Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Women in the Gilded Age
The roles available to women increased during the urbanization of America. Find out how the women's sphere of the home expanded into the community. See what new jobs were availabe to single, middle-class women, and read about how...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Education
A result of one of the social reforms that attacked child labor was the increase in public education. See how education for all was addressed in the late 19th century, and read about the increased availability of higher education for...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Corruption Runs Wild
Government in the Gilded Age was often corrupt, tainted with money from various groups. Read about the role of political machines in many city governments, in particular Tammany Hall in New York City.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Underside of Urban Life
Read about the plight of the urban poor in the rapidly growing cities. In addition to the modern skyscrapers, the cities also had tenement housing where the poor lived. Find a description of that housing and the problems this housing bred.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Eugene v. Debs and American Socialism
Read about the growth of the Socialist Party in America under the leadership of Eugene V. Debs. Find out about the strikes he led, his political activities, and his arrest for sedition in 1918. Read also about the radical union,...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Politics of the Gilded Age
Politics in the last half of the 19th century reflected mediocrity at best and corruption at worst. Read about the series of "forgettable presidents," beginning with Andrew Johnson. Find out how big business could buy the government that...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New Attitutdes Toward Wealth
The accumulation of wealth went beyond inheritance in the late 19th century. Read about three different ideas for the ordinary person to become wealthy.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The New Tycoons: John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller was a poster boy for big business in the late 19th century. Read about how he made his vast fortune, ans see how he ran his company.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Gilded Age
The United States had an industrial resurgence after the Civil War. Read about the growth of big business in many areas and the men associated with these businesses. See also the people who did not prosper during this time and evaluate...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: A President Impeached
The Radical Republicans in Congress did not approve of President Andrew Johnson's attempts to thwart their plans for Reconstruction. See what charges they used to impeach Johnson and find out why he was not removed from office.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Presidential Reconstruction
After the death of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was responsible for implementing Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. Read about his views on African-Americans, and the leniency he offered Confederate leaders and soldiers....
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Assassination of the President
A detailed look at the last evening of Abraham Lincoln as he watched a play at Ford's Theater. See whom John Wilkes Booth and his co-conspirators targeted for assassination, and read what happened to Booth.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Election of 1864
The route to victory for Abraham Lincoln was not assured during his campaign for reelection in 1864. Read about how the course of the war was affecting his popularity, and find out about the Democratic opposition to his policies. Find a...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Southern Homefront
Life in the Confederacy during the Civil War was one of shortages. Read about the shortages of food, and the unstable currency which resulted in rampant inflation. Women's roles expanded in many fields. See what occurred when the draft...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Northern Homefront
The military-industrial complex thrived in the North during the Civil War, but read about how inflation affected the ordinary worker. See how the role of women expanded to fill in for men who were away fighting. Women also had an impact...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The War Behind the Lines
The battlegrounds were not the only places affected by the Civil War. Read about how both the North and South carried out foreign diplomacy, the effect of the war on the economies of the two sides, and how the role of women in both the...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Road to Appomattox
Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, the primary fighting force of the Confederacy, was vastly reduced as a result of the nine-month siege of Petersburg. Read about how Lee escaped. only to be surrounded at Appomattox Courthouse...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Northern Plans to End the War
By 1863 Northern military strategists developed a five-pronged plan to end the war. Read about how these goals were accomplished and at what great cost to both the Union and Confederate soldiers and civilians.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Sacred Beliefs
At the beginning of the Civil War people in both the North and the South held firm beliefs about the reasons for the war. Some wanted to preserve the Union, others to end slavery. In the South the question was about states' rights and...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: First Blood and Its Aftermath
Read about the first battle of the Civil War, the First Battle of Bull Run. Civilians were so enthralled with the prospect of watching a real battle, they traveled in droves south from Washington,D.C. Find out about the battle, how it...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South
A very good compilation of the advantages and disadvantages of both the North and South at the beginning of the Civil War. The South had the trained officers, but the North had the factories to make rifles. Read about the major...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Fort Sumter
A fascinating look at the "chess game" that involved Fort Sumter, a United States military installation in Charleston Harbor off the coast of South Carolina. Read about the moves by various leaders to keep or take the fort without...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Election of 1860
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was a watershed moment for the union of the country. Read about the political conventions, several candidates, and the votes that were split among them. Find a map that shows how the electoral...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Lincoln Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 exemplified the rift in the nation concerning the issue of slavery and who should be able to determine whether states were free or slave. Read about this war of ideas that moved from the stage in...