Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: Caleb Strong 1745 1819

For Students 9th - 10th
Strong was born to Caleb and Phebe Strong on January 9, 1745 in Northampton, MA. He received his college education at Harvard, from which he graduated with highest honors in 1764. Like so many of the delegates to the Constitutional...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Regional Contrasts

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the populations of the New England colonies as compared to the Southern colonies in the 1600s. See how the numbers of Native Americans decreased dramatically particularly in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Handout
University of Groningen

American History: Biographies: John Fitzgerald Kennedy

For Students 9th - 10th
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29th 1917 at Brookline (Massachusetts). His father Joseph Kennedy was an ambitious politician, who became from son of a pubkeeper to a millionaire. He married the daughter of the mayor of Boston,...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Puritans

For Students 9th - 10th
This article paints a picture of Puritans somewhat different from common myth. Read about their ideas of separation of church and state, and even their love of color.
Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Anne Bradstreet

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Biographical information and details about the themes and style of Bradstreet's poetry. Includes quotations from her poem "To My Dear and Loving Husband."
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: Shays' Rebellion in Massachusetts

For Students 9th - 10th
Read an assessment of Shays' Rebellion, its causes and how it could have been avoided, written by William Manning, who called himself "a laborer." He wrote this in 1799, thirteen years after the popular uprising.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Puritan Idea of the Covenant

For Students 9th - 10th
John Wintrhop's idea of the value of a covenant in social relations that was reflected in the development of the Puritan community.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: New England Colonies: Puritan Life

For Students 5th - 8th
Find out about the life of the Puritans. Education was important, as well as church attendance. Read about the forms of punishment, and the ways Puritans had fun.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: New England Colonies: Witchcraft in Salem

For Students 5th - 8th
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....
PPT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Medieval Food [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes food practices in medieval times. Looks at food staples, food preservation, daily diet, recipes and cookbooks, the role of the church, and social class.
eBook
Other

Stony Brook University: Sennacherib's Palace Without Rival at Nineveh

For Students 9th - 10th
This book by John Malcolm Russell, a professor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, was published in 1991. Written from the perspective of an art historian, he presents his ideas about the function of the Palace without Rival by...
Activity
Other

Do History: Martha Ballard's Diary Online

For Students 9th - 10th
This site invites viewers "to piece together the life and world of an "ordinary" person from the past." The site boasts thousands of original documents that include diaries, maps, letters, and court records of a midwife from...
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Witchcraft in Salem Village

For Students 9th - 10th
This National Humanities site gives a brief description of "This notorious episode in the history of early New England," and some ideas for presenting the topic of witchcraft to students.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: New England Colonies: Dissent in Massachusetts Bay

For Students 5th - 8th
The Puritan clergy in Massachusetts Bay colony did not allow religious dissent. Read about the fate of colonists Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams who believed in religious freedom.
Website
Other

Fairbanks House Historical Site, Dedham Massachusetts, 1637 41

For Students 9th - 10th
At the online home of the Fairbanks House, believed to be the oldest surviving timber frame house in North America, see views of the home's interior and exterior. Learn about the home's architecture and history, how it survived over the...
Activity
National Women's Hall of Fame

National Women's Hall of Fame: Anne Hutchinson

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Women's Hall of Fame honors Anne Hutchinson for her early advocation for religious freedom in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: The Townshend Acts and Colonial Protest

For Students 11th - 12th
From a chapter on "Imperial Reforms and Colonial Protests," this section of the chapter describes the purpose of the 1767 Townshend Acts and explains why many colonists protested the acts and the consequences of their actions.
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Transformation in North 1800 50: Early Industrialization Northeast

For Students 11th - 12th
Examines the transformation of work from artisan-centered to a mechanized workforce. Looks at the emergence of industrialization and the impact it had on production and on the worker experience, the development of the consumer society,...
Article
A&E Television

History.com: Minimum Wage in America: A Timeline

For Students 9th - 10th
Since 1938, the U.S. federal government has established that workers are entitled to a base hourly wage. Which workers receive that minimum -- and how much -- has remained a political issue.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

National Park Service: The Kennedy Family Background

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Describes the birthplace of John Kennedy and the family background of his parents Joseph and Rose Kennedy.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: The Story of the Pilgrims

For Teachers 2nd
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the colonists' journey on the Mayflower and their first year in Plymouth. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Handout
National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

Magnet Academy: Eric Cornell

For Students 9th - 10th
Born in Palo Alto, California, and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts - homes to Stanford and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, respectively - you could say Eric Cornell was destined to become a renowned scientist. And while he...
Primary
Internet History Sourcebooks Project

Fordham University: Modern History Sourcebook: "Lowell Mill Girls" by Harriet Robinson

For Students 9th - 10th
Archived news article. A personal account of young female cotton mill workers in Massachusetts during the mid-1800's.
Article
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: 300 Women Who Changed History: Dorothea Dix

For Students 9th - 10th
Encyclopaedia Britannica provides a biography of Dorothea Lynde Dix (1802-1887 CE), most noted for her report to the Massachusetts legislature about the inhumane conditions under which the mentally ill are held in prisons. Her report led...