Teaching with Historic Places has developed more than 160 classroom-ready lesson plans that together range across American history. All are available on the Web. For more information on lessons plans or our program, contact TwHP. You can also view the entire collection according to location, topic, primary source, skill, U.S. History Standards, and Social Studies Standards.
Lesson Plan Index: Theme
Play ball! This lesson uses the Daytona Beach ballpark where Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier to explore racism and sports in American history.
An American Success Story: The Pope House of Raleigh, NC (124)Meet Dr. Manassa T. Pope, an African-American doctor and entrepreneur in the early 20th century, and learn about his efforts to gain civil rights well before the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America (121)
Learn about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (Monroe Elementary School [now Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site] is a unit of the National Park Service/Robert Russa Moton High School, Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools, Howard High School, and John Philip Sousa Middle School are National Historic Landmarks.)
Chicago's Black Metropolis: Understanding History through a Historic Place (53)
Examine the history of this "city-within-a-city," a self-supporting African-American community that prospered from the late 19th century until the 1930s.
From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
Understand the magnitude of the struggle involved in securing equal educational opportunities for African Americans by examining how Prudence Crandall challenged the prevailing attitude toward educating African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War and investigating court cases and public opinion about desegregation in the 1950s. (Little Rock Central High School is a National Park and National Historic Landmark/Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
"Journey from Slavery to Statesman": The Homes of Frederick Douglass (147)
Follow Frederick Douglass on his journey from life as a slave to that of a respected statesman and investigate how three homes reflect the different phases of his life. (Wye House, the Nathan and Polly Johnson House, and Cedar Hill are National Historic Landmarks. Cedar Hill and the Nathan and Polly Johnson House are each a resource of a National Park.)
The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon (36)
Analyze the influences that shaped the symbolic meaning of the bell, and evaluate the various claims as to how and when it was cracked. (National Park)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
President Lincoln's Cottage: A Retreat (138)
Explore President Abraham Lincoln’s life at a country retreat during summer months and examine the work he completed there on the Emancipation Proclamation. (National Historic Landmark)
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
The Siege of Port Hudson: "Forty Days and Nights in the Wilderness of Death" (71)
Understand the importance of the Mississippi to both the North and South during the Civil War, and the differences between a siege and a regular battle. (National Historic Landmark)
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people. (National Historic Landmarks)
Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Dent Grant at White Haven Farm: The Missouri Compromise in American Life (154)
Discover the personal experiences of Americans in a nation divided politically on the issue of slavery through the early life of Ulysses S. Grant, who lived on a Missouri farm with his wife Julia Dent Grant and her slave-holding family in the 1850s. (National Park)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
When Rice Was King (3)
Investigate early rice plantations in Georgetown, South Carolina, to learn how rice cultivation transformed the native environment and promoted the South's dependence on a plantation economy.
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House (Lightning Lesson #1)
Follow the footsteps a free African American woman who defied an oppressive culture and broke barriers in education, newspaper publishing, and law before and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
Agriculture
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Enduring Awatovi: Uncovering Hopi Life and Work on the Mesa (156)
Learn about traditional Hopi culture and farming at Awatovi, a historic pueblo where enduring Hopi traditions and American archeological research reveal much about this important place. (National Historic Landmark)
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California
Understand the experience of early Asian immigrants and the obstacles they encountered as they struggled to make a living and find a place in American society. (Locke is a National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence (106)
Examine the inextricable connections binding railroads, North Dakota wheat fields, and Minnesota flour mills during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park/Includes Pillsbury A Mill, a National Historic Landmark)
When Rice Was King (3)
Investigate early rice plantations in Georgetown, South Carolina, to learn how rice cultivation transformed the native environment and promoted the South's dependence on a plantation economy.
American Indian History
Learn how the Civil War created fierce conflicts among American Indian nations who had been moved across the Mississippi River.
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century and learn how these conflicting views ultimately affected the Creeks. (National Park)
The Battle of Oriskany: "Blood Shed a Stream Running Down" (79)
Learn how New York's Mohawk Valley became the setting for a fierce Revolutionary War battle that pitted residents of the area, including the nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, against each other.
(National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Discover a historic campus in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where an American military officer's boarding school experiment brought American Indian children from across the continent at the turn of the century. (National Historic Landmark)
Discover the site of a 16th-century Spanish town that was founded before Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and learn how archeology uncovered the story of Santa Elena. (National Historic Landmark)
Enduring Awatovi: Uncovering Hopi Life and Work on the Mesa (156)
Learn about traditional Hopi culture and farming at Awatovi, a historic pueblo where enduring Hopi traditions and American archeological research reveal much about this important place. (National Historic Landmark)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest (108)
Learn how the 1804-1806 expedition effectively opened the Northwest to the influence of the United States, established relations with numerous American Indian nations, and gathered useful scientific documentation about the West. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas (2)
Explore a group of 18th-century missions in modern San Antonio to learn about Spanish influence on native peoples and the patterns of Texas culture. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation (118)
Understand the factors that contributed both to the forced removal of the Cherokees off their homelands and to painful divisions within the tribe. (The Trail of Tears is a National Historic Trail./The Major Ridge House and John Ross House are National Historic Landmarks.) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
At a Crossroads: The King of Prussia Inn (119)
Learn how transportation routes affected a local inn, how archaeology revealed the inn's use over time, and how preservation efforts saved the historic site from suburban sprawl.
"Comfortable Camps?" Archeology of the Confederate Guard Camp at the Florence Stockade (142)
Learn about the life of the Confederate guards at the Florence Stockade Civil War prison camp and discover how archeology revealed much of this information.
Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the 16th-Century Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena (155)
Discover the site of a 16th-century Spanish town that was founded before Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and learn how archeology uncovered the story of Santa Elena. (National Historic Landmark)
Enduring Awatovi: Uncovering Hopi Life and Work on the Mesa (156)
Learn about traditional Hopi culture and farming at Awatovi, a historic pueblo where enduring Hopi traditions and American archeological research reveal much about this important place. (National Historic Landmark)
Frederica: An 18th-Century Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archaeological evidence. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archaeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
Saugus Iron Works: Life and Work at an Early American Industrial Site (30)
Unearth the remains of colonial America's first fully integrated ironworks, and consider what reconstruction of the site reveals about daily life for some early European settlers. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
Chesterwood: The Workshop of an American Sculptor (100)
Learn about the life and work of the sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and about the important role public sculpture played in turn-of-the-20th century America. (National Historic Landmark)
Embattled Farmers and the Shot Heard Round The World: The Battles of Lexington and Concord (150)
Walk the road where the “shot heard ‘round the world” sparked the American Revolution, and investigate how works of art both depicted and shaped our memory of these dramatic battles. (National Park)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site: Home of a Gilded Age Icon (48)
Meet one of America's premier artists, a creator of public monuments, and evaluate the importance of art and sculpture in society. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Weir Farm: Home of an American Impressionist (22)
View the world through an artist's eye and learn how an important art movement was established in America. (National Park)
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California
Understand the experience of early Asian immigrants and the obstacles they encountered as they struggled to make a living and find a place in American society. (Locke is a National Historic Landmark)
The War Relocation Centers of World War II: When Fear Was Stronger than Justice (89)
Learn what led the U.S. government to confine nearly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to relocation centers in remote areas of the country during World War II. (Manzanar is a National Park and National Historic Landmark. Rohwer is a National Historic Landmark.)
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. (National Historic Landmark)
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Where the Wright Brothers Conquered the Air (111)
Discover the early influences that inspired the Wright brothers as inventors and the importance of the Wright Cycle Company Complex where they developed the key mechanical skills that profoundly impacted their invention of the airplane. (National Park/The Wright Cycle Company building is a National Historic Landmark)
Floyd Bennett Field: Naval Aviation's Home in Brooklyn (120)
Learn about the vital role played by naval aviators delivering aircraft to combat-bound units in the Pacific during WWII, and the women workers on the home front who helped in one of U.S. history's greatest industrial feats. (National Park)
Ladd Field and the Lend-Lease Mission: Defending Alaska in WWII (146)
Discover how a small town in a remote U.S. territory played a large role in defending the United States and its allies during World War II.
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Wright Brothers National Memorial: Site of the First Controlled Powered Flight (109)
Discover why the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their flight experiments, how they achieved controlled powered flight in 1903, and how their accomplishments have been commemorated. (National Park)
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Moravian Settlement in Colonial America (59)
Learn why Moravians immigrated to the New World and how the towns they established embodied their religious beliefs.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park)
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change (8)
Evaluate several centuries of dramatic changes to an adobe ranch house and its surroundings in suburban Long Beach to analyze the interaction between Spanish and Anglo culture in California.
Camp Misty Mount: A Place for Regrowth (47)
Inspect a recreational demonstration area (RDA) in western Maryland, created as part of a Great Depression government relief program. (National Park)
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean (60)
Discover how Spanish fortifications on the island of Puerto Rico helped protect Spain's expanding interests in the New World. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
La versión en español Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan: Guardianes del Caribe
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California(43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Frederica: An 18th Century Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
The Hispano Ranchos of Northern New Mexico: Continuity and Change (96)
Understand the ways in which ranchos in northern New Mexico provide evidence of the ability of Hispano culture to adapt to new influences while still maintaining its traditional character.
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball and explore how American citizens celebrate their leaders taking office. (National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Log Cabins in America: The Finnish Experience (4)
Consider how simple, functional cabins, like those built by the Finns in Idaho, became symbols in American politics and folklore.
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
The Octagon of Washington, D.C.: The House that Helped Build a Capital (151)
Enter The Octagon of Washington, DC, to discover how a historic brick house offered grandeur and stability to the new capital of the United States in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Thomas P. Kennard House: Building a Prairie Capital (149)
Explore early Lincoln, Nebraska, to visit the historic Kennard House and to learn about how this grand building set the tone for a new capital city.
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone (62)
Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor. (National Park)
Waterford, Virginia: From Mill Town to National Historic Landmark (88)
Examine continuity and change in this rural Virginia town from its founding as a Quaker agricultural community and mill town in the 18th century to today. (National Historic Landmark)
Civic Engagement
All Teaching with Historic Places lesson plans have activities that promote civic action by getting students involved in their own community. Here we have selected just a sampling of lessons demonstrating some of the different ways in which citizens in the past took individual or collective action.
Arthurdale: A New Deal Community Experiment (157)
Welcome to historic Arthurdale, West Virginia, a New Deal village built from the ground-up for coal miners and their families during the Great Depression.
The Battle of Bennington: An American Victory (107)
Learn how residents of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York volunteered to serve in a militia that helped determine whether the American colonies would become an independent nation. (National Historic Landmark)
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act
Learn how the National Historic Preservation Act has affected your community in this lesson, prepared for the History Channel's Make History, Save History outreach initiative.
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, whose public service led the court to prominence and power in the early 19th century. His opinions, formed during his early years as an attorney participating in social debates about federalism, helped shape the way the U.S. Constitution is interpreted today. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Consider the impact of Hoover's boyhood years on his desire to help starving children as the administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Independence Hall: International Symbol of Freedom (132)
Learn about Independence Hall and about how the international influence of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution led to the designation of the building in which they were adopted as a World Heritage Site. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
"Journey from Slavery to Statesman": The Homes of Frederick Douglass (147)
Follow Frederick Douglass on his journey from life as a slave to that of a respected statesman and investigate how three homes reflect the different phases of his life. (Wye House, the Nathan and Polly Johnson House, and Cedar Hill are National Historic Landmarks. Cedar Hill and the Nathan and Polly Johnson House are each a resource of a National Park.)
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) `
The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon (36)
Analyze the influences that shaped the symbolic meaning of the bell and understand how different movements used the bell to promote their cause and fight for rights. (National Park)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn how a family of social activists helped obtain equality for women in their efforts to improve society. (National Park)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how philanthropic efforts still affect us today. (National Park)
A Woman's Place Is In the Sewall-Belmont House: Alice Paul and Women's Rights (148)
Meet activist Alice Paul and visit the headquarters of her National Woman's Party in Washington, DC, to learn how American women organized to increase their political rights in the 20th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Lightning Lessons
Meet Dr. Manassa T. Pope, an African-American doctor and entrepreneur in the early 20th century, and learn about his efforts to gain civil rights well before the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America (121)
Learn about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (Monroe Elementary School [now Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site] is a unit of the National Park Service/Robert Russa Moton High School, Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools, Howard High School, and John Philip Sousa Middle School are National Historic Landmarks.)
From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
Understand the magnitude of the struggle involved in securing equal educational opportunities for African Americans by examining how Prudence Crandall challenged the prevailing attitude toward educating African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War and investigating court cases and public opinion about desegregation in the 1950s. (Little Rock Central High School is a National Park and National Historic Landmark/Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon (36)
Analyze the influences that shaped the symbolic meaning of the bell, and evaluate the various claims as to how and when it was cracked. (National Park)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Enduring Awatovi: Uncovering Hopi Life and Work on the Mesa (156)
Learn about traditional Hopi culture and farming at Awatovi, a historic pueblo where enduring Hopi traditions and American archeological research reveal much about this important place. (National Historic Landmark)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest (108)
Learn how the 1804-1806 expedition effectively opened the Northwest to the influence of the United States, established relations with numerous American Indian nations, and gathered useful scientific documentation about the West. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas (2)
Explore a group of 18th-century missions in modern San Antonio to learn about Spanish influence on native peoples and the patterns of Texas culture. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation (118)
Understand the factors that contributed both to the forced removal of the Cherokees off their homelands and to painful divisions within the tribe. (The Trail of Tears is a National Historic Trail./The Major Ridge House and John Ross House are National Historic Landmarks.) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Archaeology
Learn how transportation routes affected a local inn, how archaeology revealed the inn's use over time, and how preservation efforts saved the historic site from suburban sprawl.
"Comfortable Camps?" Archeology of the Confederate Guard Camp at the Florence Stockade (142)
Learn about the life of the Confederate guards at the Florence Stockade Civil War prison camp and discover how archeology revealed much of this information.
Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the 16th-Century Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena (155)
Discover the site of a 16th-century Spanish town that was founded before Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and learn how archeology uncovered the story of Santa Elena. (National Historic Landmark)
Enduring Awatovi: Uncovering Hopi Life and Work on the Mesa (156)
Learn about traditional Hopi culture and farming at Awatovi, a historic pueblo where enduring Hopi traditions and American archeological research reveal much about this important place. (National Historic Landmark)
Frederica: An 18th-Century Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archaeological evidence. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archaeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
Saugus Iron Works: Life and Work at an Early American Industrial Site (30)
Unearth the remains of colonial America's first fully integrated ironworks, and consider what reconstruction of the site reveals about daily life for some early European settlers. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
Art
Chesterwood: The Workshop of an American Sculptor (100)
Learn about the life and work of the sculptor, Daniel Chester French, and about the important role public sculpture played in turn-of-the-20th century America. (National Historic Landmark)
Embattled Farmers and the Shot Heard Round The World: The Battles of Lexington and Concord (150)
Walk the road where the “shot heard ‘round the world” sparked the American Revolution, and investigate how works of art both depicted and shaped our memory of these dramatic battles. (National Park)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site: Home of a Gilded Age Icon (48)
Meet one of America's premier artists, a creator of public monuments, and evaluate the importance of art and sculpture in society. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Weir Farm: Home of an American Impressionist (22)
View the world through an artist's eye and learn how an important art movement was established in America. (National Park)
Asian American and Pacific Islander History
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California
Understand the experience of early Asian immigrants and the obstacles they encountered as they struggled to make a living and find a place in American society. (Locke is a National Historic Landmark)
The War Relocation Centers of World War II: When Fear Was Stronger than Justice (89)
Learn what led the U.S. government to confine nearly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to relocation centers in remote areas of the country during World War II. (Manzanar is a National Park and National Historic Landmark. Rohwer is a National Historic Landmark.)
Aviation
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. (National Historic Landmark)
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Where the Wright Brothers Conquered the Air (111)
Discover the early influences that inspired the Wright brothers as inventors and the importance of the Wright Cycle Company Complex where they developed the key mechanical skills that profoundly impacted their invention of the airplane. (National Park/The Wright Cycle Company building is a National Historic Landmark)
Floyd Bennett Field: Naval Aviation's Home in Brooklyn (120)
Learn about the vital role played by naval aviators delivering aircraft to combat-bound units in the Pacific during WWII, and the women workers on the home front who helped in one of U.S. history's greatest industrial feats. (National Park)
Ladd Field and the Lend-Lease Mission: Defending Alaska in WWII (146)
Discover how a small town in a remote U.S. territory played a large role in defending the United States and its allies during World War II.
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Wright Brothers National Memorial: Site of the First Controlled Powered Flight (109)
Discover why the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their flight experiments, how they achieved controlled powered flight in 1903, and how their accomplishments have been commemorated. (National Park)
Building Styles and Methods
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Moravian Settlement in Colonial America (59)
Learn why Moravians immigrated to the New World and how the towns they established embodied their religious beliefs.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park)
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change (8)
Evaluate several centuries of dramatic changes to an adobe ranch house and its surroundings in suburban Long Beach to analyze the interaction between Spanish and Anglo culture in California.
Camp Misty Mount: A Place for Regrowth (47)
Inspect a recreational demonstration area (RDA) in western Maryland, created as part of a Great Depression government relief program. (National Park)
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean (60)
Discover how Spanish fortifications on the island of Puerto Rico helped protect Spain's expanding interests in the New World. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
La versión en español Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan: Guardianes del Caribe
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California(43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Frederica: An 18th Century Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
The Hispano Ranchos of Northern New Mexico: Continuity and Change (96)
Understand the ways in which ranchos in northern New Mexico provide evidence of the ability of Hispano culture to adapt to new influences while still maintaining its traditional character.
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball and explore how American citizens celebrate their leaders taking office. (National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Log Cabins in America: The Finnish Experience (4)
Consider how simple, functional cabins, like those built by the Finns in Idaho, became symbols in American politics and folklore.
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
The Octagon of Washington, D.C.: The House that Helped Build a Capital (151)
Enter The Octagon of Washington, DC, to discover how a historic brick house offered grandeur and stability to the new capital of the United States in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Thomas P. Kennard House: Building a Prairie Capital (149)
Explore early Lincoln, Nebraska, to visit the historic Kennard House and to learn about how this grand building set the tone for a new capital city.
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone (62)
Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor. (National Park)
Waterford, Virginia: From Mill Town to National Historic Landmark (88)
Examine continuity and change in this rural Virginia town from its founding as a Quaker agricultural community and mill town in the 18th century to today. (National Historic Landmark)
All Teaching with Historic Places lesson plans have activities that promote civic action by getting students involved in their own community. Here we have selected just a sampling of lessons demonstrating some of the different ways in which citizens in the past took individual or collective action.
Arthurdale: A New Deal Community Experiment (157)
Welcome to historic Arthurdale, West Virginia, a New Deal village built from the ground-up for coal miners and their families during the Great Depression.
The Battle of Bennington: An American Victory (107)
Learn how residents of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York volunteered to serve in a militia that helped determine whether the American colonies would become an independent nation. (National Historic Landmark)
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act
Learn how the National Historic Preservation Act has affected your community in this lesson, prepared for the History Channel's Make History, Save History outreach initiative.
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet Supreme Court Justice John Marshall, whose public service led the court to prominence and power in the early 19th century. His opinions, formed during his early years as an attorney participating in social debates about federalism, helped shape the way the U.S. Constitution is interpreted today. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Consider the impact of Hoover's boyhood years on his desire to help starving children as the administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Independence Hall: International Symbol of Freedom (132)
Learn about Independence Hall and about how the international influence of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution led to the designation of the building in which they were adopted as a World Heritage Site. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
"Journey from Slavery to Statesman": The Homes of Frederick Douglass (147)
Follow Frederick Douglass on his journey from life as a slave to that of a respected statesman and investigate how three homes reflect the different phases of his life. (Wye House, the Nathan and Polly Johnson House, and Cedar Hill are National Historic Landmarks. Cedar Hill and the Nathan and Polly Johnson House are each a resource of a National Park.)
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) `
The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon (36)
Analyze the influences that shaped the symbolic meaning of the bell and understand how different movements used the bell to promote their cause and fight for rights. (National Park)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn how a family of social activists helped obtain equality for women in their efforts to improve society. (National Park)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how philanthropic efforts still affect us today. (National Park)
A Woman's Place Is In the Sewall-Belmont House: Alice Paul and Women's Rights (148)
Meet activist Alice Paul and visit the headquarters of her National Woman's Party in Washington, DC, to learn how American women organized to increase their political rights in the 20th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House (Lightning Lesson #1)
Follow the footsteps a free African American woman who defied an oppressive culture and broke barriers in education, newspaper publishing, and law before and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
Civil Rights Movement
Play ball! This lesson uses the Daytona Beach ballpark where Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier to explore racism and sports in American history.
An American Success Story: The Pope House of Raleigh, NC (124)Meet Dr. Manassa T. Pope, an African-American doctor and entrepreneur in the early 20th century, and learn about his efforts to gain civil rights well before the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America (121)
Learn about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (Monroe Elementary School [now Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site] is a unit of the National Park Service/Robert Russa Moton High School, Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools, Howard High School, and John Philip Sousa Middle School are National Historic Landmarks.)
From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
Understand the magnitude of the struggle involved in securing equal educational opportunities for African Americans by examining how Prudence Crandall challenged the prevailing attitude toward educating African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War and investigating court cases and public opinion about desegregation in the 1950s. (Little Rock Central High School is a National Park and National Historic Landmark/Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon (36)
Analyze the influences that shaped the symbolic meaning of the bell, and evaluate the various claims as to how and when it was cracked. (National Park)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Civil Rights and Racial Healing
Play ball! This lesson uses the Daytona Beach ballpark where Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier to explore racism and sports in American history.
An American Success Story: The Pope House of Raleigh, NC (124)Meet Dr. Manassa T. Pope, an African-American doctor and entrepreneur in the early 20th century, and learn about his efforts to gain civil rights well before the modern Civil Rights Movement.
The Battle of Honey Springs: The Civil War Comes to the Indian Territory (68)
Learn how the Civil War created fierce conflicts among American Indian nations who had been moved across the Mississippi River.
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America (121)
Learn about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (Monroe Elementary School [now Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site] is a unit of the National Park Service/Robert Russa Moton High School, Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools, Howard High School, and John Philip Sousa Middle School are National Historic Landmarks.)
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
Understand the magnitude of the struggle involved in securing equal educational opportunities for African Americans by examining how Prudence Crandall challenged the prevailing attitude toward educating African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War and investigating court cases and public opinion about desegregation in the 1950s. (Little Rock Central High School is a National Park and National Historic Landmark/Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
"Journey from Slavery to Statesman": The Homes of Frederick Douglass (147)
Follow Frederick Douglass on his journey from life as a slave to that of a respected statesman and investigate how three homes reflect the different phases of his life. (Wye House, the Nathan and Polly Johnson House, and Cedar Hill arfe National Historic Landmarks. Cedar Hill and the Nathan and Polly Johnson House are each a resource of a National Park.)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Dent Grant at White Haven Farm: The Missouri Compromise in American Life (154)
Discover the personal experiences of Americans in a nation divided politically on the issue of slavery through the early life of Ulysses S. Grant, who lived on a Missouri farm with his wife Julia Dent Grant and her slave-holding family in the 1850s. (National Park)
The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation (118)
Understand the factors that contributed both to the forced removal of the Cherokees off their homelands and to painful divisions within the tribe. (The Trail of Tears is a National Historic Trail./The Major Ridge House and John Ross House are National Historic Landmarks.) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The War Relocation Centers of World War II: When Fear Was Stronger than Justice (89)
Learn what led the U.S. government to confine nearly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to relocation centers in remote areas of the country during World War II. (Manzanar is a National Park and National Historic Landmark. Rohwer is a National Historic Landmark.)
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House (Lightning Lesson #1)
Follow the footsteps a free African American woman who defied an oppressive culture and broke barriers in education, newspaper publishing, and law before and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
Commerce and Industry
Learn why Moravians immigrated to the New World and how the towns they established embodied their religious beliefs.
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Building of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (10)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)
Discover a historic campus in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where an American military officer's boarding school experiment brought American Indian children from across the continent at the turn of the century. (National Historic Landmark)
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Chicago's Black Metropolis: Understanding History through a Historic Place (53)
Examine the history of this "city-within-a-city," a self-supporting African-American community that prospered from the late 19th century until the 1930s.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark) See also Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75) another lesson plan on the discovery of gold in the Klondike.
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
Hopewell Furnace: A Pennsylvania Iron-making Plantation (97)
Explore how Hopewell functioned as a productive work unit and how work defined social relationships in this early National period community. (National Park)
The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories (25)
Tour Edison's West Orange complex, where his creative combination of research, production, and marketing revolutionized the business of invention. (National Park)
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archeological evidence. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Life on an Island: Early Settlers Off the Rock-Bound Coast of Maine (16)
Discover how early settlers survived on Maine's coastal islands despite harsh living conditions. (National Park)
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Mechanics Hall: Symbol of Pride and Industry (87)
Examine how the advent of industrialization in 19th-century America impacted the workforce in New England's Blackstone River Valley. (Mechanics Hall is included in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.)
The No. 2 Quincy Shaft-Rockhouse: 9,240 Feet into the Earth (152)
Enter a historic company town and descend deep into the copper mines of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, where labor unrest upset an industry and changed a community in the early 20th century. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Ohio and Erie Canal: Catalyst of Economic Development for Ohio (41)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Paterson, New Jersey: America's Silk City (102)
Learn about the causes and effects of a famous silk industry strike and how it affected those who were involved. (The Pietro Botto House is a National Historic Landmark. Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park is a National Park.)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
Saugus Iron Works: Life and Work at an Early American Industrial Site (30)
Unearth the remains of colonial America's first fully integrated ironworks, and consider what reconstruction of the site reveals about daily life for some early European settlers. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) See also Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55), another lesson plan on the discovery of gold in the Klondike. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thurmond: A Town Born from Coal Mines and Railroads (28)
Examine the complex and often dangerous daily routines at the Thurmond train depot, and learn how rail workers were immortalized by some of the people they served. (National Park)
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people. (National Historic Landmarks)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
Waterford, Virginia: From Mill Town to National Historic Landmark (88)
Examine continuity and change in this rural Virginia town from its founding as a Quaker agricultural community and mill town in the 18th century to today. (National Historic Landmark)
Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence (106)
Examine the inextricable connections binding railroads, North Dakota wheat fields, and Minnesota flour mills during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park/Includes Pillsbury A Mill, a National Historic Landmark)
When Rice Was King (3)
Investigate early rice plantations in Georgetown, South Carolina, to learn how rice cultivation transformed the native environment and promoted the South's dependence on a plantation economy.
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Arthurdale: A New Deal Community Experiment (157)
Welcome to historic Arthurdale, West Virginia, a New Deal village built from the ground-up for coal miners and their families during the Great Depression.
At a Crossroads: The King of Prussia Inn (119)
Learn how transportation routes affected a local inn, how archeology revealed the inn's use over time, and how preservation efforts saved the historic site from suburban sprawl.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Moravian Settlement in Colonial America (59)
Learn why Moravians immigrated to the New World and how the towns they established embodied their religious beliefs.
Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Place for Study and Recreation (56)
Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Chicago's Black Metropolis: Understanding History through a Historic Place (53)
Examine the history of this "city-within-a-city," a self-supporting African-American community that prospered from the late 19th century until the 1930s.
Chicago's Columbus Park: The Prairie Idealized (81)
Learn about a famous landscape artist and his efforts to promote conservation and an appreciation for the native plant life of the United States.
Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the 16th-Century Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena (155)
Discover the site of a 16th-century Spanish town that was founded before Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and learn how archeology uncovered the story of Santa Elena. National Historic Landmark
The Emerald Necklace: Boston's Green Connection (86)
Learn about Frederick Law Olmsted and his philosophy about parks and cities as well as city life during the Industrial Revolution. (Includes Arnold Arboretum, a National Historic Landmark)
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Frederica: An 18th-Century Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California
Understand the experience of early Asian immigrants and the obstacles they encountered as they struggled to make a living and find a place in American society. (Locke is a National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Mount Auburn Cemetery: A New American Landscape (84)
Explore the country's first large-scale designed landscape open to the public that spawned the development of other rural cemeteries, public parks, and designed suburbs.
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
The Octagon of Washington, D.C.: The House that Helped Build a Capital (151)
Enter The Octagon of Washington, DC, to discover how a historic brick house offered grandeur and stability to the new capital of the United States in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
Savannah, Georgia: The Lasting Legacy of Colonial City Planning (83)
Learn about James Oglethorpe and his enduring city plan from the colonial era. (National Historic Landmark)
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Thomas P. Kennard House: Building a Prairie Capital (149)
Explore early Lincoln, Nebraska, to visit the historic Kennard House and to learn about how this grand building set the tone for a new capital city
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone (62)
Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor. (National Park)
Waterford, Virginia: From Mill Town to National Historic Landmark (88)
Examine continuity and change in this rural Virginia town from its founding as a Quaker agricultural community and mill town in the 18th century to today. (National Historic Landmark)
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Camp Misty Mount: A Place for Regrowth (47)
Inspect a recreational demonstration area (RDA) in western Maryland, created as part of a Great Depression government relief program. (National Park)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
Arthurdale: A New Deal Community Experiment (157)
Welcome to historic Arthurdale, West Virginia, a New Deal village built from the ground-up for coal miners and their families during the Great Depression.
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America (121)
Learn about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (Monroe Elementary School [now Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site] is a unit of the National Park Service/Robert Russa Moton High School, Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools, Howard High School, and John Philip Sousa Middle School are National Historic Landmarks.)
Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Place for Study and Recreation (56)
Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Chicago's Black Metropolis: Understanding History through a Historic Place (53)
Examine the history of this "city-within-a-city," a self-supporting African-American community that prospered from the late 19th century until the 1930s.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark) See also Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75) another lesson plan on the discovery of gold in the Klondike.
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
Hopewell Furnace: A Pennsylvania Iron-making Plantation (97)
Explore how Hopewell functioned as a productive work unit and how work defined social relationships in this early National period community. (National Park)
The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories (25)
Tour Edison's West Orange complex, where his creative combination of research, production, and marketing revolutionized the business of invention. (National Park)
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archeological evidence. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Life on an Island: Early Settlers Off the Rock-Bound Coast of Maine (16)
Discover how early settlers survived on Maine's coastal islands despite harsh living conditions. (National Park)
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Mechanics Hall: Symbol of Pride and Industry (87)
Examine how the advent of industrialization in 19th-century America impacted the workforce in New England's Blackstone River Valley. (Mechanics Hall is included in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.)
The No. 2 Quincy Shaft-Rockhouse: 9,240 Feet into the Earth (152)
Enter a historic company town and descend deep into the copper mines of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, where labor unrest upset an industry and changed a community in the early 20th century. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Ohio and Erie Canal: Catalyst of Economic Development for Ohio (41)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Paterson, New Jersey: America's Silk City (102)
Learn about the causes and effects of a famous silk industry strike and how it affected those who were involved. (The Pietro Botto House is a National Historic Landmark. Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park is a National Park.)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
Saugus Iron Works: Life and Work at an Early American Industrial Site (30)
Unearth the remains of colonial America's first fully integrated ironworks, and consider what reconstruction of the site reveals about daily life for some early European settlers. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) See also Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55), another lesson plan on the discovery of gold in the Klondike. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thurmond: A Town Born from Coal Mines and Railroads (28)
Examine the complex and often dangerous daily routines at the Thurmond train depot, and learn how rail workers were immortalized by some of the people they served. (National Park)
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people. (National Historic Landmarks)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
Waterford, Virginia: From Mill Town to National Historic Landmark (88)
Examine continuity and change in this rural Virginia town from its founding as a Quaker agricultural community and mill town in the 18th century to today. (National Historic Landmark)
Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence (106)
Examine the inextricable connections binding railroads, North Dakota wheat fields, and Minnesota flour mills during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park/Includes Pillsbury A Mill, a National Historic Landmark)
When Rice Was King (3)
Investigate early rice plantations in Georgetown, South Carolina, to learn how rice cultivation transformed the native environment and promoted the South's dependence on a plantation economy.
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
Community Planning and Development
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Arthurdale: A New Deal Community Experiment (157)
Welcome to historic Arthurdale, West Virginia, a New Deal village built from the ground-up for coal miners and their families during the Great Depression.
At a Crossroads: The King of Prussia Inn (119)
Learn how transportation routes affected a local inn, how archeology revealed the inn's use over time, and how preservation efforts saved the historic site from suburban sprawl.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Moravian Settlement in Colonial America (59)
Learn why Moravians immigrated to the New World and how the towns they established embodied their religious beliefs.
Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Place for Study and Recreation (56)
Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Chicago's Black Metropolis: Understanding History through a Historic Place (53)
Examine the history of this "city-within-a-city," a self-supporting African-American community that prospered from the late 19th century until the 1930s.
Chicago's Columbus Park: The Prairie Idealized (81)
Learn about a famous landscape artist and his efforts to promote conservation and an appreciation for the native plant life of the United States.
Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the 16th-Century Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena (155)
Discover the site of a 16th-century Spanish town that was founded before Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and learn how archeology uncovered the story of Santa Elena. National Historic Landmark
The Emerald Necklace: Boston's Green Connection (86)
Learn about Frederick Law Olmsted and his philosophy about parks and cities as well as city life during the Industrial Revolution. (Includes Arnold Arboretum, a National Historic Landmark)
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Frederica: An 18th-Century Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California
Understand the experience of early Asian immigrants and the obstacles they encountered as they struggled to make a living and find a place in American society. (Locke is a National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Mount Auburn Cemetery: A New American Landscape (84)
Explore the country's first large-scale designed landscape open to the public that spawned the development of other rural cemeteries, public parks, and designed suburbs.
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
The Octagon of Washington, D.C.: The House that Helped Build a Capital (151)
Enter The Octagon of Washington, DC, to discover how a historic brick house offered grandeur and stability to the new capital of the United States in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
Savannah, Georgia: The Lasting Legacy of Colonial City Planning (83)
Learn about James Oglethorpe and his enduring city plan from the colonial era. (National Historic Landmark)
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Thomas P. Kennard House: Building a Prairie Capital (149)
Explore early Lincoln, Nebraska, to visit the historic Kennard House and to learn about how this grand building set the tone for a new capital city
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone (62)
Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor. (National Park)
Waterford, Virginia: From Mill Town to National Historic Landmark (88)
Examine continuity and change in this rural Virginia town from its founding as a Quaker agricultural community and mill town in the 18th century to today. (National Historic Landmark)
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
Conservation
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Camp Misty Mount: A Place for Regrowth (47)
Inspect a recreational demonstration area (RDA) in western Maryland, created as part of a Great Depression government relief program. (National Park)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
Back to Top
Education
Arthurdale: A New Deal Community Experiment (157)
Welcome to historic Arthurdale, West Virginia, a New Deal village built from the ground-up for coal miners and their families during the Great Depression.
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America (121)
Learn about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (Monroe Elementary School [now Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site] is a unit of the National Park Service/Robert Russa Moton High School, Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools, Howard High School, and John Philip Sousa Middle School are National Historic Landmarks.)
Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Place for Study and Recreation (56)
Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Discover a historic campus in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where an American military officer's boarding school experiment brought American Indian children from across the continent at the turn of the century. (National Historic Landmark)
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
Understand the magnitude of the struggle involved in securing equal educational opportunities for African Americans by examining how Prudence Crandall challenged the prevailing attitude toward educating African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War and investigating court cases and public opinion about desegregation in the 1950s. (Little Rock Central High School is a National Park and National Historic Landmark/Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Entrepreneurs
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Where the Wright Brothers Conquered the Air (111)
Discover the early influences that inspired the Wright brothers as inventors and the importance of the Wright Cycle Company Complex where they developed the key mechanical skills that profoundly impacted their invention of the airplane. (National Park/The Wright Cycle Company building is a National Historic Landmark)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people. (National Historic Landmarks)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
An American Success Story: The Pope House of Raleigh, NC (124)
Meet Dr. Manassa T. Pope, an African-American doctor and entrepreneur in the early 20th century, and learn about his efforts to gain civil rights well before the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Back Stairs at Brucemore: Life as Servants in early 20th-Century America (105)
Understand the "servant" experience in early 20th-century America, as well as the pros and cons for women working in factories versus domestic service.
The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War (70)
Understand the violence of the Civil War through the eyes of young women whose homes were in the midst of an important battle and continuing conflict.
Birthplace of John F. Kennedy: Home of the Boy Who Would Be President (33)
Visit JFK's birthplace and consider the effects of culture and community in shaping character and personality. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Chatham Plantation: Witness to the Civil War (45)
Learn why this home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a center of military activity, and consider the impact the war had on those whose property became part of the battlefield. (National Park)
Enduring Awatovi: Uncovering Hopi Life and Work on the Mesa (156)
Learn about traditional Hopi culture and farming at Awatovi, a historic pueblo where enduring Hopi traditions and American archeological research reveal much about this important place. (National Historic Landmark)
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet John Marshall, who led the U.S. Supreme Court from obscurity and weakness to prominence and power in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Harry Truman and Independence, Missouri: "This is Where I Belong" (103)
Learn why the life of the 33rd U.S. President serves as an example of civic duty and explore the town that helped form his character. (National Park/Includes Harry S Truman Historic District, a National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
Keys Ranch: Where Time Stood Still (65)
Meet Bill Keys, a self-reliant 20th-century homesteader whose ingenuity allowed him to thrive in the inhospitable California desert. (National Park)
Life on an Island: Early Settlers Off the Rock-Bound Coast of Maine (16)
Discover how early settlers survived on Maine's coastal islands despite harsh living conditions. (National Park)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Forging Greatness during Lincoln's Youth (126)
Meet the people and learn of events that influenced the development of Abraham Lincoln's character and personality as a youth on the Indiana frontier. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory (127)
Learn how Abraham Lincoln's belief in freedom and democracy, his eloquence, and the support of family and community propelled him to the White House and uplifted him through the turbulent Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
The Octagon of Washington, D.C.: The House that Helped Build a Capital (151)
Enter The Octagon of Washington, DC, to discover how a historic brick house offered grandeur and stability to the new capital of the United States in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Dent Grant at White Haven Farm: The Missouri Compromise in American Life (154)
Discover the personal experiences of Americans in a nation divided politically on the issue of slavery through the early life of Ulysses S. Grant, who lived on a Missouri farm with his wife Julia Dent Grant and her slave-holding family in the 1850s. (National Park)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
Health and Medicine
The Battle of Bentonville: Caring for Casualties of the Civil War (69)
Understand how battlefield medical care developed during the Civil War, particularly in the Union Army. (National Historic Landmark)
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"Comfortable Camps?" Archeology of the Confederate Guard Camp at the Florence Stockade (142)
Learn about the life of the Confederate guards at the Florence Stockade Civil War prison camp and discover how archeology revealed much of this information.
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
A Nation Repays Its Debt: The National Soldiers' Home and Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio (115)
Learn about the evolution of a system to honor and care for U.S. veterans beginning with the creation of soldiers' homes and national cemeteries during and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)Hispanic American/Latino American History
Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change (8)
Evaluate several centuries of dramatic changes to an adobe ranch house and its surroundings in suburban Long Beach to analyze the interaction between Spanish and Anglo culture in California.
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the 16th-Century Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena (155)
Discover the site of a 16th-century Spanish town that was founded before Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and learn how archeology uncovered the story of Santa Elena. National Historic Landmark
Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean (60)
Discover how Spanish fortifications on the island of Puerto Rico helped protect Spain's expanding interests in the New World. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
La versión en español Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan: Guardianes del Caribe
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
The Hispano Ranchos of Northern New Mexico: Continuity and Change (96)
Understand the ways in which ranchos in northern New Mexico provide evidence of the ability of Hispano culture to adapt to new influences while still maintaining its traditional character.
San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas (2)
Explore a group of 18th-century missions in modern San Antonio to learn about Spanish influence on native peoples and the patterns of Texas culture. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
Understand the magnitude of the struggle involved in securing equal educational opportunities for African Americans by examining how Prudence Crandall challenged the prevailing attitude toward educating African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War and investigating court cases and public opinion about desegregation in the 1950s. (Little Rock Central High School is a National Park and National Historic Landmark/Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Where the Wright Brothers Conquered the Air (111)
Discover the early influences that inspired the Wright brothers as inventors and the importance of the Wright Cycle Company Complex where they developed the key mechanical skills that profoundly impacted their invention of the airplane. (National Park/The Wright Cycle Company building is a National Historic Landmark)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people. (National Historic Landmarks)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
Family Life
An American Success Story: The Pope House of Raleigh, NC (124)
Meet Dr. Manassa T. Pope, an African-American doctor and entrepreneur in the early 20th century, and learn about his efforts to gain civil rights well before the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Back Stairs at Brucemore: Life as Servants in early 20th-Century America (105)
Understand the "servant" experience in early 20th-century America, as well as the pros and cons for women working in factories versus domestic service.
The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War (70)
Understand the violence of the Civil War through the eyes of young women whose homes were in the midst of an important battle and continuing conflict.
Birthplace of John F. Kennedy: Home of the Boy Who Would Be President (33)
Visit JFK's birthplace and consider the effects of culture and community in shaping character and personality. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Chatham Plantation: Witness to the Civil War (45)
Learn why this home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a center of military activity, and consider the impact the war had on those whose property became part of the battlefield. (National Park)
Enduring Awatovi: Uncovering Hopi Life and Work on the Mesa (156)
Learn about traditional Hopi culture and farming at Awatovi, a historic pueblo where enduring Hopi traditions and American archeological research reveal much about this important place. (National Historic Landmark)
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet John Marshall, who led the U.S. Supreme Court from obscurity and weakness to prominence and power in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Harry Truman and Independence, Missouri: "This is Where I Belong" (103)
Learn why the life of the 33rd U.S. President serves as an example of civic duty and explore the town that helped form his character. (National Park/Includes Harry S Truman Historic District, a National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
Keys Ranch: Where Time Stood Still (65)
Meet Bill Keys, a self-reliant 20th-century homesteader whose ingenuity allowed him to thrive in the inhospitable California desert. (National Park)
Life on an Island: Early Settlers Off the Rock-Bound Coast of Maine (16)
Discover how early settlers survived on Maine's coastal islands despite harsh living conditions. (National Park)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Forging Greatness during Lincoln's Youth (126)
Meet the people and learn of events that influenced the development of Abraham Lincoln's character and personality as a youth on the Indiana frontier. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory (127)
Learn how Abraham Lincoln's belief in freedom and democracy, his eloquence, and the support of family and community propelled him to the White House and uplifted him through the turbulent Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
The Octagon of Washington, D.C.: The House that Helped Build a Capital (151)
Enter The Octagon of Washington, DC, to discover how a historic brick house offered grandeur and stability to the new capital of the United States in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Dent Grant at White Haven Farm: The Missouri Compromise in American Life (154)
Discover the personal experiences of Americans in a nation divided politically on the issue of slavery through the early life of Ulysses S. Grant, who lived on a Missouri farm with his wife Julia Dent Grant and her slave-holding family in the 1850s. (National Park)
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
The Battle of Bentonville: Caring for Casualties of the Civil War (69)
Understand how battlefield medical care developed during the Civil War, particularly in the Union Army. (National Historic Landmark)
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"Comfortable Camps?" Archeology of the Confederate Guard Camp at the Florence Stockade (142)
Learn about the life of the Confederate guards at the Florence Stockade Civil War prison camp and discover how archeology revealed much of this information.
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
A Nation Repays Its Debt: The National Soldiers' Home and Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio (115)
Learn about the evolution of a system to honor and care for U.S. veterans beginning with the creation of soldiers' homes and national cemeteries during and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change (8)
Evaluate several centuries of dramatic changes to an adobe ranch house and its surroundings in suburban Long Beach to analyze the interaction between Spanish and Anglo culture in California.
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Digging into the Colonial Past: Archeology and the 16th-Century Spanish Settlements at Charlesfort-Santa Elena (155)
Discover the site of a 16th-century Spanish town that was founded before Roanoke, Jamestown, and Plymouth, and learn how archeology uncovered the story of Santa Elena. National Historic Landmark
Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean (60)
Discover how Spanish fortifications on the island of Puerto Rico helped protect Spain's expanding interests in the New World. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
La versión en español Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan: Guardianes del Caribe
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
The Hispano Ranchos of Northern New Mexico: Continuity and Change (96)
Understand the ways in which ranchos in northern New Mexico provide evidence of the ability of Hispano culture to adapt to new influences while still maintaining its traditional character.
San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas (2)
Explore a group of 18th-century missions in modern San Antonio to learn about Spanish influence on native peoples and the patterns of Texas culture. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
Although the following lesson plans were chosen to highlight activities that allow teachers and students to consider the role preservation plays in a community, at least one activity in all of the TwHP lesson plans directs students to research local history and most ask them to look for, and think critically about, historic places in their community. In this way, these activities help students gain an appreciation for local historic resources and promote civic action by getting students involved in their own community. The Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act lesson guides students to discover the impact of the Act on their communities.
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. Also determine whether equipment such as the launch tower for Saturn V should be considered historic and therefore worthy of preservation, and identify a structure or place in your community associated with a special event and determine its historic value. (National Historic Landmark)
Back Stairs at Brucemore: Life as Servants in early 20th-Century America (105)
Understand the "servant" experience in early 20th-century America, as well as the pros and cons for women working in factories versus domestic service. Also recognize how building usage may change over time and create a photographic display demonstrating these changes for a local historic site.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of Bryce Canyon and learn how it became a popular tourist destination and finally a national park. Also debate whether to develop or save (to create a park) a piece of land, and research local resources (a park, historic site, monument, etc.) to find out when and how it was created or set aside for public use, how it's used today, and then develop "advertising" for it. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Chicago's Black Metropolis: Understanding History through a Historic Place (53)
Examine the history of this self-supporting African-American community that prospered from the late 19th century until the 1930s. Also understand what makes a place "historic," and nominate a local historic place for a local, state, or national, register of historic places.
Chicago's Columbus Park: The Prairie Idealized (81)
Learn about a famous landscape artist and his efforts to promote conservation and an appreciation for native plant life. Also design a park or garden for your school or community using native plants and materials and research a historic or natural site, which is endangered, explain what threatens it, and why it is worthy of being preserved in the form of a skit/play or masque (outdoor play).
The Emerald Necklace: Boston's Green Connection (86)
Learn about Frederick Law Olmsted and his philosophy about parks and cities as well as city life during the Industrial Revolution. Also preserve green space by designing a park or park system in your own community with detailed design elements and submit it to the "Park Commission" for approval. (Includes Arnold Arboretum, a National Historic Landmark)
First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence (12)
Study personal accounts of soldiers who fought in the first battle of the Civil War, and debate whether the U.S. should maintain historic sites where few substantial remains exist. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act
Learn how the National Historic Preservation Act has affected your community in this lesson, prepared for the History Channel's Make History, Save History outreach initiative.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Also identify buildings in your community related to a town founder, and learn how to determine if community sites are of historical significance.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community. Also role-play a citizens' group who just bought (or were given) 5 acres of land on which the abandoned but historic Freeman School is located and decide for their community what to do with this building. (National Park)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement to a national park. Also create a history of a popular gathering place in your community, and locate successful examples of adaptive reuse. (National Park)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. Also debate whether parks should restrict the number of visitors to better conserve land and preserve its resources or let visitors (who are taxpayers funding the parks) use the facilities when and how they choose. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Harry Truman and Independence, Missouri: "This is Where I Belong" (103)
Learn why the life of the 33rd U.S. President serves as an example of civic duty and explore the town that helped form his character. Also understand why Truman felt strongly about preserving history in states, towns, and neighborhoods, and identify and research historic places in your own neighborhood. (National Park/Includes Harry S Truman Historic District, a National Historic Landmark)
Independence Hall: International Symbol of Freedom (132)
Learn about Independence Hall and about how the international influence of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution led to the designation of the building in which they were adopted as a World Heritage Site. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archeological evidence. (National Park)
Log Cabins in America: The Finnish Experience (4)
Consider how simple, functional cabins, like those built by the Finns in Idaho, became symbols in American politics and folklore. Also understand why it was important to list them on the National Register of Historic Places.
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. Also identify a site in your community, one that ought to be preserved, but is not yet protected, and devise a conservation plan for that site. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Mechanics Hall: Symbol of Pride and Industry (87)
Examine how the advent of industrialization in 19th-century America impacted the workforce in New England's Blackstone River Valley. Also compile a list of historic structures in your community, research their history, and volunteer as a docent at one of the sites. (Mechanics Hall is included in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and work with a local historical society to develop a special exhibit for the community on a historic site in your area. (National Historic Landmark)
A Nation Repays Its Debt: The National Soldiers' Home and Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio (115)
Learn about the evolution of a system to honor and care for U.S. veterans and write a biography of a local soldiers life from birth through war to his, or her, final resting place and donate it to the local historical society. (National Historic Landmark)
The Old Courthouse in St. Louis: Yesterday and Today (9)
Compare historic events that took place at St. Louis's handsome Courthouse. Also identify older public buildings in your community and research their purposes and usage over time, and learn how preservationists determine what should and should not be preserved. (National Park)
Paterson, New Jersey: America's Silk City (102)
Learn about the causes and effects of a famous silk industry strike and how it affected those who were involved. (The Pietro Botto House is a National Historic Landmark. Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park is a National Park.)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture. Also investigate the ways in which automobiles changed your community, and find an example of fanciful, vernacular architecture and research what is being done to preserve it.
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
Run For Your Lives! The Johnstown Flood of 1889 (5)
Determine how environmental management, technology, and the actions of 19th-century industrialists contributed to a disaster in Pennsylvania that shocked the nation. Also understand why a community spent funds to restore a railway built to save lives. (National Park)
Savannah, Georgia: The Lasting Legacy of Colonial City Planning (83)
Learn about James Oglethorpe and his enduring city plan from the colonial era. Also debate whether your town's historic area could be nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. (National Historic Landmark)
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War (113)
Understand how newly developed technologies affected two military engagements and one tiny town in Mississippi during the Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike, and develop a promotional brochure or walking tour from histories of buildings that illustrate your community's development. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. Also research a local WPA project in your local community. (National Park)
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site: Birthplace of the Modern Presidency (77)
Examine how Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States and how he modernized the presidency. Also make a time line with information about a historic structure in your area at various times in its history, including important events that occurred in the United States during that same time. Donate the completed project to the local historical society so others may benefit from your research. (National Park)
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people. Also research successful local businesses in your community, and understand the importance of preserving buildings as part of a community's history. (National Historic Landmarks)
Waterford, Virginia: From Mill Town to National Historic Landmark (88)
Examine continuity and change in this rural Virginia town from its founding to today. Also write a history of your town or neighborhood by researching when it was founded and why, as well its occupational history. (National Historic Landmark)
Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence (106)
Examine the inextricable connections binding railroads, North Dakota wheat fields, and Minnesota flour mills during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park/Includes Pillsbury A Mill, a National Historic Landmark)
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House (Lightning Lesson #1)
Follow the footsteps a free African American woman who defied an oppressive culture and broke barriers in education, newspaper publishing, and law before and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
Back Stairs at Brucemore: Life as Servants in early 20th-Century America (105)
Understand the "servant" experience in early 20th-century America, as well as the pros and cons for women working in factories versus domestic service.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Moravian Settlement in Colonial America (59)
Learn why Moravians immigrated to the New World and how the towns they established embodied their religious beliefs.
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California
Understand the experience of early Asian immigrants and the obstacles they encountered as they struggled to make a living and find a place in American society. (Locke is a National Historic Landmark)
Log Cabins in America: The Finnish Experience (4)
Consider how simple, functional cabins, like those built by the Finns in Idaho, became symbols in American politics and folklore.
The No. 2 Quincy Shaft-Rockhouse: 9,240 Feet into the Earth (152)
Enter a historic company town and descend deep into the copper mines of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, where labor unrest upset an industry and changed a community in the early 20th century. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Paterson, New Jersey: America's Silk City (102)
Learn about the causes and effects of a famous silk industry strike and how it affected those who were involved. (The Pietro Botto House is a National Historic Landmark. Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park is a National Park.)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Savannah, Georgia: The Lasting Legacy of Colonial City Planning (83)
Learn about James Oglethorpe and his enduring city plan from the colonial era. (National Historic Landmark)
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
The War Relocation Centers of World War II: When Fear Was Stronger than Justice (89)
Learn what led the U.S. government to confine nearly 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to relocation centers in remote areas of the country during World War II. (Manzanar is a National Park and National Historic Landmark. Rohwer is a National Historic Landmark.)
Alaska's Site Summit: Cold War Defense and its Legacy in the North (153)
Cross the security fences, pass the checkpoints, and discover this Cold War missile defense facility that defended a city and helped grow Alaska's economy.
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. (National Historic Landmark)
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
Fort Hancock: A Bastion of the Eastern Seaboard (37)
Examine how changing military technology and U.S. budget debates influenced the development of Fort Hancock and the U.S. coastal defense system. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean (60)
Discover how Spanish fortifications on the island of Puerto Rico helped protect Spain's expanding interests in the New World. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
La versión en español Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan: Guardianes del Caribe
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Independence Hall: International Symbol of Freedom (132)
Learn about Independence Hall and about how the international influence of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution led to the designation of the building in which they were adopted as a World Heritage Site. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization.(National Historic Landmark)
Ladd Field and the Lend-Lease Mission: Defending Alaska in WWII (146)
Discover how a small town in a remote U.S. territory played a large role in defending the United States and its allies during World War II.
Locke and Walnut Grove: Havens for Early Asian Immigrants in California
Understand the experience of early Asian immigrants and the obstacles they encountered as they struggled to make a living and find a place in American society. (Locke is a National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: Protecting a Legacy of the Cold War (128)
Examine how the escalation of the Cold War led to the development and deployment of the Minuteman Missile system and investigate the role of missileers as America's "peacekeepers." (National Park)
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Saratoga: The Tide Turns on the Frontier (93)
Learn about 18th-century warfare and the battle that was a turning point of the American Revolution. (National Park)
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
Thaw in the Cold War: Eisenhower and Khrushchev at Gettysburg (29)
Delve into a superpower meeting and discover how President Eisenhower's brand of diplomacy at this Pennsylvania farm temporarily eased the tensions of the Cold War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Woodrow Wilson: Prophet of Peace (14)
Examine Wilson's struggle to achieve lasting world peace following World War I. (National Historic Landmark)
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
Arthurdale: A New Deal Community Experiment (157)
Welcome to historic Arthurdale, West Virginia, a New Deal village built from the ground-up for coal miners and their families during the Great Depression.
Back Stairs at Brucemore: Life as Servants in early 20th-Century America (105)
Understand the "servant" experience in early 20th-century America, as well as the pros and cons for women working in factories versus domestic service.
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Building of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (10)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
Hopewell Furnace: A Pennsylvania Iron-making Plantation (97)
Explore how Hopewell functioned as a productive work unit and how work defined social relationships in this early National period community. (National Park)
The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories (25)
Tour Edison's West Orange complex where his creative combination of research, production, and marketing revolutionized the business of invention. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Mechanics Hall: Symbol of Pride and Industry (87)
Examine how the advent of industrialization in 19th-century America impacted the workforce in New England's Blackstone River Valley. (Mechanics Hall is included in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.)
The No. 2 Quincy Shaft-Rockhouse: 9,240 Feet into the Earth (152)
Enter a historic company town and descend deep into the copper mines of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, where labor unrest upset an industry and changed a community in the early 20th century. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Ohio and Erie Canal: Catalyst of Economic Development for Ohio (41)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)
Paterson, New Jersey: America's Silk City (102)
Learn about the causes and effects of a famous silk industry strike and how it affected those who were involved. (The Pietro Botto House is a National Historic Landmark. Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park is a National Park.)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Saugus Iron Works: Life and Work at an Early American Industrial Site (30)
Unearth the remains of colonial America's first fully integrated ironworks, and consider what reconstruction of the site reveals about daily life for some early European settlers. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
Thurmond: A Town Born from Coal Mines and Railroads (28)
Examine the complex and often dangerous daily routine at the Thurmond train depot, and learn how rail workers were immortalized by some of the people they served. (National Park)
When Rice Was King (3)
Investigate early rice plantations in Georgetown, South Carolina, to learn how rice cultivation transformed the native environment and promoted the South's dependence on a plantation economy.
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Place for Study and Recreation (56)
Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Chicago's Columbus Park: The Prairie Idealized (81)
Learn about a famous landscape artist and his efforts to promote conservation and an appreciation for the native plant life of the United States.
“The Electric Project”: The Minidoka Dam and Powerplant (160)
Discover the science and early history of hydroelectric power at the historic Minidoka Powerplant, where rural electrification and irrigation changed the lives of early 20th century homesteaders.
The Emerald Necklace: Boston's Green Connection (86)
Learn about Frederick Law Olmsted and his philosophy about parks and cities as well as city life during the Industrial Revolution. (Includes Arnold Arboretum, a National Historic Landmark)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Mount Auburn Cemetery: A New American Landscape (84)
Explore the country's first large-scale designed landscape open to the public that spawned the development of other rural cemeteries, public parks, and designed suburbs.
Savannah, Georgia: The Lasting Legacy of Colonial City Planning (83)
Learn about James Oglethorpe and his enduring city plan from the colonial era. (National Historic Landmark)
Leadership
Play ball! This lesson uses the Daytona Beach ballpark where Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier to explore racism and sports in American history.
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
Chicago's Columbus Park: The Prairie Idealized (81)
Learn about Jens Jenson, a famous landscape artist, who led early-20th century efforts to promote conservation and an appreciation for the native plant life of the United States.
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the leadership of the federal government in communities across the country. Historically and today, a new federal building symbolizes the strength and stability of the federal government and is viewed by citizens as a testament to their city’s prosperity and importance.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the leadership of the town founders and the commercial prosperity of this western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Explore some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and learn about the leadership of NPS Director Stephen Mather and engineer Frank Kittredge in designing and building this road in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, the fragile and beautiful landscape of Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet John Marshall, who led the U.S. Supreme Court from obscurity and weakness to prominence and power in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to see how his early experiences helped shape his leadership role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories (25)
Tour Edison's West Orange complex, where his creative combination of research, production, and marketing revolutionized the business of invention. (National Park)
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how Pierre Samuel du Pont, an early 20th-century philanthropist, reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
"Journey from Slavery to Statesman": The Homes of Frederick Douglass (147)
Follow Frederick Douglass on his journey from life as a slave to that of a respected statesman and investigate how three homes reflect the different phases of his life. (Wye House, the Nathan and Polly Johnson House, and Cedar Hill are National Historic Landmarks. Cedar Hill and the Nathan and Polly Johnson House are each a resource of a National Park.)
The Joseph Bellamy House: The Great Awakening in Puritan New England (85)
Examine the influence of Reverend Joseph Bellamy, a leading preacher in New England from 1740-1790, in colonial American religion and learn about the role of religion in 18th-century life, as well as the resurgence of religious fervor known as the Great Awakening.
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women, led by Alice Paul, selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation's leadership helped transform the arid valley of the Rio Grande with the construction of Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Meet Mary McLeod Bethune and learn how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women.(National Park)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the leaders who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South. (Brown Chapel AME Church and the First Confederate Capitol are National Historic Landmarks)
Thaw in the Cold War: Eisenhower and Khrushchev at Gettysburg (29)
Delve into a superpower meeting and discover how President Eisenhower's brand of diplomacy at this Pennsylvania farm temporarily eased the tensions of the Cold War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site: Birthplace of the Modern Presidency (77)
Examine the circumstances under which Theodore Roosevelt first became President of the United States and how his policies and actions modernized the presidency. (National Park)
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Thomas P. Kennard House: Building a Prairie Capital (149)
Explore the leadership of state capitol commissioners in founding Lincoln, Nebraska, setting the tone for a new capital city, and ensuring its success.
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, with its remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
A Woman's Place Is In the Sewall-Belmont House: Alice Paul and Women's Rights (148)
Meet activist leader Alice Paul and visit the headquarters of her National Woman's Party in Washington, DC, to learn how American women organized to increase their political rights in the 20th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Woodrow Wilson: Prophet of Peace (14)
Examine Wilson's struggle to achieve lasting world peace following World War I. (National Historic Landmark)
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people, each of whom changed the business world in their own way. (National Historic Landmarks)
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House (Lightning Lesson #1)
Follow the footsteps a free African American woman who defied an oppressive culture and broke barriers in education, newspaper publishing, and law before and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Midway: Turning the Tide in the Pacific (90)
Discover the important role these tiny Pacific islands played in World War II.(National Historic Landmark)
Decatur House: A Home of the Rich and Powerful (19)
Inspect Commodore Stephen Decatur's home near the White House, a gathering place for the politically ambitious, and learn why the naval hero felt compelled to fight a fateful duel. (National Historic Landmark)
Fort Hancock: A Bastion of America's Eastern Seaboard (37)
Examine how changing military technology and U.S. budget debates influenced the development of Fort Hancock and the U.S. coastal defense system. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Fort Morgan and the Battle of Mobile Bay (73)
Follow Admiral Farragut's attack on Fort Morgan and Mobile Bay, and consider the human reaction to technologies such as ironclads and underwater mines. (National Historic Landmark)
Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean (60)
Discover how Spanish fortifications on the island of Puerto Rico helped protect Spain's expanding interests in the New World. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
La versión en español Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan: Guardianes del Caribe
Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War (116)
Learn how the United States mobilized a massive construction effort to build a large merchant fleet to serve in war and peace. (The SS Red Oak Victory is part of a National Park. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the SS Lane Victory are National Historic Landmarks.)
Life on an Island: Early Settlers Off the Rock-Bound Coast of Maine (16)
Discover how early settlers survived on Maine's coastal islands despite harsh living conditions. (National Park)
Little Kinnakeet Lifesaving Station: Home to Unsung Heroes (57)
Learn about the United States Lifesaving Service daring rescues to save imperiled lives from the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." (National Park)
Navesink Lighthouse and Robbins Reef Lighthouse: Lighting the Way through New York Bay (131)
Learn about two historic lighthouses that illustrate how technological advancements contributed to maritime safety and about the isolated, often routine, but sometimes heroic lives led by their keepers.(Navesink Light Station is a National Historic Landmark.)
The Ohio and Erie Canal: Catalyst of Economic Development for Ohio (41)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial (18)
Trace the course of the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and consider the significance of the sunken USS Arizona as a war memorial. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
Revolutionary War
The Battle of Bennington: An American Victory (107)
Learn how a battle in a tiny valley near the frontier in northern New York helped determine whether the American colonies would become an independent nation.
(National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Bunker Hill: Now We Are at War (42)
Learn how this American Revolution battle spurred colonial unity and sparked the formation of the Continental Army. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Oriskany: "Blood Shed a Stream Running Down" (79)
Learn how New York's Mohawk Valley became the setting for a fierce Revolutionary War battle that pitted residents of the area, including the nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, against each other.
(National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Embattled Farmers and the Shot Heard Round The World: The Battles of Lexington and Concord (150)
Walk the road where the “shot heard ‘round the world” sparked the American Revolution, and investigate how works of art both depicted and shaped our memory of these dramatic battles. (National Park)
Guilford Courthouse: A Pivotal Battle in the War for Independence (32)
Learn how the deceptive results of this battle in the backwoods of North Carolina helped set the stage for American victory. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Independence Hall: International Symbol of Freedom (132)
Learn about Independence Hall and about how the international influence of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution led to the designation of the building in which they were adopted as a World Heritage Site. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Saratoga: The Tide Turns on the Frontier (93)
Learn about 18th-century warfare and the battle that was a turning point of the American Revolution. (National Park)
War of 1812
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Mexican War
Glorieta and Raton Passes: Gateways to the Southwest (117)
Learn how these remote passes in the mountains influenced the course of the westward expansion of the United States. (National Park/Raton Pass is a National Historic Landmark.)
Civil War
Andersonville: Prisoner of War Camp (11)
Examine conditions of the Civil War's most notorious prison, and learn how inmates were able to cope. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Battle of Bentonville: Caring for Casualties of the Civil War (69)
Understand how battlefield medical care developed during the Civil War, particularly in the Union Army. (National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Glorieta Pass: A Shattered Dream (91)
Discover how the Battle of Glorieta Pass ended the Confederacy's dream of expanding westward to the Pacific Ocean. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Honey Springs: The Civil War Comes to the Indian Territory (68)
Learn how the Civil War created fierce conflicts among American Indian nations who had been moved across the Mississippi River.
The Battle of Mill Springs: The Civil War Divides a Border State (72)
Use one of the Civil War's key early battles to understand the conflicts that faced border states such as Kentucky during and after the war. (National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War (70)
Understand the violence of the Civil War through the eyes of young women whose homes were in the midst of an important battle and continuing conflict.
The Battle of Stones River: The Soldiers' Story (40)
Recall one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles, which raged through the rocky cedar glades of Tennessee, as told in eyewitness and personal accounts. (National Park)
Chatham Plantation: Witness to the Civil War (45)
Learn why this home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a center of military activity, and consider the impact the war had on those whose property became part of the battlefield. (National Park)
Choices and Commitments: The Soldiers at Gettysburg (44)
Trace the course of this Civil War battle and consider the wrenching personal choices that were made by soldiers on each side. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"Comfortable Camps?" Archeology of the Confederate Guard Camp at the Florence Stockade (142)
Learn about the life of the Confederate guards at the Florence Stockade Civil War prison camp and discover how archeology revealed much of this information.
First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence (12)
Study personal accounts of soldiers who fought in the first battle of the Civil War, and discover how the day set the tone for the many bloody battles to come. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Fort Morgan and the Battle of Mobile Bay (73)
Follow Admiral Farragut's attack on Fort Morgan and Mobile Bay, and consider the human reaction to technologies such as ironclads and underwater mines. (National Historic Landmark)
Fort Pickens and the Outbreak of the Civil War (38)
Discover why Fort Pickens was so valuable to both the Union and Confederacy, and follow the actions of the military commanders faced with crucial decisions. (National Park)
Glorieta and Raton Passes: Gateways to the Southwest (117)
Learn how these remote passes in the mountains influenced the course of the westward expansion of the United States. (National Park/Raton Pass is a National Historic Landmark.)
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball and explore how American citizens celebrate their leaders taking office. (National Historic Landmark)
"Journey from Slavery to Statesman": The Homes of Frederick Douglass (147)
Follow Frederick Douglass on his journey from life as a slave to that of a respected statesman and investigate how three homes reflect the different phases of his life. (Wye House, the Nathan and Polly Johnson House, and Cedar Hill are National Historic Landmarks. Cedar Hill and the Nathan and Polly Johnson House are each a resource of a National Park.)
Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory (127)
Learn how Abraham Lincoln's belief in freedom and democracy, his eloquence, and the support of family and community propelled him to the White House and uplifted him through the turbulent Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
A Nation Repays Its Debt: The National Soldiers' Home and Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio (115)
Learn about the evolution of a system to honor and care for U.S. veterans beginning with the creation of soldiers' homes and national cemeteries during and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
Not to Be Forgotten: Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery (123)
Learn about the history of Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, and about the federal government's policies guiding the marking of POW graves during and after the Civil War.
President Lincoln's Cottage: A Retreat (138)
Explore President Abraham Lincoln’s life at a country retreat during summer months and examine the work he completed there on the Emancipation Proclamation. (National Historic Landmark)
The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War (113)
Understand how newly developed technologies affected two military engagements and one tiny town in Mississippi during the Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Siege of Port Hudson: "Forty Days and Nights in the Wilderness of Death" (71)
Understand the importance of the Mississippi to both the North and South during the Civil War, and the differences between a siege and a regular battle. (National Historic Landmark)
These Honored Dead: The Battle of Rivers Bridge and Civil War Combat Casualties (94)
Learn how veteran soldiers adapted to the technological changes that had increased the deadliness of the battlefield, and understand the cost of the Civil War in human terms.
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House (Lightning Lesson #1)
Follow the footsteps a free African American woman who defied an oppressive culture and broke barriers in education, newspaper publishing, and law before and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
World War I
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Woodrow Wilson: Prophet of Peace (14)
Examine Wilson's struggle to achieve lasting world peace following World War I. (National Historic Landmark)
World War II
Attu: North American Battleground of World War II (7)
Examine military maps and photos to better understand why an isolated battle on a remote island in Alaska alarmed the nation. (National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Midway: Turning the Tide in the Pacific (90)
Discover the important role these tiny Pacific islands played in World War II.(National Historic Landmark)
Floyd Bennett Field: Naval Aviation's Home in Brooklyn (120)
Learn about the vital role played by naval aviators delivering aircraft to combat-bound units in the Pacific during WWII, and the women workers on the home front who helped in one of U.S. history's greatest industrial feats. (National Park)
Ladd Field and the Lend-Lease Mission: Defending Alaska in WWII (146)
Discover how a small town in a remote U.S. territory played a large role in defending the United States and its allies during World War II.
Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War (116)
Learn how the United States mobilized a massive construction effort to build a large merchant fleet to serve in war and peace. (The SS Red Oak Victory is part of a National Park. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the SS Lane Victory are National Historic Landmarks.)
Remembering Pearl Harbor: The USS Arizona Memorial (18)
Trace the course of the Japanese surprise attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, and consider the significance of the sunken USS Arizona as a war memorial. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Cold War
Alaska's Site Summit: Cold War Defense and its Legacy in the North (153)
Cross the security fences, pass the checkpoints, and discover this Cold War missile defense facility that defended a city and helped grow Alaska's economy.
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. (National Historic Landmark)
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: Protecting a Legacy of the Cold War (128)
Examine how the escalation of the Cold War led to the development and deployment of the Minuteman Missile system and investigate the role of missileers as America's "peacekeepers." (National Park)
Thaw in the Cold War: Eisenhower and Khrushchev at Gettysburg (29)
Delve into a superpower meeting and discover how President Eisenhower's brand of diplomacy at this Pennsylvania farm temporarily eased the tensions of the Cold War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Other
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century and learn how these conflicting views ultimately affected the Creeks. (National Park)
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Fort Hancock: A Bastion of America's Eastern Seaboard (37)
Examine how changing military technology and U.S. budget debates influenced the development of Fort Hancock and the U.S. coastal defense system. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Forts of Old San Juan: Guardians of the Caribbean (60)
Discover how Spanish fortifications on the island of Puerto Rico helped protect Spain's expanding interests in the New World. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site) La versión en español Los Castillos del Viejo San Juan: Guardianes del Caribe
Frederica: An 18thCentury Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
A Nation Repays Its Debt: The National Soldiers' Home and Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio (115)
Learn about the evolution of a system to honor and care for U.S. veterans beginning with the creation of soldiers' homes and national cemeteries during and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
Carnegie Libraries: The Future Made Bright (50)
Discover how and why industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie chose libraries to be among his greatest benefactions to the U.S., and assess the impact of libraries on American society.
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Iron Hill School: An African-American One-Room School (58)
Discover how an early 20th-century philanthropist reformed Delaware's education system for African-American children.
A Nation Repays Its Debt:The National Soldiers' Home and Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio (115)
Learn about the evolution of a system to honor and care for U.S. veterans beginning with the creation of soldiers' homes and national cemeteries during and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
Not to Be Forgotten: Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery (123)
Learn about the history of Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, and about the federal government's policies guiding the marking of POW graves during and after the Civil War.
The Rosenwald Schools: Progressive Era Philanthropy in the Segregated South (159)
Discover how community activism and a partnership between a white businessman and a leading black educator built 5,000 schools for African American students in the early 20th century.
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site: Monument to the Gilded Age (78)
Discover how the Vanderbilts became one of the wealthiest families in America and how their lifestyle influenced business, culture, architecture, and society in ways that still affect us today. (National Park)
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn about its evolution as a habitat for the Paiute Indians to its settlement by the pioneering Mormons to a popular tourist destination. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
“The Electric Project”: The Minidoka Dam and Powerplant (160)
Discover the science and early history of hydroelectric power at the historic Minidoka Powerplant, where rural electrification and irrigation changed the lives of early 20th century homesteaders.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Keys Ranch: Where Time Stood Still (65)
Meet Bill Keys, a self-reliant 20th-century homesteader whose ingenuity allowed him to thrive in the inhospitable California desert. (National Park)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Forging Greatness during Lincoln's Youth
Meet the people and learn of events that influenced the development of Abraham Lincoln's character and personality as a youth on the Indiana frontier. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thomas P. Kennard House: Building a Prairie Capital (149)
Explore early Lincoln, Nebraska, to visit the historic Kennard House and to learn about how this grand building set the tone for a new capital city
Alaska's Site Summit: Cold War Defense and its Legacy in the North (153)
Cross the security fences, pass the checkpoints, and discover this Cold War missile defense facility that defended a city and helped grow Alaska's economy.
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century, and learn how the campaign against the Creeks increased Andrew Jackson's popularity among American citizens, which helped him win the presidency. (National Park)
Birthplace of John F. Kennedy: Home of the Boy Who Would Be President (33)
Visit JFK's birthplace and consider the effects of culture and community in shaping character and personality. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Discover a historic campus in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where an American military officer's boarding school experiment brought American Indian children from across the continent at the turn of the century. (National Historic Landmark)
Decatur House: A Home of the Rich and Powerful (19)
Inspect Commodore Stephen Decatur's home near the White House, a gathering place for the politically ambitious, and learn why the naval hero felt compelled to fight a fateful duel. (National Historic Landmark)
“The Electric Project”: The Minidoka Dam and Powerplant (160)
Discover the science and early history of hydroelectric power at the historic Minidoka Powerplant, where rural electrification and irrigation changed the lives of early 20th century homesteaders.
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
Fort Hancock: A Bastion of America's Eastern Seaboard (37)
Examine how changing military technology and U.S. budget debates influenced the development of Fort Hancock and the U.S. coastal defense system. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act
Learn how the National Historic Preservation Act has affected your community in this lesson, prepared for the History Channel's Make History, Save History outreach initiative.
Fort Pickens and the Outbreak of the Civil War (38)
Discover why Fort Pickens was so valuable to both the Union and Confederacy, and follow the actions of the military commanders faced with crucial decisions. (National Park)
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet John Marshall, who led the U.S. Supreme Court from obscurity and weakness to prominence and power in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Harry Truman and Independence, Missouri: "This is Where I Belong" (103)
Learn why the life of the 33rd U.S. President serves as an example of civic duty and explore the town that helped form his character. (National Park/Includes Harry S Truman Historic District, a National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball and explore how American citizens celebrate their leaders taking office. (National Historic Landmark)
Independence Hall: International Symbol of Freedom (132)
Learn about Independence Hall and about how the international influence of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution led to the designation of the building in which they were adopted as a World Heritage Site. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Ladd Field and the Lend-Lease Mission: Defending Alaska in WWII (146)
Discover how a small town in a remote U.S. territory played a large role in defending the United States and its allies during World War II.
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"Journey from Slavery to Statesman": The Homes of Frederick Douglass (147)
Follow Frederick Douglass on his journey from life as a slave to that of a respected statesman and investigate how three homes reflect the different phases of his life. (Wye House, the Nathan and Polly Johnson House, and Cedar Hill are National Historic Landmarks. Cedar Hill and the Nathan and Polly Johnson House are each a resource of a National Park.)
The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon (36)
Analyze the influences that shaped the symbolic meaning of the bell, and evaluate the various claims as to how and when it was cracked. (National Park)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Where Man and Memory Intersect (144)
Discover the power of place in honoring President Lincoln's origins and consider how the nation uses memorial structures and landscapes to express respect for its heroes and to celebrate anniversaries. (National Park)
Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory (127)
Learn how Abraham Lincoln's belief in freedom and democracy, his eloquence, and the support of family and community propelled him to the White House and uplifted him through the turbulent Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Log Cabins in America: The Finnish Experience (4)
Consider how simple, functional cabins, like those built by the Finns in Idaho, became symbols in American politics and folklore.
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Martin Van Buren's "Return to the Soil" (39)
Follow this president to the White House and Lindenwald in the rough-and-tumble world of early 19th century politics. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: Protecting a Legacy of the Cold War (128)
Examine how the escalation of the Cold War led to the development and deployment of the Minuteman Missile system and investigate the role of missileers as America's "peacekeepers." (National Park)
A Nation Repays Its Debt: The National Soldiers' Home and Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio (115)
Learn about the evolution of a system to honor and care for U.S. veterans beginning with the creation of soldiers' homes and national cemeteries during and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
Not to Be Forgotten: Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery (123)
Learn about the history of Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, and about the federal government's policies guiding the marking of POW graves during and after the Civil War.
The Octagon of Washington, D.C.: The House that Helped Build a Capital (151)
Enter The Octagon of Washington, DC, to discover how a historic brick house offered grandeur and stability to the new capital of the United States in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
President Lincoln's Cottage: A Retreat (138)
Explore President Abraham Lincoln’s life at a country retreat during summer months and examine the work he completed there on the Emancipation Proclamation. (National Historic Landmark)
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
Thaw in the Cold War: Eisenhower and Khrushchev at Gettysburg (29)
Delve into a superpower meeting and discover how President Eisenhower's brand of diplomacy at this Pennsylvania farm temporarily eased the tensions of the Cold War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site: Birthplace of the Modern Presidency (77)
Examine the circumstances under which Theodore Roosevelt first became President of the United States and how his policies and actions modernized the presidency. (National Park)
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone (62)
Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor. (National Park)
A Woman's Place Is In the Sewall-Belmont House: Alice Paul and Women's Rights (148)
Meet activist Alice Paul and visit the headquarters of her National Woman's Party in Washington, DC, to learn how American women organized to increase their political rights in the 20th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Woodrow Wilson: Prophet of Peace (14)
Examine Wilson's struggle to achieve lasting world peace following World War I. (National Historic Landmark)
Recreation/Leisure/Tourism
Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Camp Misty Mount: A Place for Regrowth (47)
Inspect a recreational demonstration area (RDA) in western Maryland, created as part of a Great Depression government relief program. (National Park)
Chicago's Columbus Park: The Prairie Idealized (81)
Learn about a famous landscape artist and his efforts to promote conservation and an appreciation for the native plant life of the United States.
The Emerald Necklace: Boston's Green Connection (86)
Learn about Frederick Law Olmsted and his philosophy about parks and cities as well as city life during the Industrial Revolution. (Includes Arnold Arboretum, a National Historic Landmark)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories (25)
Tour Edison's West Orange complex where his creative combination of research, production, and marketing revolutionized the business of invention. (National Park)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Where Man and Memory Intersect (144)
Discover the power of place in honoring President Lincoln's origins and consider how the nation uses memorial structures and landscapes to express respect for its heroes and to celebrate anniversaries. (National Park)
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Mechanics Hall: Symbol of Pride and Industry (87)
Examine how the advent of industrialization in 19th-century America impacted the workforce in New England's Blackstone River Valley. (Mechanics Hall is included in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.)
Mount Auburn Cemetery: A New American Landscape (84)
Explore the country's first large-scale designed landscape open to the public that spawned the development of other rural cemeteries, public parks, and designed suburbs.
Run for Your Lives! The Johnstown Flood of 1889 (5)
Determine how environmental management, technology, and the actions of 19th-century industrialists contributed to a disaster in Pennsylvania that shocked the nation. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.Regional Studies
The South
An American Success Story: The Pope House of Raleigh, NC (124)
Meet Dr. Manassa T. Pope, an African-American doctor and entrepreneur in the early 20th century, and learn about his efforts to gain civil rights well before the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Andersonville: Prisoner of War Camp (11)
Examine conditions of the Civil War's most notorious prison, and learn how inmates were able to cope. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Battle of Bentonville: Caring for Casualties of the Civil War (69)
Understand how battlefield medical care developed during the Civil War, particularly in the Union Army. (National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century and learn how these conflicting views ultimately affected the Creeks. (National Park)
The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War (70)
Understand the violence of the Civil War through the eyes of young women whose homes were in the midst of an important battle and continuing conflict.
The Battle of Stones River: The Soldiers' Story (40)
Recall one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles, which raged through the rocky cedar glades of Tennessee, as told in eyewitness and personal accounts. (National Park)
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America (121)
Learn about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (Monroe Elementary School [now Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site] is a unit of the National Park Service/Robert Russa Moton High School, Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools, Howard High School, and John Philip Sousa Middle School are National Historic Landmarks.)
Chatham Plantation: Witness to the Civil War (45)
Learn why this home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a center of military activity, and consider the impact the war had on those whose property became part of the battlefield. (National Park)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence (12)
Study personal accounts of soldiers who fought in the first battle of the Civil War, and discover how the day set the tone for the many bloody battles to come. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Fort Morgan and the Battle of Mobile Bay (73)
Follow Admiral Farragut's attack on Fort Morgan and Mobile Bay, and consider the human reaction to technologies such as ironclads and underwater mines. (National Historic Landmark)
Fort Pickens and the Outbreak of the Civil War (38)
Discover why Fort Pickens was so valuable to both the Union and Confederacy, and follow the actions of the military commanders faced with crucial decisions. (National Park)
Frederica: An 18th Century Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet John Marshall, who led the U.S. Supreme Court from obscurity and weakness to prominence and power in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
Savannah, Georgia: The Lasting Legacy of Colonial City Planning (83)
Learn about James Oglethorpe and his enduring city plan from the colonial era. (National Historic Landmark)
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War (113)
Understand how newly developed technologies affected two military engagements and one tiny town in Mississippi during the Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South. (Brown Chapel AME Church and the First Confederate Capitol are National Historic Landmarks)
The Siege of Port Hudson: "Forty Days and Nights in the Wilderness of Death" (71)
Understand the importance of the Mississippi to both the North and South during the Civil War, and the differences between a siege and a regular battle. (National Historic Landmark)
These Honored Dead: The Battle of Rivers Bridge and Civil War Combat Casualties (94)
Learn how veteran soldiers adapted to the technological changes that had increased the deadliness of the battlefield, and understand the cost of the Civil War in human terms.
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
When Rice Was King (3)
Investigate early rice plantations in Georgetown, South Carolina, to learn how rice cultivation transformed the native environment and promoted the South's dependence on a plantation economy.
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
The West
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
The Battle of Glorieta Pass: A Shattered Dream (91)
Discover how the Battle of Glorieta Pass ended the Confederacy's dream of expanding westward to the Pacific Ocean. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Honey Springs: The Civil War Comes to the Indian Territory (68)
Learn how the Civil War created fierce conflicts among American Indian nations who had been moved across the Mississippi River.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change (8)
Evaluate several centuries of dramatic changes to an adobe ranch house and its surroundings in suburban Long Beach to analyze the interaction between Spanish and Anglo culture in California.
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Coffeyville, Kansas: The Town That Stopped the Dalton Gang (99)
Learn how a tradition of outlawry developed in Kansas and how people in Coffeyville fought back.
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Glorieta and Raton Passes: Gateways to the Southwest (117)
Learn how these remote passes in the mountains influenced the course of the westward expansion of the United States. (National Park/Raton Pass is a National Historic Landmark.)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
The Hispano Ranchos of Northern New Mexico: Continuity and Change (96)
Understand the ways in which ranchos in northern New Mexico provide evidence of the ability of Hispano culture to adapt to new influences while still maintaining its traditional character.
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archeological evidence. (National Park)
Keys Ranch: Where Time Stood Still (65)
Meet Bill Keys, a self-reliant 20th-century homesteader whose ingenuity allowed him to thrive in the inhospitable California desert. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Where Man and Memory Intersect (144)
Discover the power of place in honoring President Lincoln's origins and consider how the nation uses memorial structures and landscapes to express respect for its heroes and to celebrate anniversaries. (National Park)
Log Cabins in America: The Finnish Experience (4)
Consider how simple, functional cabins, like those built by the Finns in Idaho, became symbols in American politics and folklore.
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)Religion
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Moravian Settlement in Colonial America (59)
Learn why Moravians immigrated to the New World and how the towns they established embodied their religious beliefs.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
The Joseph Bellamy House: The Great Awakening in Puritan New England (85)
Examine the influence of Reverend Joseph Bellamy, a leading preacher in New England from 1740-1790, in colonial American religion and learn about the role of religion in 18th-century life, as well as the resurgence of religious fervor known as the Great Awakening.
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas (2)
Explore a group of 18th-century missions in modern San Antonio to learn about Spanish influence on native peoples and the patterns of Texas culture. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Science and Technology
Alaska's Site Summit: Cold War Defense and its Legacy in the North (153)
Cross the security fences, pass the checkpoints, and discover this Cold War missile defense facility that defended a city and helped grow Alaska's economy.
Allegheny Portage Railroad: Developing Transportation Technology (23)
Follow 19th-century travelers as they cross the treacherous Allegheny Mountains using an innovative inclined railway. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. (National Historic Landmark)
Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Place for Study and Recreation (56)
Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Where the Wright Brothers Conquered the Air (111)
Discover the early influences that inspired the Wright brothers as inventors and the importance of the Wright Cycle Company Complex where they developed the key mechanical skills that profoundly impacted their invention of the airplane. (National Park/The Wright Cycle Company building is a National Historic Landmark)
“The Electric Project”: The Minidoka Dam and Powerplant (160)
Discover the science and early history of hydroelectric power at the historic Minidoka Powerplant, where rural electrification and irrigation changed the lives of early 20th century homesteaders.
Fort Hancock: A Bastion of the Eastern Seaboard (37)
Examine how changing military technology and U.S. budget debates influenced the development of Fort Hancock and the U.S. coastal defense system. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Fort Morgan and the Battle of Mobile Bay (73)
Follow Admiral Farragut's attack on Fort Morgan and Mobile Bay, and consider the human reaction to technologies such as ironclads and underwater mines. (National Historic Landmark)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball, held in a government building established to house American patents and patent models. (National Historic Landmark)
Hopewell Furnace: A Pennsylvania Iron-making Plantation (97)
Explore how Hopewell functioned as a productive work unit and how work defined social relationships in this early National period community. (National Park)
The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories (25)
Tour Edison's West Orange complex where his creative combination of research, production, and marketing revolutionized the business of invention. (National Park)
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archeological evidence. (National Park)
Ladd Field and the Lend-Lease Mission: Defending Alaska in WWII (146)
Discover how a small town in a remote U.S. territory played a large role in defending the United States and its allies during World War II.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest (108)
Learn how the 1804-1806 expedition effectively opened the Northwest to the influence of the United States, established relations with numerous American Indian nations, and gathered useful scientific documentation about the West. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War (116)
Learn how the United States mobilized a massive construction effort to build a large merchant fleet to serve in war and peace. (The SS Red Oak Victory is part of a National Park. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the SS Lane Victory are National Historic Landmarks.)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: Protecting a Legacy of the Cold War (128)
Examine how the escalation of the Cold War led to the development and deployment of the Minuteman Missile system and investigate the role of missileers as America's "peacekeepers." (National Park)
Navesink Lighthouse and Robbins Reef Lighthouse: Lighting the Way through New York Bay (131)
Learn about two historic lighthouses that illustrate how technological advancements contributed to maritime safety and about the isolated, often routine, but sometimes heroic lives led by their keepers.(Navesink Light Station is a National Historic Landmark.)
The No. 2 Quincy Shaft-Rockhouse: 9,240 Feet into the Earth (152)
Enter a historic company town and descend deep into the copper mines of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, where labor unrest upset an industry and changed a community in the early 20th century. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Run For Your Lives! The Johnstown Flood of 1889 (5)
Determine how environmental management, technology, and the actions of 19th-century industrialists contributed to a disaster in Pennsylvania that shocked the nation. (National Park)
San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas (2)
Explore a group of 18th-century missions in modern San Antonio to learn about Spanish influence on native peoples and the patterns of Texas culture. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Saugus Iron Works: Life and Work at an Early American Industrial Site (30)
Unearth the remains of colonial America's first fully integrated ironworks, and consider what reconstruction of the site reveals about daily life for some early European settlers. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War (113)
Understand how newly developed technologies affected two military engagements and one tiny town in Mississippi during the Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
These Honored Dead: The Battle of Rivers Bridge and Civil War Combat Casualties (94)
Learn how veteran soldiers adapted to the technological changes that had increased the deadliness of the battlefield, and understand the cost of the Civil War in human terms.
Thurmond: A Town Born from Coal Mines and Railroads (28)
Examine the complex and often dangerous daily routines at the Thurmond train depot, and learn how rail workers were immortalized by some of the people they served. (National Park)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Wright Brothers National Memorial: Site of the First Controlled Powered Flight (109)
Discover why the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their flight experiments, how they achieved controlled powered flight in 1903, and how their accomplishments have been commemorated. (National Park)Transportation
Allegheny Portage Railroad: Developing Transportation Technology (23)
Follow 19th-century travelers as they cross the treacherous Allegheny Mountains using an innovative inclined railway. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. (National Historic Landmark)
At a Crossroads: The King of Prussia Inn (119)
Learn how transportation routes affected a local inn, how archeology revealed the inn's use over time, and how preservation efforts saved the historic site from suburban sprawl.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Building of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (10)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Where the Wright Brothers Conquered the Air (111)
Discover the early influences that inspired the Wright brothers as inventors and the importance of the Wright Cycle Company Complex where they developed the key mechanical skills that profoundly impacted their invention of the airplane. (National Park/The Wright Cycle Company building is a National Historic Landmark)
Floyd Bennett Field: Naval Aviation's Home in Brooklyn (120)
Learn about the vital role played by naval aviators delivering aircraft to combat-bound units in the Pacific during WWII, and the women workers on the home front who helped in one of U.S. history's greatest industrial feats. (National Park)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark)
Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War (116)
Learn how the United States mobilized a massive construction effort to build a large merchant fleet to serve in war and peace. (The SS Red Oak Victory is part of a National Park. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the SS Lane Victory are National Historic Landmarks.)
Little Kinnakeet Lifesaving Station: Home to Unsung Heroes (57)
Learn about the United States Lifesaving Service daring rescues to save imperiled lives from the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Navesink Lighthouse and Robbins Reef Lighthouse: Lighting the Way through New York Bay (131)
Learn about two historic lighthouses that illustrate how technological advancements contributed to maritime safety and about the isolated, often routine, but sometimes heroic lives led by their keepers.(Navesink Light Station is a National Historic Landmark.)
The Ohio and Erie Canal: Catalyst of Economic Development for Ohio (41)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War (113)
Understand how newly developed technologies affected two military engagements and one tiny town in Mississippi during the Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
Thurmond: A Town Born from Coal Mines and Railroads (28)
Examine the complex and often dangerous daily routines at the Thurmond train depot, and learn how rail workers were immortalized by some of the people they served. (National Park)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence (106)
Examine the inextricable connections binding railroads, North Dakota wheat fields, and Minnesota flour mills during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park/Includes Pillsbury A Mill, a National Historic Landmark)
Wright Brothers National Memorial: Site of the First Controlled Powered Flight (109)
Discover why the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their flight experiments, how they achieved controlled powered flight in 1903, and how their accomplishments have been commemorated. (National Park)U.S. Presidents
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century, and learn how the campaign against the Creeks increased Andrew Jackson's popularity among American citizens, which helped him win the presidency. (National Park)
Birthplace of John F. Kennedy: Home of the Boy Who Would Be President (33)
Visit JFK's birthplace and consider the effects of culture and community in shaping character and personality. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Choices and Commitments: The Soldiers at Gettysburg (44)
Trace the course of this Civil War battle and consider the wrenching personal choices that were made by soldiers on each side, and evaluate Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and its impact in regard to the occasion it was written to commemorate. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn how many Americans came to see Hoover Dam, planned and begun under Republican administrations, as an example of President Roosevelt’s New Deal in action. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Harry Truman and Independence, Missouri: "This is Where I Belong" (103)
Learn why the life of the 33rd U.S. President serves as an example of civic duty and explore the town that helped form his character. (National Park/Includes Harry S Truman Historic District, a National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball and explore how American citizens celebrate their leaders taking office. (National Historic Landmark)
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest (108)
Learn how Thomas Jefferson's vision of western expansion resulted in the 1804-1806 expedition which effectively opened the Northwest to the influence of the United States, established relations with numerous American Indian nations, and gathered useful scientific documentation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Forging Greatness during Lincoln's Youth (126)
Meet the people and learn of events that influenced the development of Abraham Lincoln's character and personality as a youth on the Indiana frontier. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Where Man and Memory Intersect (144)
Discover the power of place in honoring President Lincoln's origins and consider how the nation uses memorial structures and landscapes to express respect for its heroes and to celebrate anniversaries. (National Park)
Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory (127)
Learn how Abraham Lincoln's belief in freedom and democracy, his eloquence, and the support of family and community propelled him to the White House and uplifted him through the turbulent Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Martin Van Buren's "Return to the Soil" (39)
Follow this president to the White House and Lindenwald in the rough-and-tumble world of early 19th century politics. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
President Lincoln's Cottage: A Retreat (138)
Explore President Abraham Lincoln’s life at a country retreat during summer months and examine the work he completed there on the Emancipation Proclamation. (National Historic Landmark)
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
Thaw in the Cold War: Eisenhower and Khrushchev at Gettysburg (29)
Delve into a superpower meeting and discover how President Eisenhower's brand of diplomacy at this Pennsylvania farm temporarily eased the tensions of the Cold War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site: Birthplace of the Modern Presidency (77)
Examine the circumstances under which Theodore Roosevelt first became President of the United States and how his policies and actions modernized the presidency. (National Park)
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Dent Grant at White Haven Farm: The Missouri Compromise in American Life (154)
Discover the personal experiences of Americans in a nation divided politically on the issue of slavery through the early life of Ulysses S. Grant, who lived on a Missouri farm with his wife Julia Dent Grant and her slave-holding family in the 1850s. (National Park)
The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone (62)
Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor. (National Park)
Woodrow Wilson: Prophet of Peace (14)
Examine Wilson's struggle to achieve lasting world peace following World War I. (National Historic Landmark)Westward Expansion
Alaska's Site Summit: Cold War Defense and its Legacy in the North (153)
Cross the security fences, pass the checkpoints, and discover this Cold War missile defense facility that defended a city and helped grow Alaska's economy.
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Allegheny Portage Railroad: Developing Transportation Technology (23)
Follow 19th-century travelers as they cross the treacherous Allegheny Mountains using an innovative inclined railway. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Honey Springs: The Civil War Comes to the Indian Territory (68)
Learn how the Civil War created fierce conflicts among American Indian nations who had been moved across the Mississippi River.
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century and learn how these conflicting views ultimately affected the Creeks. (National Park)
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change (8)
Evaluate several centuries of dramatic changes to an adobe ranch house and its surroundings in suburban Long Beach to analyze the interaction between Spanish and Anglo culture in California.
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Coffeyville, Kansas: The Town That Stopped the Dalton Gang (99)
Learn how a tradition of outlawry developed in Kansas and how people in Coffeyville fought back.
“The Electric Project”: The Minidoka Dam and Powerplant (160)
Discover the science and early history of hydroelectric power at the historic Minidoka Powerplant, where rural electrification and irrigation changed the lives of early 20th century homesteaders.
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Glorieta and Raton Passes: Gateways to the Southwest (117)
Learn how these remote passes in the mountains influenced the course of the westward expansion of the United States. (National Park/Raton Pass is a National Historic Landmark.)
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark)
The Hispano Ranchos of Northern New Mexico: Continuity and Change (96)
Understand the ways in which ranchos in northern New Mexico provide evidence of the ability of Hispano culture to adapt to new influences while still maintaining its traditional character.
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Keys Ranch: Where Time Stood Still (65)
Meet Bill Keys, a self-reliant 20th-century homesteader whose ingenuity allowed him to thrive in the inhospitable California desert. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest (108)
Learn how the 1804-1806 expedition effectively opened the Northwest to the influence of the United States, established relations with numerous American Indian nations, and gathered useful scientific documentation about the West. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Forging Greatness during Lincoln's Youth (126)
Meet the people and learn of events that influenced the development of Abraham Lincoln's character and personality as a youth on the Indiana frontier. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thomas P. Kennard House: Building a Prairie Capital (149)
Explore early Lincoln, Nebraska, to visit the historic Kennard House and to learn about how this grand building set the tone for a new capital city
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation (118)
Understand the factors that contributed both to the forced removal of the Cherokees off their homelands and to painful divisions within the tribe. (The Trail of Tears is a National Historic Trail./The Major Ridge House and John Ross House are National Historic Landmarks.) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)Women's History
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Back Stairs at Brucemore: Life as Servants in early 20th-Century America (105)
Understand the "servant" experience in early 20th-century America, as well as the pros and cons for women working in factories versus domestic service.
The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War (70)
Understand the violence of the Civil War through the eyes of young women whose homes were in the midst of an important battle and continuing conflict.
Birthplace of John F. Kennedy: Home of the Boy Who Would Be President (33)
Visit JFK's birthplace and consider the influence of family culture and environment, and the role of Rose Kennedy, on the development of the future president's personality, character, and values. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Chatham Plantation: Witness to the Civil War (45)
Learn why this home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a center of military activity, and consider the impact the war had on the family whose property became part of the battlefield. Also learn about Clara Barton who cared for the wounded when this home served as a hospital. (National Park)
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
Floyd Bennett Field: Naval Aviation's Home in Brooklyn (120)
Learn about the vital role played by naval aviators delivering aircraft to combat-bound units in the Pacific during WWII, and the women workers on the home front who helped in one of U.S. history's greatest industrial feats. (National Park)
From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
Examine how Prudence Crandall challenged the prevailing attitude toward educating African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War, and understand the magnitude of the struggle involved in securing equal educational opportunities for African Americans. (Little Rock Central High School is a National Park and National Historic Landmark/Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Navesink Lighthouse and Robbins Reef Lighthouse: Lighting the Way through New York Bay (131)
Learn about two historic lighthouses that illustrate how technological advancements contributed to maritime safety and about the isolated, often routine, but sometimes heroic life led by Kate Walker, keeper at Robbins Reef.(Navesink Light Station is a National Historic Landmark.)
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and meet Helen Stewart--known as the first lady of Las Vegas--who was a rancher and influential member of the town that she helped start.
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people. (National Historic Landmarks)
A Woman's Place Is In the Sewall-Belmont House: Alice Paul and Women's Rights (148)
Meet activist Alice Paul and visit the headquarters of her National Woman's Party in Washington, DC, to learn how American women organized to increase their political rights in the 20th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Lightning Lessons
Inspect Commodore Stephen Decatur's home near the White House, a gathering place for the politically ambitious, and learn why the naval hero felt compelled to fight a fateful duel. (National Historic Landmark)
“The Electric Project”: The Minidoka Dam and Powerplant (160)
Discover the science and early history of hydroelectric power at the historic Minidoka Powerplant, where rural electrification and irrigation changed the lives of early 20th century homesteaders.
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
Fort Hancock: A Bastion of America's Eastern Seaboard (37)
Examine how changing military technology and U.S. budget debates influenced the development of Fort Hancock and the U.S. coastal defense system. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Fiftieth Anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act
Learn how the National Historic Preservation Act has affected your community in this lesson, prepared for the History Channel's Make History, Save History outreach initiative.
Fort Pickens and the Outbreak of the Civil War (38)
Discover why Fort Pickens was so valuable to both the Union and Confederacy, and follow the actions of the military commanders faced with crucial decisions. (National Park)
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet John Marshall, who led the U.S. Supreme Court from obscurity and weakness to prominence and power in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Harry Truman and Independence, Missouri: "This is Where I Belong" (103)
Learn why the life of the 33rd U.S. President serves as an example of civic duty and explore the town that helped form his character. (National Park/Includes Harry S Truman Historic District, a National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball and explore how American citizens celebrate their leaders taking office. (National Historic Landmark)
Independence Hall: International Symbol of Freedom (132)
Learn about Independence Hall and about how the international influence of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution led to the designation of the building in which they were adopted as a World Heritage Site. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Ladd Field and the Lend-Lease Mission: Defending Alaska in WWII (146)
Discover how a small town in a remote U.S. territory played a large role in defending the United States and its allies during World War II.
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"Journey from Slavery to Statesman": The Homes of Frederick Douglass (147)
Follow Frederick Douglass on his journey from life as a slave to that of a respected statesman and investigate how three homes reflect the different phases of his life. (Wye House, the Nathan and Polly Johnson House, and Cedar Hill are National Historic Landmarks. Cedar Hill and the Nathan and Polly Johnson House are each a resource of a National Park.)
The Liberty Bell: From Obscurity to Icon (36)
Analyze the influences that shaped the symbolic meaning of the bell, and evaluate the various claims as to how and when it was cracked. (National Park)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Where Man and Memory Intersect (144)
Discover the power of place in honoring President Lincoln's origins and consider how the nation uses memorial structures and landscapes to express respect for its heroes and to celebrate anniversaries. (National Park)
Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory (127)
Learn how Abraham Lincoln's belief in freedom and democracy, his eloquence, and the support of family and community propelled him to the White House and uplifted him through the turbulent Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Log Cabins in America: The Finnish Experience (4)
Consider how simple, functional cabins, like those built by the Finns in Idaho, became symbols in American politics and folklore.
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Martin Van Buren's "Return to the Soil" (39)
Follow this president to the White House and Lindenwald in the rough-and-tumble world of early 19th century politics. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: Protecting a Legacy of the Cold War (128)
Examine how the escalation of the Cold War led to the development and deployment of the Minuteman Missile system and investigate the role of missileers as America's "peacekeepers." (National Park)
A Nation Repays Its Debt: The National Soldiers' Home and Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio (115)
Learn about the evolution of a system to honor and care for U.S. veterans beginning with the creation of soldiers' homes and national cemeteries during and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
Not to Be Forgotten: Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery (123)
Learn about the history of Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, and about the federal government's policies guiding the marking of POW graves during and after the Civil War.
The Octagon of Washington, D.C.: The House that Helped Build a Capital (151)
Enter The Octagon of Washington, DC, to discover how a historic brick house offered grandeur and stability to the new capital of the United States in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
President Lincoln's Cottage: A Retreat (138)
Explore President Abraham Lincoln’s life at a country retreat during summer months and examine the work he completed there on the Emancipation Proclamation. (National Historic Landmark)
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
Thaw in the Cold War: Eisenhower and Khrushchev at Gettysburg (29)
Delve into a superpower meeting and discover how President Eisenhower's brand of diplomacy at this Pennsylvania farm temporarily eased the tensions of the Cold War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site: Birthplace of the Modern Presidency (77)
Examine the circumstances under which Theodore Roosevelt first became President of the United States and how his policies and actions modernized the presidency. (National Park)
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone (62)
Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor. (National Park)
A Woman's Place Is In the Sewall-Belmont House: Alice Paul and Women's Rights (148)
Meet activist Alice Paul and visit the headquarters of her National Woman's Party in Washington, DC, to learn how American women organized to increase their political rights in the 20th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Woodrow Wilson: Prophet of Peace (14)
Examine Wilson's struggle to achieve lasting world peace following World War I. (National Historic Landmark)
Play ball! This lesson uses the Daytona Beach ballpark where Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier to explore racism and sports in American history.
Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Place for Study and Recreation (56)Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Camp Misty Mount: A Place for Regrowth (47)
Inspect a recreational demonstration area (RDA) in western Maryland, created as part of a Great Depression government relief program. (National Park)
Chicago's Columbus Park: The Prairie Idealized (81)
Learn about a famous landscape artist and his efforts to promote conservation and an appreciation for the native plant life of the United States.
The Emerald Necklace: Boston's Green Connection (86)
Learn about Frederick Law Olmsted and his philosophy about parks and cities as well as city life during the Industrial Revolution. (Includes Arnold Arboretum, a National Historic Landmark)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories (25)
Tour Edison's West Orange complex where his creative combination of research, production, and marketing revolutionized the business of invention. (National Park)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Where Man and Memory Intersect (144)
Discover the power of place in honoring President Lincoln's origins and consider how the nation uses memorial structures and landscapes to express respect for its heroes and to celebrate anniversaries. (National Park)
Mammoth Cave: Its Explorers, Miners, Archeologists, and Visitors (35)
Tour the world's longest cave, a geological wonder, and assess the ways it has been used and preserved as a historic resource. (National Park/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Mechanics Hall: Symbol of Pride and Industry (87)
Examine how the advent of industrialization in 19th-century America impacted the workforce in New England's Blackstone River Valley. (Mechanics Hall is included in the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.)
Mount Auburn Cemetery: A New American Landscape (84)
Explore the country's first large-scale designed landscape open to the public that spawned the development of other rural cemeteries, public parks, and designed suburbs.
Run for Your Lives! The Johnstown Flood of 1889 (5)
Determine how environmental management, technology, and the actions of 19th-century industrialists contributed to a disaster in Pennsylvania that shocked the nation. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
The South
An American Success Story: The Pope House of Raleigh, NC (124)
Meet Dr. Manassa T. Pope, an African-American doctor and entrepreneur in the early 20th century, and learn about his efforts to gain civil rights well before the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Andersonville: Prisoner of War Camp (11)
Examine conditions of the Civil War's most notorious prison, and learn how inmates were able to cope. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Battle of Bentonville: Caring for Casualties of the Civil War (69)
Understand how battlefield medical care developed during the Civil War, particularly in the Union Army. (National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century and learn how these conflicting views ultimately affected the Creeks. (National Park)
The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War (70)
Understand the violence of the Civil War through the eyes of young women whose homes were in the midst of an important battle and continuing conflict.
The Battle of Stones River: The Soldiers' Story (40)
Recall one of the Civil War's bloodiest battles, which raged through the rocky cedar glades of Tennessee, as told in eyewitness and personal accounts. (National Park)
Brown v. Board: Five Communities That Changed America (121)
Learn about the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional. (Monroe Elementary School [now Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site] is a unit of the National Park Service/Robert Russa Moton High School, Sumner and Monroe Elementary Schools, Howard High School, and John Philip Sousa Middle School are National Historic Landmarks.)
Chatham Plantation: Witness to the Civil War (45)
Learn why this home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a center of military activity, and consider the impact the war had on those whose property became part of the battlefield. (National Park)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
First Battle of Manassas: An End to Innocence (12)
Study personal accounts of soldiers who fought in the first battle of the Civil War, and discover how the day set the tone for the many bloody battles to come. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Fort Morgan and the Battle of Mobile Bay (73)
Follow Admiral Farragut's attack on Fort Morgan and Mobile Bay, and consider the human reaction to technologies such as ironclads and underwater mines. (National Historic Landmark)
Fort Pickens and the Outbreak of the Civil War (38)
Discover why Fort Pickens was so valuable to both the Union and Confederacy, and follow the actions of the military commanders faced with crucial decisions. (National Park)
Frederica: An 18th Century Planned Community (31)
Discover why this British settlement was built and how it functioned as Great Britain and Spain each struggled to control land from Charleston to St. Augustine. (National Park)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
"The Great Chief Justice" at Home (49)
Meet John Marshall, who led the U.S. Supreme Court from obscurity and weakness to prominence and power in the early 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
New Kent School and the George W. Watkins School: From Freedom of Choice to Integration (104)
Learn about the U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the integration of public schools and meet the individuals who experienced segregation, fought to dismantle the institution, and integrated the public school system of New Kent County, Virginia. (National Historic Landmark)
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
North Carolina State Capitol: Pride of the State (61)
Discover how Raleigh became the capital of North Carolina and how the design of the capitol building reflected state pride as well as democratic ideals. (National Historic Landmark)
Savannah, Georgia: The Lasting Legacy of Colonial City Planning (83)
Learn about James Oglethorpe and his enduring city plan from the colonial era. (National Historic Landmark)
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War (113)
Understand how newly developed technologies affected two military engagements and one tiny town in Mississippi during the Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March: Shaking the Conscience of the Nation (133)
Learn how people in Selma, Alabama, and national civil rights organizations worked together to end the unconstitutional denial of voting rights to African Americans in the South. (Brown Chapel AME Church and the First Confederate Capitol are National Historic Landmarks)
The Siege of Port Hudson: "Forty Days and Nights in the Wilderness of Death" (71)
Understand the importance of the Mississippi to both the North and South during the Civil War, and the differences between a siege and a regular battle. (National Historic Landmark)
These Honored Dead: The Battle of Rivers Bridge and Civil War Combat Casualties (94)
Learn how veteran soldiers adapted to the technological changes that had increased the deadliness of the battlefield, and understand the cost of the Civil War in human terms.
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
When Rice Was King (3)
Investigate early rice plantations in Georgetown, South Carolina, to learn how rice cultivation transformed the native environment and promoted the South's dependence on a plantation economy.
Ybor City: Cigar Capital of the World (51)
Discover how immigrant cigar makers in this section of Tampa, Florida, adapted to life in the U.S. in the late 19th and early 20th century while maintaining their ethnic identity. (National Historic Landmark)
The West
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
The Battle of Glorieta Pass: A Shattered Dream (91)
Discover how the Battle of Glorieta Pass ended the Confederacy's dream of expanding westward to the Pacific Ocean. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Honey Springs: The Civil War Comes to the Indian Territory (68)
Learn how the Civil War created fierce conflicts among American Indian nations who had been moved across the Mississippi River.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change (8)
Evaluate several centuries of dramatic changes to an adobe ranch house and its surroundings in suburban Long Beach to analyze the interaction between Spanish and Anglo culture in California.
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Coffeyville, Kansas: The Town That Stopped the Dalton Gang (99)
Learn how a tradition of outlawry developed in Kansas and how people in Coffeyville fought back.
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Glorieta and Raton Passes: Gateways to the Southwest (117)
Learn how these remote passes in the mountains influenced the course of the westward expansion of the United States. (National Park/Raton Pass is a National Historic Landmark.)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
The Hispano Ranchos of Northern New Mexico: Continuity and Change (96)
Understand the ways in which ranchos in northern New Mexico provide evidence of the ability of Hispano culture to adapt to new influences while still maintaining its traditional character.
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archeological evidence. (National Park)
Keys Ranch: Where Time Stood Still (65)
Meet Bill Keys, a self-reliant 20th-century homesteader whose ingenuity allowed him to thrive in the inhospitable California desert. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Where Man and Memory Intersect (144)
Discover the power of place in honoring President Lincoln's origins and consider how the nation uses memorial structures and landscapes to express respect for its heroes and to celebrate anniversaries. (National Park)
Log Cabins in America: The Finnish Experience (4)
Consider how simple, functional cabins, like those built by the Finns in Idaho, became symbols in American politics and folklore.
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
Separate But Equal? South Carolina's Fight Over School Segregation (158)
Discover South Carolina's 1951 "separate but equal" school building program and learn about the Briggs v. Elliott case, one of the lawsuits combined with Brown v. Board of Education.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A Moravian Settlement in Colonial America (59)
Learn why Moravians immigrated to the New World and how the towns they established embodied their religious beliefs.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Gran Quivira: A Blending of Cultures in a Pueblo Indian Village (66)
Examine the changing lifeways of the inhabitants of this village from the 7th century to the arrival of the Spanish in the early 17th century. (National Park)
The Joseph Bellamy House: The Great Awakening in Puritan New England (85)
Examine the influence of Reverend Joseph Bellamy, a leading preacher in New England from 1740-1790, in colonial American religion and learn about the role of religion in 18th-century life, as well as the resurgence of religious fervor known as the Great Awakening.
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas (2)
Explore a group of 18th-century missions in modern San Antonio to learn about Spanish influence on native peoples and the patterns of Texas culture. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Alaska's Site Summit: Cold War Defense and its Legacy in the North (153)
Cross the security fences, pass the checkpoints, and discover this Cold War missile defense facility that defended a city and helped grow Alaska's economy.
Allegheny Portage Railroad: Developing Transportation Technology (23)
Follow 19th-century travelers as they cross the treacherous Allegheny Mountains using an innovative inclined railway. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. (National Historic Landmark)
Boston's Arnold Arboretum: A Place for Study and Recreation (56)
Discover how the first arboretum in the United States became part of the burgeoning urban park movement in the second half of the 19th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Where the Wright Brothers Conquered the Air (111)
Discover the early influences that inspired the Wright brothers as inventors and the importance of the Wright Cycle Company Complex where they developed the key mechanical skills that profoundly impacted their invention of the airplane. (National Park/The Wright Cycle Company building is a National Historic Landmark)
“The Electric Project”: The Minidoka Dam and Powerplant (160)
Discover the science and early history of hydroelectric power at the historic Minidoka Powerplant, where rural electrification and irrigation changed the lives of early 20th century homesteaders.
Fort Hancock: A Bastion of the Eastern Seaboard (37)
Examine how changing military technology and U.S. budget debates influenced the development of Fort Hancock and the U.S. coastal defense system. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Fort Morgan and the Battle of Mobile Bay (73)
Follow Admiral Farragut's attack on Fort Morgan and Mobile Bay, and consider the human reaction to technologies such as ironclads and underwater mines. (National Historic Landmark)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn why the building of Hoover Dam was a triumph for the Bureau of Reclamation and how it came to symbolize what American industry and American workers could accomplish, even in the depths of the Great Depression. (National Historic Landmark)
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball, held in a government building established to house American patents and patent models. (National Historic Landmark)
Hopewell Furnace: A Pennsylvania Iron-making Plantation (97)
Explore how Hopewell functioned as a productive work unit and how work defined social relationships in this early National period community. (National Park)
The Invention Factory: Thomas Edison's Laboratories (25)
Tour Edison's West Orange complex where his creative combination of research, production, and marketing revolutionized the business of invention. (National Park)
Johnson Lake Mine: Mining for Tungsten in Nevada's Snake Range (110)
Explore both how tungsten was mined and used at the turn of the 20th century and also how archeologists piece the past together from artifacts and other archeological evidence. (National Park)
Ladd Field and the Lend-Lease Mission: Defending Alaska in WWII (146)
Discover how a small town in a remote U.S. territory played a large role in defending the United States and its allies during World War II.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest (108)
Learn how the 1804-1806 expedition effectively opened the Northwest to the influence of the United States, established relations with numerous American Indian nations, and gathered useful scientific documentation about the West. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War (116)
Learn how the United States mobilized a massive construction effort to build a large merchant fleet to serve in war and peace. (The SS Red Oak Victory is part of a National Park. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the SS Lane Victory are National Historic Landmarks.)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site: Protecting a Legacy of the Cold War (128)
Examine how the escalation of the Cold War led to the development and deployment of the Minuteman Missile system and investigate the role of missileers as America's "peacekeepers." (National Park)
Navesink Lighthouse and Robbins Reef Lighthouse: Lighting the Way through New York Bay (131)
Learn about two historic lighthouses that illustrate how technological advancements contributed to maritime safety and about the isolated, often routine, but sometimes heroic lives led by their keepers.(Navesink Light Station is a National Historic Landmark.)
The No. 2 Quincy Shaft-Rockhouse: 9,240 Feet into the Earth (152)
Enter a historic company town and descend deep into the copper mines of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, where labor unrest upset an industry and changed a community in the early 20th century. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
"The Rockets' Red Glare": Francis Scott Key and the Bombardment of Fort McHenry (137)
Learn how the British bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore led to the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and how Key’s song became a powerful symbol for Americans. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Run For Your Lives! The Johnstown Flood of 1889 (5)
Determine how environmental management, technology, and the actions of 19th-century industrialists contributed to a disaster in Pennsylvania that shocked the nation. (National Park)
San Antonio Missions: Spanish Influence in Texas (2)
Explore a group of 18th-century missions in modern San Antonio to learn about Spanish influence on native peoples and the patterns of Texas culture. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Saugus Iron Works: Life and Work at an Early American Industrial Site (30)
Unearth the remains of colonial America's first fully integrated ironworks, and consider what reconstruction of the site reveals about daily life for some early European settlers. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Shields-Ethridge Farm: The End of a Way of Life (145)
Investigate sharecropping as a way of life in upland Georgia during the early 20th century and examine the efforts of one farm owner to diversify as market fluctuation and urbanization threatened that life.
The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War (113)
Understand how newly developed technologies affected two military engagements and one tiny town in Mississippi during the Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
These Honored Dead: The Battle of Rivers Bridge and Civil War Combat Casualties (94)
Learn how veteran soldiers adapted to the technological changes that had increased the deadliness of the battlefield, and understand the cost of the Civil War in human terms.
Thurmond: A Town Born from Coal Mines and Railroads (28)
Examine the complex and often dangerous daily routines at the Thurmond train depot, and learn how rail workers were immortalized by some of the people they served. (National Park)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Wright Brothers National Memorial: Site of the First Controlled Powered Flight (109)
Discover why the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their flight experiments, how they achieved controlled powered flight in 1903, and how their accomplishments have been commemorated. (National Park)
Allegheny Portage Railroad: Developing Transportation Technology (23)
Follow 19th-century travelers as they cross the treacherous Allegheny Mountains using an innovative inclined railway. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
America's Space Program: Exploring a New Frontier (101)
Discover how NASA, private industry, and research institutions across the country cooperated to develop and implement the complex technology that enabled man to land on the moon. (National Historic Landmark)
At a Crossroads: The King of Prussia Inn (119)
Learn how transportation routes affected a local inn, how archeology revealed the inn's use over time, and how preservation efforts saved the historic site from suburban sprawl.
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Building America's Industrial Revolution: The Boott Cotton Mills of Lowell, MA (21)
Learn how technology applied to textile mills revolutionized industry, in turn affecting mill architecture, city planning, and transportation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Building of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (10)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park: Where the Wright Brothers Conquered the Air (111)
Discover the early influences that inspired the Wright brothers as inventors and the importance of the Wright Cycle Company Complex where they developed the key mechanical skills that profoundly impacted their invention of the airplane. (National Park/The Wright Cycle Company building is a National Historic Landmark)
Floyd Bennett Field: Naval Aviation's Home in Brooklyn (120)
Learn about the vital role played by naval aviators delivering aircraft to combat-bound units in the Pacific during WWII, and the women workers on the home front who helped in one of U.S. history's greatest industrial feats. (National Park)
Glen Echo Park: Center for Education and Recreation (24)
Trace the evolution of this Maryland site from a chapter of the Chautauqua movement, to an amusement park, to a national park. (National Park)
Going-to-the-Sun Road: A Model of Landscape Engineering (95)
Learn about some of the practical problems of constructing roads in difficult terrain and about the added challenge of building in such a way as to enhance, rather than damage, fragile and beautiful places such as Glacier National Park. (National Park/National Historic Landmark/Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark)
Liberty Ships and Victory Ships, America's Lifeline in War (116)
Learn how the United States mobilized a massive construction effort to build a large merchant fleet to serve in war and peace. (The SS Red Oak Victory is part of a National Park. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien and the SS Lane Victory are National Historic Landmarks.)
Little Kinnakeet Lifesaving Station: Home to Unsung Heroes (57)
Learn about the United States Lifesaving Service daring rescues to save imperiled lives from the "Graveyard of the Atlantic." (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Navesink Lighthouse and Robbins Reef Lighthouse: Lighting the Way through New York Bay (131)
Learn about two historic lighthouses that illustrate how technological advancements contributed to maritime safety and about the isolated, often routine, but sometimes heroic lives led by their keepers.(Navesink Light Station is a National Historic Landmark.)
The Ohio and Erie Canal: Catalyst of Economic Development for Ohio (41)
Assess the importance of America's early canal system and its economic and social effects. (National Park)
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Roadside Attractions (6)
Follow the highways of the 1920s and 1930s, exploring the whimsical, extravagant architecture that came with American auto culture.
The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War (113)
Understand how newly developed technologies affected two military engagements and one tiny town in Mississippi during the Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Spanish Treasure Fleets of 1715 and 1733: Disasters Strike at Sea (129)
Learn how Spain established a New World empire based on collecting precious metals and goods from the Americas.
La versión en español Las flotas españolas de 1715 y 1733: Desastres en el mar (134)
Thurmond: A Town Born from Coal Mines and Railroads (28)
Examine the complex and often dangerous daily routines at the Thurmond train depot, and learn how rail workers were immortalized by some of the people they served. (National Park)
The United States Air Force Academy: Founding a Proud Tradition (114)
Learn how the expansion of military air power in the first half of the 20th century led to the establishment of the United States Air Force and the Air Force Academy. (National Historic Landmark)
Wheat Farms, Flour Mills, and Railroads: A Web of Interdependence (106)
Examine the inextricable connections binding railroads, North Dakota wheat fields, and Minnesota flour mills during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park/Includes Pillsbury A Mill, a National Historic Landmark)
Wright Brothers National Memorial: Site of the First Controlled Powered Flight (109)
Discover why the Wright Brothers chose the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct their flight experiments, how they achieved controlled powered flight in 1903, and how their accomplishments have been commemorated. (National Park)
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century, and learn how the campaign against the Creeks increased Andrew Jackson's popularity among American citizens, which helped him win the presidency. (National Park)
Birthplace of John F. Kennedy: Home of the Boy Who Would Be President (33)
Visit JFK's birthplace and consider the effects of culture and community in shaping character and personality. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Choices and Commitments: The Soldiers at Gettysburg (44)
Trace the course of this Civil War battle and consider the wrenching personal choices that were made by soldiers on each side, and evaluate Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and its impact in regard to the occasion it was written to commemorate. (National Park) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
“The Greatest Dam in the World”: Building Hoover Dam (140)
Learn how many Americans came to see Hoover Dam, planned and begun under Republican administrations, as an example of President Roosevelt’s New Deal in action. (National Historic Landmark)
Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home (15)
Visit the home of the only man to serve the country both as president and chief justice, and meet the rest of his public service-oriented family. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Harry Truman and Independence, Missouri: "This is Where I Belong" (103)
Learn why the life of the 33rd U.S. President serves as an example of civic duty and explore the town that helped form his character. (National Park/Includes Harry S Truman Historic District, a National Historic Landmark)
Herbert Hoover: Iowa Farm Boy and World Humanitarian (34)
Follow President Hoover from his boyhood days to his role as administrator of the Belgian Relief Commission during World War I. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
"The Honor of Your Company is Requested": Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Ball at the Patent Office (143)
Attend President Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural ball and explore how American citizens celebrate their leaders taking office. (National Historic Landmark)
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest (108)
Learn how Thomas Jefferson's vision of western expansion resulted in the 1804-1806 expedition which effectively opened the Northwest to the influence of the United States, established relations with numerous American Indian nations, and gathered useful scientific documentation. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Forging Greatness during Lincoln's Youth (126)
Meet the people and learn of events that influenced the development of Abraham Lincoln's character and personality as a youth on the Indiana frontier. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Where Man and Memory Intersect (144)
Discover the power of place in honoring President Lincoln's origins and consider how the nation uses memorial structures and landscapes to express respect for its heroes and to celebrate anniversaries. (National Park)
Lincoln Home National Historic Site: A Place of Growth and Memory (127)
Learn how Abraham Lincoln's belief in freedom and democracy, his eloquence, and the support of family and community propelled him to the White House and uplifted him through the turbulent Civil War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
Martin Van Buren's "Return to the Soil" (39)
Follow this president to the White House and Lindenwald in the rough-and-tumble world of early 19th century politics. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Memories of Montpelier: Home of James and Dolley Madison (46)
Visit the Madisons' plantation home and their world of social prominence, and explore some contemporary views of slavery. (National Historic Landmark)
President Lincoln's Cottage: A Retreat (138)
Explore President Abraham Lincoln’s life at a country retreat during summer months and examine the work he completed there on the Emancipation Proclamation. (National Historic Landmark)
Springwood: Birthplace and Home to Franklin D. Roosevelt (82)
Understand how Springwood was the keystone in Franklin Delano Roosevelt's public as well as private life by playing host to some very dramatic events in American history. (National Park)
Thaw in the Cold War: Eisenhower and Khrushchev at Gettysburg (29)
Delve into a superpower meeting and discover how President Eisenhower's brand of diplomacy at this Pennsylvania farm temporarily eased the tensions of the Cold War. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site: Birthplace of the Modern Presidency (77)
Examine the circumstances under which Theodore Roosevelt first became President of the United States and how his policies and actions modernized the presidency. (National Park)
Thomas Jefferson's Plan for the University of Virginia: Lessons from the Lawn (92)
Learn about the multifaceted intellect of Thomas Jefferson and how he fused his abilities as an architect, educational and political theorist, and politician to create a revolutionary new setting for higher education in the new American republic. (National Historic Landmark/UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Ulysses S. Grant and Julia Dent Grant at White Haven Farm: The Missouri Compromise in American Life (154)
Discover the personal experiences of Americans in a nation divided politically on the issue of slavery through the early life of Ulysses S. Grant, who lived on a Missouri farm with his wife Julia Dent Grant and her slave-holding family in the 1850s. (National Park)
The Washington Monument: Tribute in Stone (62)
Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor. (National Park)
Woodrow Wilson: Prophet of Peace (14)
Examine Wilson's struggle to achieve lasting world peace following World War I. (National Historic Landmark)
Alaska's Site Summit: Cold War Defense and its Legacy in the North (153)
Cross the security fences, pass the checkpoints, and discover this Cold War missile defense facility that defended a city and helped grow Alaska's economy.
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Allegheny Portage Railroad: Developing Transportation Technology (23)
Follow 19th-century travelers as they cross the treacherous Allegheny Mountains using an innovative inclined railway. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Battle of Honey Springs: The Civil War Comes to the Indian Territory (68)
Learn how the Civil War created fierce conflicts among American Indian nations who had been moved across the Mississippi River.
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend: Collision of Cultures (54)
Consider the complex political and cultural differences that existed between European Americans and American Indians during the early 19th century and learn how these conflicting views ultimately affected the Creeks. (National Park)
Bryce Canyon National Park: Hoodoos Cast Their Spell (64)
Explore the natural wonders of this once remote area in Utah and learn how it became a popular tourist destination in the early 20th century and finally a national park. (National Park/Includes Bryce Canyon Lodge, a National Historic Landmark)
Californio to American: A Study in Cultural Change (8)
Evaluate several centuries of dramatic changes to an adobe ranch house and its surroundings in suburban Long Beach to analyze the interaction between Spanish and Anglo culture in California.
Castolon: A Meeting Place of Two Cultures (17)
Compare the Spanish and Anglo influences on settlements along the Texas-Mexico border region of the Rio Grande. (National Park)
Chattanooga, Tennessee: Train Town (52)
Examine how geography and boosterism influenced the placement of rail lines, which then stimulated the growth of towns such as Chattanooga. Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Coffeyville, Kansas: The Town That Stopped the Dalton Gang (99)
Learn how a tradition of outlawry developed in Kansas and how people in Coffeyville fought back.
“The Electric Project”: The Minidoka Dam and Powerplant (160)
Discover the science and early history of hydroelectric power at the historic Minidoka Powerplant, where rural electrification and irrigation changed the lives of early 20th century homesteaders.
Federal Courthouses and Post Offices: Symbols of Pride and Permanence in American Communities (136)
Learn how three buildings restored and maintained by the U.S. General Services Administration illustrate the important role the federal government played and continues to play in communities across the country.
The Frankish Building: A Reflection of the Success of Ontario, California (43)
Analyze how this local landmark came to symbolize the commercial prosperity of a western town in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Freeman School: Building Prairie Communities (80)
Examine this one-room school in Nebraska and consider the important role it played in the community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (National Park)
Glorieta and Raton Passes: Gateways to the Southwest (117)
Learn how these remote passes in the mountains influenced the course of the westward expansion of the United States. (National Park/Raton Pass is a National Historic Landmark.)
Gold Fever! Seattle Outfits the Klondike Gold Rush (55)
Examine how the discovery of gold in the Canada's remote Klondike region touched off the last great gold rush, creating an economic boom that changed the city of Seattle forever. (National Park/Includes Pioneer Building, a National Historic Landmark)
The Hispano Ranchos of Northern New Mexico: Continuity and Change (96)
Understand the ways in which ranchos in northern New Mexico provide evidence of the ability of Hispano culture to adapt to new influences while still maintaining its traditional character.
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Keys Ranch: Where Time Stood Still (65)
Meet Bill Keys, a self-reliant 20th-century homesteader whose ingenuity allowed him to thrive in the inhospitable California desert. (National Park)
Knife River: Early Village Life on the Plains (1)
Discover the complex culture and trading economy of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribes in North Dakota during the 18th century, as seen by anthropologists and artists. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Documenting the Uncharted Northwest (108)
Learn how the 1804-1806 expedition effectively opened the Northwest to the influence of the United States, established relations with numerous American Indian nations, and gathered useful scientific documentation about the West. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial: Forging Greatness during Lincoln's Youth (126)
Meet the people and learn of events that influenced the development of Abraham Lincoln's character and personality as a youth on the Indiana frontier. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
“Making the Desert Bloom”: The Rio Grande Project (141)
Discover how the Bureau of Reclamation transformed the arid valley of the Rio Grande by constructing Elephant Butte Dam and the Rio Grande irrigation project and examine some of the problems encountered along the way.
New Philadelphia: A Multiracial Town on the Illinois Frontier (130)
Learn about Free Frank McWorter and how archeology can help tell the story of the interracial town he founded in the years before the Civil War.
The Old Court House in St. Louis: Yesterday & Today (9)
Compare two images of St. Louis's handsome Courthouse--as a gathering place for pioneers heading west and as a dramatic focus for Dred Scott's heroic efforts to free his family from slavery. (National Park)
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and consider factors that hinder or contribute to the evolution of early settlements into permanent communities, towns, and cities.
Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike (75)
Join the stampede for gold when over 100,000 prospectors set out for the Klondike. (National Park/National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Thomas P. Kennard House: Building a Prairie Capital (149)
Explore early Lincoln, Nebraska, to visit the historic Kennard House and to learn about how this grand building set the tone for a new capital city
Tonto National Monument: Saving a National Treasure (125)
Learn about one of the nation's most important conservation laws--the Antiquities Act of 1906--and how its passage preserved important cultural sites such as Tonto National Monument, which preserves remnants of the Salado culture prior to European contact. (National Park)
The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation (118)
Understand the factors that contributed both to the forced removal of the Cherokees off their homelands and to painful divisions within the tribe. (The Trail of Tears is a National Historic Trail./The Major Ridge House and John Ross House are National Historic Landmarks.) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
The Vieux Carré: A Creole Neighborhood in New Orleans (20)
Examine New Orleans's distinctive French Quarter, a vibrant reflection of its Creole heritage, and recall the city's role in American westward expansion. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Adeline Hornbek and the Homestead Act: A Colorado Success Story (67)
Discover how Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act. (National Park)
Back Stairs at Brucemore: Life as Servants in early 20th-Century America (105)
Understand the "servant" experience in early 20th-century America, as well as the pros and cons for women working in factories versus domestic service.
The Battle of Prairie Grove: Civilian Recollections of the Civil War (70)
Understand the violence of the Civil War through the eyes of young women whose homes were in the midst of an important battle and continuing conflict.
Birthplace of John F. Kennedy: Home of the Boy Who Would Be President (33)
Visit JFK's birthplace and consider the influence of family culture and environment, and the role of Rose Kennedy, on the development of the future president's personality, character, and values. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
Chatham Plantation: Witness to the Civil War (45)
Learn why this home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, was a center of military activity, and consider the impact the war had on the family whose property became part of the battlefield. Also learn about Clara Barton who cared for the wounded when this home served as a hospital. (National Park)
Clara Barton's House: Home of the American Red Cross (27)
Follow Barton's remarkable career as a leader of charitable causes, from caring for the wounded on Civil War battlefields to founding the American Red Cross. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill (26)
Examine how Roosevelt's activities at home reflected her interest in humanitarianism, as epitomized by her leadership in the creation of the UN's Declaration of Human Rights. (National Park)
Floyd Bennett Field: Naval Aviation's Home in Brooklyn (120)
Learn about the vital role played by naval aviators delivering aircraft to combat-bound units in the Pacific during WWII, and the women workers on the home front who helped in one of U.S. history's greatest industrial feats. (National Park)
From Canterbury to Little Rock: The Struggle for Educational Equality for African Americans
Examine how Prudence Crandall challenged the prevailing attitude toward educating African Americans in New England prior to the Civil War, and understand the magnitude of the struggle involved in securing equal educational opportunities for African Americans. (Little Rock Central High School is a National Park and National Historic Landmark/Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark) Learn how a classroom teacher uses this lesson.
Iolani Palace: A Hawaiian Place of History, Power, and Prestige
Explore the palace, a symbol of independence, where the last Hawaiian monarchs lived and fought for Native sovereignty in the face of European and American colonization. (National Historic Landmark)
Lafayette Park: First Amendment Rights on the President's Doorstep (139)
Learn how a group of determined women selected Lafayette Park, across from the White House, to demonstrate for their right to vote, providing a First Amendment model for many others. (National Park/National Historic Landmark)
The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House: African American Women Unite for Change (135)
Learn about Mary McLeod Bethune and how she and the organization she founded promoted political and social change for African American women. (National Park)
The M'Clintock House: A Home to the Women's Rights Movement (76)
Learn why a family home in upstate New York became the site for the creation of one of the most important documents in the history of American women. (National Park)
Navesink Lighthouse and Robbins Reef Lighthouse: Lighting the Way through New York Bay (131)
Learn about two historic lighthouses that illustrate how technological advancements contributed to maritime safety and about the isolated, often routine, but sometimes heroic life led by Kate Walker, keeper at Robbins Reef.(Navesink Light Station is a National Historic Landmark.)
The Old Mormon Fort: Birthplace of Las Vegas, Nevada (122)
Learn how an obscure settlement created during Mormon expansion grew into a well-known and prosperous American city, and meet Helen Stewart--known as the first lady of Las Vegas--who was a rancher and influential member of the town that she helped start.
The Penniman House: A Whaling Story (112)
Meet Captain Edward Penniman, and learn about 19th-century whaling in southeastern Massachusetts and how the whaling industry impacted Penniman's family and life. (National Park)
Two American Entrepreneurs: Madam C.J. Walker and J.C. Penney
Examine the historic places associated with two of America's most famous 20th century business people. (National Historic Landmarks)
A Woman's Place Is In the Sewall-Belmont House: Alice Paul and Women's Rights (148)
Meet activist Alice Paul and visit the headquarters of her National Woman's Party in Washington, DC, to learn how American women organized to increase their political rights in the 20th century. (National Historic Landmark)
Discover the Mary Ann Shadd Cary House (Lightning Lesson #1)
Follow the footsteps a free African American woman who defied an oppressive culture and broke barriers in education, newspaper publishing, and law before and after the Civil War. (National Historic Landmark)