Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Mining Boom
The allure of getting rich quick by finding gold or silver was just a dream for most prospectors. Read about the gold and silver rushes that usually ended up enriching the mining industry, not the miner. Find out about the make-up of the...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The End of Resistance
Find a brief recounting of resistance by several Indian tribes in an attempt to maintain their territory. See how the settlers participating in the Oklahoma land rush stole land set aside for several Indian tribes.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Massacre at Sand Creek
A sad recounting of one of the most brutal attacks on Indians during the Indian Wars. Read about the Sand Creek Massacre and the retaliation it prompted.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: Witchcraft in Salem
The hysteria in Salem which resulted in trials of innocent people accused of witchcraft has invited many theories on why the accusing girls made such claims. Read about the evidence admitted in the trials and the results of the trials....
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: New England Colonies: Massachusetts Bay the City on the Hill
Learn a little about Puritan beliefs and see the importance of religion and the clergy in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
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...