Gender, Sex, and Slavery
Slavery and Abolition
Gender and Sexuality
In this activity students read about slavery's effect on women from the perspectives of an enslaved woman and a plantation mistress. Then students create a dialogue between the two women.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2008.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2008
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
English
Antebellum America (1816-1860)
Who Fought for the Confederacy?
In this activity students compare and contrast a political cartoon and a letter to the editor from 1862 that describe ordinary soldiers who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2008.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2008
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license"><img style="border-width: 0;" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
1748
English
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Who Fought for the Union?
In this activity students examine sheet music and letters from draft rioters to examine Union attitudes about the military draft during the Civil War.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2008.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2008
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license"><img style="border-width: 0;" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
English
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
"In Defense of My Race and Country": African-American Soldiers on Why They Are Fighting
Slavery and Abolition
Civil Rights and Citizenship
In this activity students read three letters written by African-American soldiers during the Civil War to determine why black soldiers felt compelled to join the Union Army.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2009.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2009
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><br /><div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
</div>
English
Civil War and Reconstruction (1861-1877)
Social Reform and Issues of Race and Class
Immigration and Migration
Race and Ethnicity
In this activity students explore how Progressive Era reforms did not apply universally, but rather varied depending on issues like race and class. Students watch the 30-minute film<em><a href="http://ashp.cuny.edu/ashp-documentaries/heaven-will-protect-the-working-girl/" target="_blank"> Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl</a></em> and read an article that explains tensions among immigrants and African Americans in the Progressive Era.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2007.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2007
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
English
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Exploring the Irish in America Through Found Poetry
Immigration and Migration
In this lesson students read poems and letters that describe the work and lives of nineteenth-century Irish immigrants to the United States. As students read the documents, they choose words and phrases to create found poems that reflect their understandings of the Irish-American experience.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2009.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2009
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
English
Antebellum America (1816-1860)
The Iron Horse vs. the Buffalo: Native American-Settler Conflict on the Great Plains
Expansion and Imperialism
In this activity, students read a series of primary source documents, including the 1872 print "American Progress," that depict the social, political and cultural conflicts between settlers and Native Americans during the 19th century. Then, working in small groups, students will consider the events from the perspective of Native Americans, and create an illustration to counter George A. Crofutt's famous print of "American Progress" moving across the Great Plains.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2011
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
1514
English
Industrialization and Expansion (1877-1913)
Exploring Race Through Literature
Race and Ethnicity
Diverse literary texts provide opportunities for making connections about race and hearing multiple voices and perspectives. In this activity, students read literature and poetry from different American writers, reflecting on the meaning and experiences of race in the United States. Due to copyright restrictions, we cannot reproduce the texts here, but the instructions below include anthologies and links to online sources where the texts can be printed out.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2011
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license"><img style="border-width: 0;" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" alt="Creative Commons License" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/" rel="license">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
English
Propaganda and World War II
In this activity, students compare World War II propaganda posters from the United States, Great Britain, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union. Then students choose one of several creative or analytical writing assignments to demonstrate what they've learned.
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning, 2011.
American Social History Project / Center for Media and Learning
2011
Copyright American Social History Project/Center for Media and Learning
<div><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License</a>.</div>
English
Great Depression and World War II (1929-1945)