Curated OER
The Era of Good Feelings
Setting the context for the first part of the 19th century, the slides presented here display the "Era of Good Feelings," including the presidencies of Monroe and Adams. Maps and photographs help students to contextualize the concepts of...
Curated OER
Growing a Nation
Eleventh graders examine the major events and inventions that changed American families and communities. In this US History lesson, 11th graders analyze various documents dealing with the changes. Students create a project on an event...
Curated OER
Document Based Question: Erie Canal
Fourth graders read the provided documents about the Erie Canal to discover the impact that this transportation systems had on the New York community. In this history instructional activity, 4th graders first analyze the documents and...
Curated OER
Erie Canal
In this social studies, students find the words that are related to the location of the Erie Canal. The answers are found by clicking the button at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Grand Celebration! Broadside
Learners research the construction and history of the Erie Canal. They answer discussion questions in small groups, draw and label the Erie Canal on a map of New York State, read and discuss a handout, and complete a worksheet.
Curated OER
New York Earns Title: Empire State
Seventh graders study the Erie Canal and New York state. They design a three-day vacation itinerary using tourism sites, which highlight historical facts and include the modern remains of the New York Canal system.
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal
After studying various background materials, students read "Marco Paul's Travels on the Erie Canal" and participate in writing and discussion activities that will foster understanding of the Erie Canal and its impact on economic and...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: River Towns, River Networks
This resource provides information about communities that lived on or near water, including the canals.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Economic Growth and the Early Industrial Revolution
A very thorough look at the industrial growth in the North because of the advent of the Industrial Revolution in America. See what industries grew, how factories became more productive, and find out how the states cultivated economic...
University of Richmond
American Panorama: Canals
Excellent resource maps the growth of canals and economic development in the nineteenth-century by presenting data about the commodities and products that moved across the canals and shows the spaces that canals connected.
Other
New York State Canals: The Erie Canal a Brief History
This illustrated history of the Erie Canal begins with the original idea to its impact after its completion.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Impact of the Erie Canal on America
Students will learn how the creation of the Erie Canal changed the environment to be more advantageous. This transportation waterway impacted American culture, economics, politics, and more. It set America on a path of destiny, from a...
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: Two Hundred Years on the Erie Canal
Learn about the Erie Canal, one of the most famous man-made bodies of water in the world. Completed in 1825, the Erie Canal connected the port of New York City on the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes transforming trade, industry, and...
Digital History
Digital History: The Sections [Pdf]
Soon after the end of the Revolutionary War, the characteristics of the various parts of the new United States established themselves. Find out about the sectionalism, economy, and needs in the country in the early 1800s--the...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: An Uncertain Economy 1820 1860
In the 1820s, America's population was still moving ever westward in search of opportunities and advancement. These people are sometimes depicted as being fiercely independent and strongly opposed to any kind of government control or...
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Economic Expansion, Enlarged Markets
The United States was greatly affected by the Industrial Revolution taking place in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. New inventions and capital investment led to the creation of new industries and the spread of economic growth....
Digital History
Digital History: Accelerating Transportation
A thorough look at the transportation revolution that occured in the early 1800s. Read about the building of roads, canals, and the spread of railroads. Find out about the surprising opposition to improved transportation, and see how...
Have Fun With History
Have Fun With History: Pioneers and the Frontier
Learning module with a variety of video and other resources on the expansion westward as pioneers settled new frontier in the 1800s.
Other
The Erie Canal: Clinton's Big Ditch
Overview of the Erie Canal from its initial proposal to its completion.
Other
The Erie Canal: Low Bridge, Everybody Down [Pdf]
The learning activity examines how the Erie Canal affected New York State's development.
Other
New York State Archives: Erie Canal Time Machine
Take a trip back in time to 1825 to learn about the Erie Canal. Resources includes three projects that require students to look at documents and answer questions.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Canal Era
See how the building of canals in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio not only opened up the west by making travelling easier and joining western territories to northern states, but also transformed cities from small burgs to major...
Read Works
Read Works: Westward Expansion the Erie Canal
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the building of the Erie Canal. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Wake Up, America: New Modes of Transport in 19th Century America [Pdf]
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that examines how new technology and scientific advances of the nineteenth century changed America. Includes ideas for directing students through a...