National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Leyden Jar
These devices, though quite humble, represented a tremendous breakthrough in the history of electricity; they were the first capacitors, and as such were able to store electric charge. (Java tutorial)
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Mirror Galvanometer
Invented by William Thomson (who later became Lord Kelvin for such clever acts as this), the mirror galvanometer was a useful instrument that played a key role in the history of the telegraph. (Java tutorial)
Read Works
Read Works: Growing Up Long Ago
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the typical life of a child during the 1800's. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Alabama Humanities Foundation
Encyclopedia of Alabama: Know Nothing Party
The Know-Nothing Party, a semi-secret political party from the mid-1800's, is explained in this report. The party lasted only a brief time, for its main purpose was to curb immigration and naturalization led by fear that the German and...
Library of Congress
Loc: Teachers: Journeys West
A series of lessons utilizing primary texts, including narratives, photographs, and maps, through which learners explore the following question: "What motivated thousands of people to journey west during the 1800s?"
National Academy of Engineering
Greatest Achievements: Agricultural Mechanization
This page details the mechanization of agriculture from the late 1800's to the late 1900's.
Other
Amon Carter Museum: Landmarks Over Time
Students will compare bird's-eye views of Texas cities in the 1800's to those in the 2000's by identifying landmarks and summarize how the cities have changed over time.
Other
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame: John Coffee "Jack" Hays 1817 1883
A biography of John Coffee Hays, a prominent Texas Ranger in the 1800s.
Other
The University of Southern Mississippi: Maps Digital Collection
This Maps Digital collection contains a selection of historical maps that feature Mississippi in the 1800s.
OpenStax
Open Stax: American Foreign Policy 1890 1914: Turner, Mahan, and Roots of Empire
Examines the development of American foreign policy in the latter part of the 1800s, and what Frederick Jackson Turner and Alfred Thayer Mahan did to further American imperialistic interests.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Urbanization 1870 1900: Change Reflected in Thought and Writing
American writers and intellectuals played an important role in articulating the changes taking place in Industrial America in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Learn about some of the prominent writers, scientists, and philosophers at that...
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Native Americans and the Last Battles
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart covers the history of the conflict between the US government and Native Americans on the Great Plains in the late 1800's.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Urban Growth and Westward Expansion
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart covers the rise in population in American cities in the late 1800's and westward expansion.
Smithsonian Institution
National Postal Museum: Rail, Sail, or Overland Mail
Audio and animated visual presentation on the history of how mail travels, starting in the 1850s. This activity lets you see how quickly you can carry twenty bags of mail from Philadelphia to New Orleans using various methods of travel.
University of Washington
Northwest Imagery: The Photography of Edward and Asahel Curtis
Edward and Asahel Curtis provide wonderful insight into Washington State in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Edward provides us his perceived traditions of North American Indians and Asahel photographed Washington's natural resources...
Wisconsin Historical Society
Wisconsin Historical Society: John R. Commons
John R. Commons was known for his progressive views on social welfare and labor reform in the later 1800s. He is felt to be responsible for the beginning of Social Security in the United States.
State Library of North Carolina
N Cpedia: Gold Mining in the Uwharries
In the early decades of the 1800s, the southern Piedmont's gold mines attracted prospectors, investors, and miners. Tar Heel gold had first been found in 1799 on John Reed's farm in Cabarrus County, several miles west of the Uwharrie...
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco: Steamer Day at the Post Office
This page contains information about Steamer Day that took place in San Francisco in the late 1800s.
Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press.
New Georgia Encyclopedia: Knights of Labor
Reference source for information on the history of the labor organization, the Knights of Labor, nationally and in Georgia, in particular, in the late 1800s and the role it played in organizing southern laborers. Hyperlinks to additional...
Country Studies US
Country Studies: Agrarian Distress and Rise of Populism
This resource is provided for by the Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. It discusses how the late 1800s was a time of economic and agrarian distress for many farmers in the US. Facing tremendous as a result of their...
Country Studies US
Country Studies: The Struggles of Labor
This site discusses how for much of the latter half of the 1800s, the life of the common laborer was horrendous. Working in a unsanitary factory, for at least 10 hours a day, making far less than needed to survive, the struggles of the...
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory
Magnet Academy: Tesla Coil 1891
By the late 1800s, electricity had long been discovered and was no longer considered a novelty. The science of how to store, enhance, or transmit electrical current was just beginning to evolve, and eccentric scientist Nikola Tesla...
US Department of State
Biographies of the Secretaries of State: James Monroe (1758 1831)
Biography of James Monroe tells about his life, political career and his influence on U.S. diplomacy in the early 1800s.
US Department of State
Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Lewis Cass (1782 1866)
Short biogrpahy of Lewis Cass, appointed Secretary of State by James Buchanan, explains his rise to prominence and influence on American diplomacy during the 1800s.