iCivics
I Civics: The First 100 Days
Discover the history behind the "First 100 Days" and its impact on the American presidency. Students will evaluate the fairness of judging presidents based on this somewhat arbitrary time period.
A&E Television
History.com: The First Thanksgiving Celebration
[Free Registration/Login Required] Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday in the United States. In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Native Americans shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first...
A&E Television
History.com: How Mc Kinley's Assassination Spurred Secret Service Presidential Protection
The Secret Service accompanies the president and the First Family everywhere, but it wasn't always this way. It would take a third assassination of a U.S. president -- William McKinley -- to prompt Congress to assign full official...
A&E Television
History.com: Thanksgiving History Facts and Trivia
What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving? Which president made Thanksgiving a federal holiday? Get Thanksgiving trivia to share around the table. Over the centuries, that briefly-mentioned feast week has taken on a life of its own,...
A&E Television
History.com: How the 2000 Election Came Down to a Supreme Court Decision
As Florida's electoral votes became too close to call, controversy ensued over hanging chads, dimpled chads and butterfly bullets. Five hundred thirty-seven votes. That's all that separated Democrat Al Gore and his Republican challenger...
A&E Television
History.com: The 1936 Strike That Brought America's Most Powerful Automaker to Its Knees
Over 136,000 GM workers participated in a sit-down strike in Flint, Michigan. In Flint, Michigan, the United Auto Workers staged the first successful sit-down, forcing General Motors to come to terms. It was a major victory and the...
US Department of State
Biographies of the Secretaries of State: William Rufus Day (1849 1923)
Brief bio of William Rufus Day, statesman and Secretary of State to William McKinley for only 5 months and eventually serving on the U.S. Supreme Court for 20 years.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1800 1848: Indian Removal
In the 1830s, President Andrew Jackson pursued a policy of Indian Removal, forcing Native Americans living in Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi to trek hundreds of miles to territory in present-day Oklahoma.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Presidential Inaugurations
This resource provides step-by-step lesson plans that detail the Presidential Inauguration. It offers links to superb primary sources (photos, poems, audio, etc.) that catalog past inaugurations. This resource will certainly help...
Harp Week
Cartoon of the Day: On This Day: May 13, 1882
Flooding along the Mississippi River system has been a problem for many states and presidents. Look over this political cartoon drawn by Thomas Nast and read a little history behind the problem and see why President Arthur vetoed the...
Digital History
Digital History: Franklin Roosevelt and the Depression [Pdf]
After reading brief biographical information about Franklin Roosevelt, find out what he did immediately upon being sworn in as president in 1933. Find out about the legislation that aimed to encourage trust in banks, and the legislation...
Digital History
Digital History: The First Hundred Days
It is truly amazing to see how much legislation President Franklin Roosevelt was able to get through Congress in the first one hundred days of his administration. Read about the many programs that were implemented in an attempt to stem...
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: President Franklin D. Roosevelt
This companion to the PBS series surveys the career of the longest-serving president in U.S. history and leader through the Great Depression and World War II.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Passing the Torch
See how William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt's handpicked successor, qualifies as one of the progressive presidents, but infuriated progressives because of some of his policies.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: President Harding Installed a Radio
This 3-page article explores the role of radio in the 1920s, and the day that President Harding installed a radio in the White House.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: A Bank Holiday
Actions taken by Franklin D. Roosevelt upon becoming president in 1933. Read about how he took immediate steps to restore confidence in the banking segment of the American economy.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Woodrow Wilson's New Freedom
Read about the domestic legislation of Woodrow Wilson, a progressive president who won the election of 1912. See how the policies he proposed won him the support of those who believed in the platform of the Bull Moose Party.
Alabama Learning Exchange
Alex: Making History Personal
This lesson fosters an understanding of a major event in American history. It uses this event to guide students into research of how the event affected an 'ordinary' person's life. Each student will be responsible for interviewing...
Digital History
Digital History: Politics During the 1920s
Read about the presidents who held office during most of the 1920s. Both were essentially unremarkable, but Warren Harding, whose administration was beset by scandal, did have some accomplishments. See why Calvin Coolidge was such a...
Digital History
Digital History: The Farmer and the Depression [Pdf]
One of the first laws passed in Franklin Roosevelt's first hundred days was the Agricultural Adjustment Act. Read about how it helped farmers in crisis. and how it was the forerunner of the federal farm program in existence today. [pdf]
Digital History
Digital History: The March on Washington
In August 1963, more than 200,000 people marched from the Washington Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial for civil rights. Read about that day in this brief article.
Bartleby
Bartleby.com: bartleby.com: Presidential Inaugural Address: James A. Garfield
The inaugural address of James A. Garfield and a brief description of the inaugural day.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Environmental Reform
Environmental awareness in the United States became more focused upon the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring. Read about student protests, presidential legislation, and a new desire to protect the environment.