An activity guide where learners refer to the Texas Almanac, which is free to download, for information needed to complete assigned tasks. In this lesson, students research the people who were involved in early Spanish missions, and the...

A brief biography of James Madison. Find out why James Madison was called the father of the constitution. Learn how his life affected the United States. (In Spanish)

This lesson plan on Abigail Adams, Phillis Wheatley and other women writers is designed to "enhance the Social Studies curriculum for fourth and fifth graders by providing information on the roles that women had during three areas in...

[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.

A collection of images of early Virginia Indians that includes information on interpreting the images and shows fanciful images that were not historically accurate.

This National Humanities Center essay describes an overview of the first Great Awakening. Discussion tips for teachers are included.

This 3-page article provides an informative and intriguing account of the Boston Massacre. Learn more about this important event in the American Revolution from this site.

This site is provided for by the Library of Congress. Do you know when "the Virginia Company founded the first permanent English colony at Jamestown?" Do you know what the capital of the Confederacy was? Explore the history of Virginia...

Can you name the "two major cities" that dominate the state of Pennsylvania? At this site from the Library of Congress you can learn about how William Penn named this state and find answers to many other questions, as this site takes a...

A speech and an essay that alternately praise the acquisition of foreign territory by the U.S. and that raise questions about the costs and value of these imperialistic adventures.

2013 marks the 406th anniversary of the founding of the Jamestown colonial settlement. Learn about how Jamestown Day is now celebrated in Virginia, including the sailing of a recreated ship, archaelogical digs and a variety of cultural...

This page provided by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing gives the the history of paper money from the colonial notes in 1690 to the currency redesigns of 1996 and 2003.

In this lesson, 5th graders learn about the many societal structures that developed in colonial days, including the conditions for self-government in America, the free-market economy, and the slavery system. Background information for...

These journals from the Continental Congress of the United States will provide students with a greater understanding of the foundations of American government as established in the late 18th century. Includes handwritten documents by...

Drawing resources in the collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Coming of the American Revolution examines the seeds of rebellion in America. Includes a chronology of key events leading up to the American Revolution,...

Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia served many vital functions before and during the American Revolution. Among these are the seat of the First Continental Congress, the site of the War Office, and the home of the first public lending...

An interesting and comprehensive essay on Adriaen Block, the development of New Netherlands, Dutch trade, and the impact of the Little Ice Age in Europe on fur trade in North America.

From a chapter on "America's War for Independence," this section of the chapter explains Loyalist and Patriot sentiments and identifies different groups that participated in the Revolutionary War.

A beautiful presentation of needlework from 1700s America, accompanied by an explanation of the type of education girls and young women received during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and how fabric arts were a prominent part of...

Follow the early history of Native American and European contact in America. As more settlers moved west, a law was passed to relocate the Cherokee from Arkansas. The routes they followed and the cruelties they suffered came to be known...

The early 1600s saw the beginning of a great tide of emigration from Europe to North America. Spanning more than three centuries, this movement grew from a trickle of a few hundred English colonists to a flood of millions of newcomers....

The mystery of what happened to the Lost Colony on Roanoke Island has endured over the centuries. A clue has, until recently, lain hidden in a map created by John White that is housed in the British Museum. Archaeologists began digging...

The influence of Asian art on colonial Latin America is particularly evident in viceregal textiles, ceramics, and furniture. Some examples are the resplendent biombos, or folding screens, made in Mexico beginning in the seventeenth...

Mission churches, which followed a similar architectural plan but varied in terms of decoration, are among the earliest examples of colonial architecture. View pictures and read the history of these mission churches, or conventos, in New...