America (Library of Congress Exhibition) ★★★★☆
Contains access to over 200 primary source documents. Provides brief overviews and some pictures
Divining America: Religion and the National Culture – 17th and 18th Centuries ★★★★☆
TeacherServe is an interactive curriculum enrichment service offering teachers practical help in planning courses and presenting rigorous subject matter to students. Divining America: Religion and the National Culture features concise essays by scholars designed to help teachers of American history bring their students to a greater understanding of the role religion has played in the development of the United States.
Sullivan-Clinton Campaign of 1779 ★★★★☆
The Sullivan-Clinton Campaign was the largest expedition ever before mounted against the Indians of North America and led to the development of the East Coast, the Erie Canal, and eventual expansion of the US. This website is a culmination of recent and historical photographs, texts written by Generals and Native Americans, and contemporary artists responding to this historical event.
Daniel Webster: Dartmouth’s Favorite Son ★★★★☆
Features Webster’s writings and speeches and contains an image gallery, a short exhibit, and a timeline.
The Alexis de Tocqueville Tour: Exploring Democracy in America ★★★★☆
This C-Span site contains biographical information on de Tocqueville, modern references to Tocqueville and his writings, information on Tocqueville’s visit to America, famous passages from Democracy in America, writings by Tocqueville and Beaumont from each stop along their journey, and more.
American Studies (U. VA) ★★★★☆
Features a museum for American studies, cultural maps, on-going hypertext projects, an electronic classroom, and special features. Check out the section on Tocqueville’s America.
Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 ★★★★☆
This website is a project of the Center for the Historical Study of Women and Gender at the State University of New York at Binghamton. About a fourth of the projects on Women and Social Movements remain freely available; the other projects, in addition to 25,000 pages of primary documents and enhanced searching tools, are available through Alexander Street Press. In the Teacher’s Corner there are twenty comprehensive lesson plans with over a hundred lesson ideas and six DBQ units, although some of these materials require the subscription.
History of the Suffrage Movement ★★★★☆
Links to every major era in the fight for the women’s suffrage. Includes modules for rights in the Early Republic, women’s roles in abolitionism, Seneca Falls, and the early organization efforts of the Suffrage movement.
Feature Presentation on Immigration in America (Library of Congress) ★★★★☆
The feature provides an introduction to the study of immigration to the United States. It is far from the complete story, and focuses only on the immigrant groups that arrived in greatest numbers during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The presentation was shaped by the primary sources available in the Library’s online collections and these questions
African-American Mosaic: Abolition ★★★☆☆
Part of a Library of Congress exhibit, this section includes antislavery petitions and other original sources documenting the struggle to abolish slavery.
Stanton and Anthony Papers ★★★☆☆
Elizabeth Cady Stanton proposed in 1848 that the first convention for woman’s rights proclaim it “the duty of the women of this country to secure to themselves their sacred right to the elective franchise.” Susan B. Anthony, then a schoolteacher, paired up with Stanton in 1851, forming one of the most remarkable partnerships in American history. The Library of Congress hosts document collections of the writings of both of these women.
Trail of Tears ★★★☆☆
Overview of the Trail of Tears with many related links
Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides, Activities, and more
Activity: The Alien and Sedition Acts
Students will study the Alien and Sedition Acts in this SCORE lesson plan. Students are encouraged to make connections to present day politics as well. Recommended for 11th grade.
Mount Vernon Educational Resources
Go to the Education tab and you’ll find an online tour of Mount Vernon, lesson plans about George Washington’s life and times, an online exhibit about George Washington and slavery, a Reading List, and an Essay and Discussion section.
Tribal Truths – Exploring the American-Indian Perspectives Toward the Bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
In this New York Times lesson, students research and analyze the interactions of American Indian tribes with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Then they stage displays to inform the public about their findings.(June 16, 2003)
Lewis and Clark: Classroom Resources
The 17 Lewis and Clark lesson plans on this page offer a wide array of classroom activities. Created by PBS, the activities address all parts of the famous expedition.
HistoryTeacher.net: AP United States History Quizzes
A New York teacher has produced a great general site for history teachers that offers AP-level United States history quizzes on many different periods and topics.
The American People: Consolidating the Revolution
PowerPoint Presentation on the early American republic as part of the online companion to The American People. This will open a new window and automatically download the ppt.
The American People: Creating a Nation
PowerPoint Presentation on the young American nation as part of the online companion to The American People. This will open a new window and automatically download the ppt.
The American People: Society and Politics in the Early Republic
PowerPoint Presentation as part of the online companion to The American People. This will open a new window and automatically download the ppt.
The American People: Economic Transformations in the Northeast and the old Northwest
PowerPoint Presentation on economic growth in the early American republic as part of the online companion to The American People. This will open a new window and automatically download the ppt.
Slavery: How Did the [British] Abolition Acts of 1807 and 1833 Affect Slavery?
In 1807 the British trade in slaves from Africa was abolished. Students use primary source photos and documents at the British National Archive site to examine this event and its impact on the U.S., the Americas and Africa.
Old Sturbridge Village: Educator Resources
This site provides information about everyday life in New England during the early 19th century. See “Additional Resources” to search primary documents.
AP United States History DBQs: 1775-1825
These student-created DBQs are part of the excellent Historyteacher.net site.
AP United States History DBQs: 1810-1860
These student-created DBQs are part of the excellent Historyteacher.net site.
U.S. Women’s History: Lesson Ideas and Document Based Questions
The Center for the Historical Study of Women and Gender at the State University of New York at Binghamton offers lesson plans, DBQs, links and more on American women’s history
Early Reformers of the 1800s Game
From Quia, a set of games to help students learn more about the Early Reformers.
Early National Era Maps
Links to a variety of historic maps from Digital History.
Animated Map of U.S. Expansion
As students watch the web page, time advances and boundaries are drawn onto a map of the United States.