Curated OER
Election of 1860
Students determine how the presidential election of 1860 led to the American Civil War. In this election of 1860 lesson, students discover details regarding the election and hold their own mock debate and election. Students also write an...
Curated OER
Write a Constitution
Fourth graders examine the United states Constitution and discuss the difficulties the framers faced in writing it. They explore ideas about the division of power, rights, and other topics contained in it.
Curated OER
Civil Rights Heroes
Pupils explore the actions of people involved in the Civil Rights Movement. They explore the reasons for the movement and its successes and failures, and explain the sacrifices made by those who participated in the movement.
Curated OER
Today: American Industry and the Multinationals
Students work in groups to read information about one of four featured factories. Students share their readings with the class, and compile a list of "Actions to be Taken" that will be included in their final paper. Student compare their...
Curated OER
The Powers of Mom: Understanding the Legislative, Executive and Judicial Power
Tenth graders examine the powers of each branch of the government. They analyze the causes and effects of relationships within the government. They participate in activities to help them comprehend the material.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation: History of the Fbi
This official FBI site offers an illustrated history of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from the years of its first director, J. Edgar Hoover, to the present and is suitable for student research.
Hartford Web Publishing
World History Archives: Banditry Threatens the New Russia, Law
An article about threats to Russia's free-market economy and the breakdown of law enforcement.
Other
Fair Vote: X's and O's: A History of the Voting Rights Act and African Americans
Documented essay on the history of black suffrage in American and the significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: The American West: The Gold Rush
Describes the impact of the California Gold Rush of 1848 which brought hundreds of thousands of gold-seeking migrants to the region. This massive influx of people to a place with little law enforcement and no infrastructure led to...
Ibis Communications
Eyewitness to History: Encounter With the Texas Rangers, 1876
This firsthand account of an encounter with some of the men from the Texas Rangers, a group of law enforcement officers in nineteenth century Texas.
Other
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum: Ranger History in Brief Form Part 1
Read this historical account of the Texas Rangers, a group of lawmen who fought crime and lawlessness on the Texas frontier in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Other
Zorza Associates: The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
This lengthy article in the Fordham Urban Law Journal gives a history of Uniform Child Custody legislation and shows how the most recent, the Enforcement Act, affects women and children.
A&E Television
History.com: How the Horrific Tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire Led to Workplace Safety Laws
The March 25, 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire was one of the deadliest workplace catastrophes in U.S. history, claiming the lives of 146 workers, most of them women immigrants in their teens and twenties. The fire was so horrific it...
Curated OER
Cbc News: A Legal History of Smoking in Canada
Follow this almost 20 year timeline of Tobacco Laws introduced and enforced in Canada.
A&E Television
History.com: How Did Baseball's Seventh Inning Stretch Originate?
The American tradition might date to President William Howard Taft in 1910, but it could have started in 1869. The seventh-inning stretch, when fans rise from their seats for a brief break after the top of that inning is complete, is as...
Digital History
Digital History: The Whiskey Rebellion [Pdf]
The Whiskey Rebellion was an early challenge to the new United States government. Read about the importance of whiskey in the back country and the need for the United States to find sources of revenues. This is a story of east vs. west,...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Reconstruction
A very good overview of Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. Find the questions that needed to be answered about how to reincorporate the Confederate states, what rights freed blacks would have, and how terms of...
Other
U.s. Marshals Service
Homepage for the United States Marshals Service. There are many helpful links on this page - history, major cases, and information on becoming a Deputy.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Epa: Summary of the Clean Water Act
Provides a brief overview of the Clean Water Act. Includes links to its history and to information about compliance and enforcement.
Glenbow Museum
Glenbow Museum: Teacher Resources: Mounties
Many students view Mounties as simply policemen on horses. But it is important to understand the Mountie not only as a Canadian symbol, but also for the role they took in shaping the development of Western Canada. This site has many...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Second Amendment
Check out this interactive timeline on the history of the second amendment.
Other
The Center for the Study of Technology and Society
This online magazine offers the latest news and information concerning the relationship between society and available technologies.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: Drugs, Politics, and Culture
From mind-altering drugs for pleasure to the push for pharmaceutical drugs, while examining this course of history and its effects on the world, take advantage of these resources. Includes PDFs (require Adobe Reader).
University of Houston
University of Houston: Life in Renaissance England
Describes the world of Renaissance England. Discusses how that world is reflected in the works of William Shakespeare. Includes interesting information on how the English language became stabilized due to the printing press. Highlights...