An essay that looks at other, more complex reasons for the outbreak of the Civil War, beyond the traditionally accepted ones related to the Northern industrial economy versus the Southern agricultural one.

Article introducing the Civil War. The author provides background information on the debates between the North and South eventually leading to war.

A tutorial that looks at the main causes of the American Civil War. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.

This resource provides materials to enhance debates between young scholars about the Iraq War.

Trace the causes and debates that led to the Spanish-American War, including "yellow journalism" press coverage, President McKinley's declaration of war, and sentiments about imperialism. In this interactive lesson from WGBH, students...

A list with descriptions of the major events that led up to the outbreak of the Civil War.

After the Dred Scott decision by the US Supreme Court, the friction between the North and South over slavery escalated, and the North began to fear that they might not be able to prevent slavery from spreading into their states. The Dred...

An interesting look at the religious beliefs of Northerners during the Civil War. Essay discusses the main tenets of belief that basically culminated in the conviction that God wouldn't let the North win until it ended slavery. Includes...

Students will use a copy of the Wilmot Proviso and a map used by President Polk in an address to Congress to debate whether territory acquired through the Mexican War should be free or slave states. This debate in Congress served as a...

Lesson on U.S. Imperialism and Revolution in which students analyze primary source text to understand the debate over the Philippines, 1898-1900.

Essay focussing on African American Christianity from emancipation to the great migration. Site offers photos, student discussion guidelines, historian debate and links to related material.

[Free Registration/Login Required] In the Civil War and Reconstruction unit, students engage in contentious historiographic debates about the period: Was Lincoln a racist? Was Reconstruction a success or failure? Was John Brown a...

Consider the debate over prescription drug pricing, the government's role in regulating drug prices, concepts of media literacy and the role of these concepts in pharmaceutical advertising, in this Teacher's Guide to "The Other Drug...

With this Teacher's Guide to "Diet Wars," students will learn about the USDA food pyramid, evaluate their own food consumption, and examine their school lunch program for nutrition and health purposes. This FRONTLINE documentary examines...

From National Public Radio, the controversy surrounding President Bush's domestic wiretapping program is looked at. Learn what it's all about. Ongoing coverage of the debate is provided.

Describes the events leading up to the start of the American Civil War. Looks at clashes between pro- and anti-slavery groups, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the fight over California, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act,...

To try to understand both sides of the Civil War, students will think about some of the different aspects and perspectives involved. In this activity, students will match Civil War terms to their definitions to familiarize themselves...

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...

Take this quiz to assess your knowledge on the Cold War.

Did the U.S. know about the Pearl Harbor attack weeks before it happened? Using the following information from the Top Secret Report of Army Pearl Harbor Board, 20 October 1944, students can debate this controversial question.

Discusses what caused the Civil War, including a section on the political parties of the mid 1800's.

The day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt gave the go-ahead to scientists to develop an atomic bomb. This site gives a good overview of the war in the Pacific against Japan, the increasing successes of the...

Discussion of the Lincoln Douglas Debates, a series of seven public debates held in 1858 between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas as they contested the Illinois Senate seat.

The 2009 presidential elections in Afghanistan were important to both the Afghanis as well as the United States and allied forces fighting in Afghanistan. (August 3, 2009)