America’s self image, forged in the era of Thomas Jefferson’s yeoman farmers, is of a rural nation. The great landscape of the West often dominates popular culture and Americans imagine themselves as independent and self-sufficient, shaped by the western frontier. Yet there is also a long urban tradition in the United States that has equally shaped the development of American culture. The rise of the great metropolis in the late 19th century was due to the existence of enormous wealth in the cities, built upon industrialism and immigration.

Beginning in the 1870s, America underwent a second industrial revolution driven by the metal industries. For the worker, opportunities abounded; the United States experienced a massive migration from country to city, while immigrant workers flocked to America from Eastern and Southern Europe. As industrial wealth grew, so did class divisions and class unrest. In this period, a succession of organizations sought to mobilize workers according to a variety of ideologies and structures.

The Bloody Massacre–Or Was It?

Performance assessments require students to demonstrate what they know and can do. Often expressed as “authentic”–mostly meaning as much like the real world as possible. In this performance task, fifth graders compare three pieces of evidence from a key event in American History.

The following 5 day unit plan uses primary source images of the National Mall and a modern tourist primary source map to observe, reflect, and explain some the varied historical sites available to students, educators, and travelers alike. In particular, students will explore three of the following sites:

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves. Northerner legislatures passed laws in an attempt to reduce the impact of the FSA and how the work of the Underground Railroad (UGRR) was impacted. Students will learn how the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (FSA) changed perspectives of Northerners and the ultimate destination of the fugitives themselves. Students will learn background knowledge and vocabulary about the Underground Railroad in the United States.

Visually rich history published by Guy McLain, Director of the Lyman and Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History. Provides a rare glimpse into the evolution and history of western Massachusetts. Topics explored include European Settlement of the Valley, the Revolution and Shays’ Rebellion, Development of Transportation and Trade in the Valley, and Expansion of Business and Industry.

In the following lesson plan, students will look at the way in which events are reported on in history and how bias in the media affects peoples’ understanding of current events and history by analyzing both modern and historical newspaper articles. Throughout this unit, students will read and analyze Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath in relation to migrant workers and explore the conflict between political policy and the humane realities, as well as whether or not civil disobedience is necessary to create societal changes.

In this lesson students are asked to analyze Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address and to compare the promises made to his later work as president. Students will use a graphic organizer to list three of FDR’s promises in the speech and then use secondary resources to research whether he fulfilled those promises.

This two day lesson uses the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments from the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention and the 19th Amendment to the Constitution to assess the efficacy of the Women’s Rights Movement of the 19th century. Using the grievances from the Declaration establishes some understanding of women’s rights prior to 1848. Students will engage in class discussion to determine the progress women made in gaining equal rights. Students will use specific examples to assess progress as of today.

Incarceration in a variety of contexts and settings has been deeply ingrained in American society for centuries. The experience and processes of incarceration takes many forms including criminal detention, imprisonment in wartime, and immigration detainment. This primary source set contains a range of items tracing the history of incarceration in the United States and includes images, maps, political cartoons, and reports–all from the digital collections of the Library of Congress.