This site presents the text of one of Franklin Roosevelt's fireside chats with the American people. In this 07/24, 1933, radio broadcast, he addressed issues of the Great Depression and described what industry, employers, and workers could do to bring about economic recovery.

This lesson includes Franklin Roosevelt's first inaugural address, in which he said, I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis [the Depression] broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.

This site provides a lesson that uses primary documents such as the Emancipation Proclamation. This lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Social Sciences. It also has cross-curricular connections with history, government, and language arts.

This lesson encourages students to analyze historic documents related to two fugitive slave cases and determine the impact events of the period 1850 to 1860 had on them. The Henry Garnett and Moses Honner cases demonstrates the political crisis in the 1850s arising over the issue of slavery and the necessity for the enactment of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. This lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Social Sciences.

This lesson presents the drawing and description that helped Joseph Glidden, a farmer from De Kalb, Illinois, win a patent for barbed wire in 1874. Glidden's design remains today the most familiar style of barbed wire. This site also examines the considerable impact of barbed wire on the economy, society, and politics in the West.

This page discusses the importance of primary documents and uses them to illustrate historical concepts such as the subjective nature of written history, the intimate view of historical people's lives that primary documents can provide, and the importance of developing analytical skills when reconstructing history.

This lesson recounts efforts to improve homesteading laws and make land ownership possible for more settlers. The distribution of government lands had been an issue since the Revolutionary War. Preemption -- settling the land first and paying for it later -- became national policy; however, supporting legislation was stymied until the secession of Southern states. See one of the first applications for land under this law. Teaching activities are included.

Students will analyze documents from the War Department’s Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands — better known as the Freedmen’s Bureau — that Congress established on March 3, 1865, as the Civil War was coming to an end. Using the scale in Weighing the Evidence, students will evaluate the effectiveness of the Freedmen’s Bureau in assisting formerly enslaved persons. Learning Objectives: Students will be able to identify and draw conclusions about the roles of the Freedmen’s Bureau (Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands), critically analyze primary sources, formulate opinions about the effectiveness of the Bureau, and back up their opinions verbally or in writing.

This lesson leads students through analyzing primary source documents from the Civil War to determine if the Freedman's Bureaus was effective in assisting formerly enslaved persons.

This lesson focuses on the American Revolution, which encouraged the founding fathers' desire to create a government that would, as stated in the Preamble, insure domestic tranquility and provide for the common defense. This lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Social Sciences.

This site challenges visitors to test their knowledge about inaugurations and presidential history with a 10 question quiz.

Database of Hebrew and Arabic texts recovered by a US Army team in Iraq. Primary Resources/Authentic Texts. The restoration and preservation of these documents is explained.

This lesson offers primary documents illustrating how this groundbreaking African American baseball player advocated for civil rights. It incorporates the material into lessons on civil rights history, character education, and civic responsibility.

This lesson tells how and why our Navy was created. After the Revolutionary War, Barbary pirates preyed on American vessels and held seamen for ransom. In 1794, Congress reestablished the Navy with authorization for six vessels.

This site allows students to analyze a variety of documents to identify events, actions, and individuals who contributed to the Civil War's outcome. This lesson correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Social Sciences. It also has cross-curricular connections with your history, government, and American literature.

This lesson presents 13 documents and photos related to the 1804-6 expedition into the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. The documents include a list of Indian presents Lewis purchased, his receipts for wine and tobacco, Jefferson's letter to Madison announcing the purchase of Louisiana, and Jefferson's message to Congress communicating the discoveries of the expedition.

This lesson provides background information and lessons (correlated to academic standards) that incorporate the use of textbooks, maps, and discussions based on primary documents such as the U.S. Constitution. In this lesson students will examine the declaration of war with Mexico and the protests of those who opposed this act. They will also explore protesters of conscience against wars other than the Mexican War.

This lesson plan displays records from the 1880 and 1990 census schedules showing that Laura Ingalls, Almanzo Wilder, and families of the popular Little House on the Prairie series were not mere characters but were real people. Teaching activities are included to help students learn more about the census.

Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter) is an Angevin charter originally issued in Latin in June 1215. The
Magna Carta was the first document forced onto a King of England by a group of his subjects in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their rights.
The charter is widely known throughout the English speaking world as an important part of the protracted historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law in England and beyond. Read a translation into English here.

This lesson encourages students to study a variety of documents to understand the impact of a particular piece of legislation and relates to the powers granted to Congress in Article I, Section 8 , of the Constitution, related to making laws. It correlates to the National History Standards and the National Standards for Civics and Social Sciences. It also has cross-curricular connections with with history, government, global studies, and music.