Advanced Placement U.S. History Lessons from EDSITEment
EDSITEment, from the National
Endowment for the Humanities is a partnership with the National Trust
for the Humanities, and the Verizon
Foundation, which brings online humanities resources directly to the
classroom through exemplary lesson plans and student activities. Through
a cooperative agreement with the NEH’s
We the People initiative and City College of New York and
Ashland University, EDSITEment develops AP level lessons based on primary
source documents that cover the most frequently taught topics and themes
in American history. These online lessons include:
Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial Beginnings
- Magna
Carta: Cornerstone of the U.S. Constitution
Magna Carta served to lay the foundation for the evolution of parliamentary
government and subsequent declarations of rights in Great Britain and
the United States. In attempting to establish checks on the king's powers,
this document asserted the right of "due process" of law.
- Images
of the New World
How did the English picture the native peoples of America during the
early phases of colonization of North America? This lesson plan enables
students to interact with written and visual accounts of this critical
formative period at the end of the 16th century, when the English view
of the New World was being formulated, with consequences that we are
still seeing today.
Colonial North America
- Mapping
Colonial New England: Looking at the Landscape of New England
The lesson focuses on two 17th century maps of the Massachusetts Bay
Colony to trace how the Puritans took possession of the region, built
towns, and established families on the land. Students learn how these
New England settlers interacted with the Native Americans, and how to
gain information about those relationships from primary sources such
as maps.
- William
Penn’s Peaceable Kingdom
By juxtaposing the different promotional tracts of William Penn and
David Pastorius, students understand the ethnic diversity of Pennsylvania
along with the “pull” factors of migration in the 17th century
English colonies.
- Understanding
the Salem Witch Trials
In 1691, a group of girls from Salem, Massachusetts accused an Indian
slave named Tituba of witchcraft, igniting a hunt for witches that left
19 men and women hanged, one man pressed to death, and over 150 more
people in prison awaiting a trial. In this lesson, students explore
the characteristics of the Puritan community in Salem, learn about the
Salem Witchcraft Trials, and try to understand how and why this event
occurred.
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American Revolutionary Era
- Religion
in 18th Century America
This curriculum unit, through the use of primary documents, introduces
students to the First Great Awakening, as well as to the ways in which
religious-based arguments were used both in support of and against the
American Revolution.
- Common
Sense: The Rhetoric of Popular Democracy
This lesson looks at Tom Paine and at some of the ideas presented in
Common Sense, such as national unity, natural rights, the illegitimacy
of the monarchy and of hereditary aristocracy, and the necessity for
independence and the revolutionary struggle.
- “An
Expression of the American Mind”: Understanding the Declaration
of Independence
This lesson plan looks at the major ideas in the Declaration of Independence,
their origins, the Americans’ key grievances against the King
and Parliament, their assertion of sovereignty, and the Declaration’s
process of revision. Upon completion of the lesson, students will be
familiar with the document’s origins, and the influences that
produced Jefferson’s “expression of the American mind.”
- The
American War for Independence
The decision of Britain's North American colonies to rebel against the
Mother Country was an extremely risky one. In this unit, consisting
of three lesson plans, students learn about the diplomatic and military
aspects of the American War for Independence.
- What
Made George Washington a Good Military Leader?
What combination of experience, strategy, and personal characteristics
enabled Washington to succeed as a military leader?
In this unit, students read the Continental Congress's resolutions granting
powers to General Washington, and analyze some of Washington's wartime
orders, dispatches, and correspondence in terms of his mission and the
characteristics of a good general
- Taking
Up Arms and the Challenge of Slavery in the Revolutionary Era
Was the American Revolution inevitable? This lesson is designed to help
students understand the transition to armed resistance and the contradiction
in the Americans’ rhetoric about slavery through the examination
of a series of documents.
- Choosing
Sides: The Native Americans' Role in the American Revolution
Native American groups had to choose the loyalist or patriot cause—or
somehow maintain a neutral stance during the Revolutionary War. Students
analyze maps, treaties, congressional records, first-hand accounts,
and correspondence to determine the different roles assumed by Native
Americans in the American Revolution and understand why the various
groups formed the alliances they did.
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The Early Republic
- The
Constitutional Convention of 1787
The delegates at the 1787 Convention faced a challenge as arduous as
those who worked throughout the 1780s to initiate reforms to the American
political system. In this unit, students examine the roles that key
American founders played in creating the Constitution, and the challenges
they faced in the process.
- Washington
and the Whiskey Rebellion
Students weigh the choices Washington faced in the nation’s first
Constitutional crisis by following events through his private diary.
- Certain
Crimes Against the United States: The Sedition Act
As the end of the 18th century drew near, relations between the United
States and France were deteriorating. In 1797 President Adams expressed
his concern about the possibility of war with France and dissension
at home caused by France and its supporters. At the same time, two opposing
political parties were developing in the U.S., with Thomas Jefferson-led
Democratic-Republicans tending to sympathize with France in foreign
policy. Their loyalty was called into question by the Federalists. It
was a dangerous time both for the security of the young Republic and
the freedoms its citizens enjoyed.
- The
First American Party System: Events, Issues, and Positions
Fear of factionalism and political parties was deeply rooted in Anglo-American
political culture before the American Revolution. Leaders such as George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson hoped their new government, founded
on the Constitution, would be motivated instead by a common intent,
a unity. But political parties did form in the United States, with their
beginnings in Washington's cabinet.
- James
Madison: From Father of the Constitution to President
Even in its first 30 years of existence, the U.S. Constitution had to
prove its durability and flexibility in a variety of disputes. More
often than not, James Madison, the "Father of the Constitution,"
took part in the discussion.
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The Transformation
of Politics in Antebellum America
- The
Monroe Doctrine: Origin and Early American Foreign Policy
Monroe brought a vision of an expanded America to his presidency—a
vision that helped facilitate the formulation of what has become known
as the Monroe Doctrine. In this unit, students review the Monroe Doctrine
against a background of United States foreign relations in the early
years of the republic.
- The
Election Is in the House: The Presidential Election of 1824
The presidential election of 1824 represents a watershed in American
politics. The collapse of the Federalist Party and the illness of the
"official candidate" of the Democratic-Republicans led to
a slate of candidates who were all Democratic-Republicans. This led
to the end of the Congressional Caucus system for nominating candidates,
and eventually, the development of a new two-party system in the United
States. In this unit, students read an account of the election from
the Journal of the House of Representatives, analyze archival campaign
materials, and use an interactive online activity to develop a better
understanding of the election of 1824 and its significance.
- The
1828 Campaign of Andrew Jackson and the Growth of Party Politics
Changes in voting qualifications and participation, the election of
Andrew Jackson, and the formation of the Democratic Party—due
largely to the organizational skills of Martin Van Buren—all contributed
to making the election of 1828 and Jackson’s presidency a watershed
in the evolution of the American political system. In this unit, students
analyze changes in voter participation and regional power, and review
archival campaign documents reflecting the dawn of politics as we know
it during the critical years from 1824 to 1832.
- The
Campaign of 1840: William Henry Harrison and Tyler, Too
After the debacle of the one-party presidential campaign of 1824, a
new two-party system began to emerge. Strong public reaction to perceived
corruption in the vote in the House of Representatives, as well as the
popularity of Andrew Jackson, allowed Martin Van Buren to organize a
Democratic Party that resurrected a Jeffersonian philosophy of minimalism
in the federal government. What issues were important to the presidential
campaign of 1840? Why is the campaign of 1840 often cited as the first
modern campaign?
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The Transformation of the Economy
and Society in Antebellum America
- 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.
- Was
There an Industrial Revolution? New Workplace, New Technology, New Consumers
In this lesson, students explore the First Industrial Revolution in
early nineteenth-century America. Through simulation activities and
the examination of primary historical materials, students learn how
changes in the workplace and less expensive goods led to the transformation
of American life.
The Crisis of the Union
The Civil War
- The
American Civil War: A “Terrible Swift Sword”
This curriculum unit introduces students to important questions pertaining
to the war: strengths and weaknesses of each side at the start of the
conflict; the two turning points of the war-the concurrent battles of
Gettysburg and Vicksburg—as well as the morality of the Union's
use of "total war" tactics against the population of the South;
Abraham Lincoln's wartime leadership.
- Abraham
Lincoln on the American Union: “A Word Fitly Spoken”
By examining Lincoln's three most famous speeches—the Gettysburg
Address and the First and Second Inaugural Addresses—in addition
to a little known fragment on the Constitution, union, and liberty,
students trace what these documents say regarding the significance of
union to the prospects for American self-government.
- The
Emancipation Proclamation: Freedom's First Steps
Why was the Emancipation Proclamation important? While the Civil War
began as a war to restore the Union, not to end slavery, by 1862 President
Abraham Lincoln came to believe that he could save the Union only by
broadening the goals of the war. students can explore the obstacles
and alternatives we faced in making the journey toward "a more
perfect Union."
- The
Red Badge of Courage: A New Kind of Courage
In The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane presents war through
the eyes —and thoughts —of one soldier. The narrative’s
altered point of view and stylistic innovations enable a heightened
sense of realism while setting the work apart from war stories written
essentially as tributes or propaganda.
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Industrial America in the Late Nineteenth
Century
The Emergence of America as a World Power
- United
States Entry into World War I: A Documentary Chronology
In this curriculum unit, students reconsider the events leading to U.S.
entry into World War I through the lens of archival documents.
- The
United States and Europe: From Neutrality to War, 1921-1941
Over the two decades between World War I and World War II, Americans
pursued strategies aimed at preventing another war. In this four lesson
unit, students use primary sources and an interactive map to examine
the rise of antiwar sentiment and legislation in the United States and
the main arguments used by both sides as to whether the United States
should enter the war or remain neutral.
- African-American
Soldiers in World War I: The 92nd and 93rd Divisions
Late in 1917, the War Department created two all-black infantry divisions.
The 93rd Infantry Division received unanimous praise for its performance
in combat, fighting as part of France’s 4th Army. In this lesson,
students combine their research in a variety of sources, including firsthand
accounts, to develop a hypothesis evaluating
- African-American
Soldiers After World War I: Had Race Relations Changed?
In this lesson, students view archival photographs, combine their efforts
to comb through a database of more than 2,000 archival newspaper accounts
about race relations in the United States, and read newspaper articles
written from different points of view about post-war riots in Chicago.
- The
Great War: Evaluating the Treaty of Versailles
Was the Treaty of Versailles, which formally concluded World War I,
a legitimate attempt by the victorious powers to prevent further conflict,
or did it place an unfair burden on Germany? This lesson helps students
respond to the question in an informed manner. Activities involve primary
sources, maps, and other supporting documents related to the peace process
and its reception by the German public and German politicians.
- The
Debate in the United States over the League of Nations
American foreign policy continues to resonate with the issues surrounding
the debate over U.S. entry into the League of Nations—collective
security versus national sovereignty, idealism versus pragmatism, the
responsibilities of powerful nations, and the use of force to accomplish
idealistic goals, the idea of America. Understanding the debate over
the League and the consequences of its ultimate failure provides insight
into international affairs in the years since the end of the Great War
and beyond. In this lesson, students read the words and listen to the
voices of some central participants in the debate over the League of
Nations.
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FDR, The Great Depression, and the New Deal
- FDR's
Fireside Chats: The Power of Words
In this lesson which focuses on two of FDR's Fireside Chats, students
gain a sense of the dramatic effect of FDR's voice on his audience,
see the scope of what he was proposing in these initial speeches, and
make an overall analysis of why the Fireside Chats were so successful.
- The
Social Security Act
This lesson engages students in the debate over the Social Security
Act that engrossed the nation during the 1930s.
- African-Americans
and the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal recovery and relief program
provided more than a quarter of a million young black men with jobs
during the Depression. By examining primary source documents students
analyze the impact of this program on race relations in America and
assess the role played by the New Deal in changing them.
- FDR
and the Lend-Lease Act
This lesson shows students how broadly the Lend-Lease Act of March 1941
empowered the federal government—particularly the President—and
asks students to investigate how FDR promoted the program in speeches
and then in photographs.
- Eleanor
Roosevelt and the Rise of Social Reform in the 1930s
This lesson asks students to explore the various roles that Eleanor
Roosevelt a key figure in several of the most important social reform
movements of the twentieth century took on, among them: First Lady,
political activist for civil rights, newspaper columnist and author,
and representative to the United Nations.
- Worth
a Thousand Words: Depression-Era Photographs
Spend a day with a model American family and the photographer who molded
our view of their lives.
- Freedom
by the Fireside: The Legacy of FDR's "Four Freedoms" Speech
One of the most famous political speeches on freedom in the twentieth
century was delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his 1941 State
of the Union message to Congress.This lesson examines some of the nuances
and ambiguities inherent in the rhetorical use of "freedom."
The objective is to encourage students to glimpse the broad range of
hopes and aspirations that are expressed in the call of—and for—freedom.
- Dust
Bowl Days
Students will be introduced to this dramatic era in our nation's history
through photographs, songs and interviews with people who lived through
the Dust Bowl.
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The Second World War
- The
Road to Pearl Harbor: The United States and East Asia, 1915-1941
Curiculum unit overview. Although most Americans were shocked by the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the outbreak of
war between the two countries came as no surprise to most observers
of international affairs. Using contemporary documents, students explore
the rise of animosity between the United States and Japan from its origins
in World War I and culminating two decades later in the Pearl Harbor
attack.
- “The
Proper Application of Overwhelming Force”: The United States in
World War II
After learning that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor, thus ensuring
that the United States would enter World War II, Prime Minister Winston
Churchill breathed a sigh of relief. "Hitler's fate was sealed,"
he would later recall. "Mussolini's fate was sealed. As for the
Japanese, they would be ground to powder. All the rest was merely the
proper application of overwhelming force." In this unit, students
examine the role that the United States played in bringing about this
victory.
- American
Diplomacy in World War II
This four-lesson curriculum unit examine the nature of what Winston
Churchill called the "Grand Alliance" between the United States,
Great Britain, and the Soviet Union in opposition to the aggression
of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
The Cold War
- The
Origins of the Cold War, 1945-1949
Since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Soviet leaders had been claiming
that communism and capitalism could never peacefully coexist. Agreements
regarding the postwar world were reached at Yalta and Potsdam, but the
Soviets wasted no time in violating them. Harry Truman believed that
the proper means of responding to an international bully was a credible
threat of force.
- Witch
Hunt or Red Menace? Anticommunism in Postwar America, 1945-1954
Americans emerged from World War II as the only major combatant to avoid
having its homeland ravaged by war, the U.S. economy was clearly the
strongest in the world, and, of course, the United States was the only
country in the world to possess that awesome new weapon, the atomic
bomb. However, over the next five years relations between the United
States and the Soviet Union went from alliance to Cold War.
- Dramatizing
History in Arthur Miller's The Crucible
By closely reading historical documents and attempting to interpret
them, students consider how Arthur Miller interpreted the facts of the
Salem witch trials and how he successfully dramatized them in his play,
The Crucible. As they explore historical materials, such as the biographies
of key players (the accused and the accusers) and transcripts of the
Salem Witch trials themselves, students will be guided by aesthetic
and dramatic concerns: In what ways do historical events lend themselves
(or not) to dramatization? What makes a particular dramatization of
history effective and memorable?
- “Police
Action”: The Korean War, 1950-1953
In 1950, North Korean forces, armed mainly with Soviet weapons, invaded
South Korea in an effort to reunite the peninsula under communist rule.
This lesson will introduce students to the conflict by having them read
the most important administration documents related to it.
- “The
Missiles of October”: The Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962
Most historians agree that the world has never come closer to nuclear
war than it did during a thirteen-day period in October 1962, after
the revelation that the Soviet Union had stationed several medium-range
ballistic missiles in Cuba. This lesson examines how this crisis developed,
how the Kennedy administration chose to respond, and how the situation
was ultimately resolved.
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The Turbulent 1960s
- Competing
Voices of the Civil Rights Movement
When most people think of the Civil Rights Movement in America, they
think of Martin Luther King, Jr. Delivering his "I Have a Dream"
speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. But "the Movement"
achieved its greatest results due to the competing strategies and agendas
of diverse individuals. This unit presents the views of several important
black leaders who shaped the debate over how to achieve freedom and
equality in our nation.
- Profiles
in Courage: To Kill A Mockingbird and the Scottsboro Boys Trial
Students study select court transcripts and other primary source material
from the second Scottsboro Boys Trial of 1933, a continuation of the
first trial in which two young white women wrongfully accused nine African-American
youths of rape.
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