Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Road to Pearl Harbor: The United States and East Asia 1915 1941

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A four-lesson plan unit on the events that led up to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II. Lesson topics include the growth of hostility between the United States and Japan after WWI, the Sino-Japanese conflict,...
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: 1846: Portrait of a Nation

For Students 3rd - 8th
This site provides a glimpse into the United States in the year 1846. James Polk was president and the Westward Expansion was in full force. The site has nice historical photographs.
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Manifest Destiny, Continued: Mc Kinley Defends u.s. Expansionism

For Students 9th - 10th
Enhanced by an introduction and commentary, read a speech given by U.S. President William McKinley to a delegation of Methodist church leaders in 1899 in which he defined the United States intervention in the Philippines as the proper...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Pearl Harbor

For Students 5th - 8th
A concise look at the economic relations between Japan and the United States just prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Find out what the Japanese hoped to achieve with the attack, and read about the American response.
Website
Other

On Line History of the United States: The Age of Imperialism

For Students 9th - 10th
Online history page containing numerous links to specific incidents of U.S. expansion in the Pacific, Latin America, China, and Cuba.
Website
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: The Spanish American War in the Philippines (1898)

For Students 9th - 10th
After giving a general summary of the Spanish-American War in the Western Hemisphere, the course of the war as waged in the Philippines is explained. See how the Philippines was annexed to the United States.
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Foreign Affairs

For Students 9th - 10th
Scroll through this discussion of Franklin Roosevelt's attention to foreign policy during his several terms in office to "Confronting Germany and Japan" and "Descent into War." Here you will find out about the United States' position of...
Article
Charles I. Kelly and Lawrence E. Kelly

Many things.org: In 1845, Republic of Texas Faces a Choice

For Students 5th - 8th
An explanation of the difficulties the Republic of Texas encountered when deciding whether to join the Union. Also discusses President James Polk's efforts to expand the territories held by the United States, which brought him into...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Reactions to a Troubled World

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the rising militarism and fascism in Europe and Asia as dictators expanded their territories. See how the United States reacted with its series of three neutrality acts.
Handout
Country Studies US

Country Studies: Ambivalent Empire

For Students 9th - 10th
With the purchase of Alaska in 1867, the United States embarked on the road of building an empire. From Alaska to the Spanish-American War to the Philippine Islands, the U.S. grew as an imperial nation throughout the latter half of the...
Lesson Plan
Yale University

Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: The Foreign Policy of Franklin D. Roosevelt

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Describes Roosevelt's policies towards Pan-America, involvement in the global conflict, and entry into World War II. Included are sample lessons and a bibliography. (Published in 1978)
Primary
Mount Holyoke College

Mt. Holyoke:

For Students 9th - 10th
Text of speech by William Jennings Bryan at the 1900 Democratic convention. Details his anti-imperialistic stance in terms of the U.S. involvement in the Philippines.
Primary
Mount Holyoke College

Mt. Holyoke College: The Lust for Empire

For Students 9th - 10th
Text of speech by George Hoar denouncing U.S. involvement in the Philippines.
Graphic
Curated OER

Map: Imperialism and the Balance of Power

For Students 9th - 10th
World maps of the Colonial Empires of 1914 as well as their revenues during that time period. There are also maps depicting urban growth, type of government, wars and atrocities, and living conditions of the world in 1900.
Graphic
Curated OER

Map: Imperialism and the Balance of Power

For Students 9th - 10th
World maps of the Colonial Empires of 1914 as well as their revenues during that time period. There are also maps depicting urban growth, type of government, wars and atrocities, and living conditions of the world in 1900.