- Historical Eras > Antebellum America (1816-1860) (x)
We found 195 items that match your search
A Historian Explains the Significance of the Fugitive Slave Act
Historian Eric Foner explains why the Fugitive Slave Act was such a divisive political act and a turning point in the sectional conflicts that had plagued American society during the antebellum era. Foner also describes the role of former slaves in [...]
Telling the Whole Story: Irish Americans in Five Points
In this activity students gather and analyze data from the 1855 census of the Five Points neighborhood. Students compare stereotypes of Irish immigrants with evidence from the census. Then students compare their census research with other primary [...]
Telling the Whole Story Worksheets
These worksheets help students gather evidence from the Five Points census database. Students then compare their data with prevailing 19th century stereotypes of Irish immigrants and conclude whether or not they were accurate. These worksheets are [...]
Explanation of 1855 Census Categories
This worksheet explains the different categories and terminology that census recorders used in the 1855 census of the Five Points neighborhood. This worksheet may help students in the activity Understanding the 1855 Census Database and Telling [...]
Reformers versus Residents in Five Points: A Role Play
In this activity students learn about the religious, class, and ethnic tensions between reformers and residents in the working-class Irish immigrant neighborhood of Five Points. Students research roles of a Protestant reformer and two Irish women [...]
Reformers versus Residents Scene Assessment worksheet
This worksheet assists students and teachers in assessing the historical understanding demonstrated in the "Reformers versus Residents in the Five Points" Role Play activity.
Lowell Girls Declare "Union is Power"
The first Lowell “turn-out”, or strike, took place in 1834, when owners announced a 15% wage cut. Lowell women were angered not only by the loss of income, but also by the threat to their vision of increased independence. Eight hundred women [...]
Southern Newspapers Praise the Attack on Charles Sumner
On May 22, 1856 abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts gave a fiery speech denouncing pro-slavery activists in the territory of Kansas and their supporters in the United States Congress. The next day, while Sumner sat defenseless at [...]
A Mill Girl Explains Why She Is Leaving Factory Life
Born on a Vermont farm, Sarah Rice left home at age 17 to make it on her own. Eventually she journeyed to Masonville, Connecticut to work in textile mills much like those of Lowell. Rice's first letter was written after she had been weaving in the [...]
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Preserves Mexicans' Rights in the Southwest
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848, ceded 525,000 square miles--55% of--Mexican territory to the United States. In exchange, the United States paid approximately $15 million in damages to pay for [...]