Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Declaration of Independence
The idea behind the Declaration of Independence and the process of writing it involved a great deal of thought and hand-wringing. Read about the three separate parts of the declaration, and the audiences for which the document was aimed.
PBS
Pbs: Brown v. Board of Education
This site discusses the history, significance, and law of the Brown v. Board of Education case.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: Challenging Segregation in Public Education
A senior high lesson plan on segregation in schools.
Other
Hsi: First Days of School Desegregation
An interactive site for students to learn about school desegregation. Photographs, oral histories and questions help guide the students to their conclusions.
PBS
Pbs Teachers: 1963 March on Washington and Its Impact (Lesson Plan)
A lesson plan that examines the events and conditions that led to the 1963 March on Washington and the impact of the march on civil rights in the United States. Students learn about the concept of "separate but equal" and the philosophy...
Digital History
Digital History: Simple Justice
Follow the civil rights quest for integrated schools from the beginning in 1849 through the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Topeka Board of Education and the struggle that ensued for decades following in the most reluctant...
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Separate Is Not Equal: The Quest for Education
Part of a larger piece on Segregated America, this section focus is on the commitment and perseverance of African Americans in the post-Civil War South to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of an education. Offers teachers and...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow
Companion to a four-part PBS series about Jim Crow has a timeline with links to significant events and people, video and audio clips from the series, and in-depth backgrounders on Jim Crow issues and impacts.
Other
The Legacy of Brown v Board of Education
Resource explores the history and legacy of the Brown v. Board of Education landmark Supreme Court case and addresses critical questions about race and ethnicity in America over the past 60 years.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Separate Is Not Equal: Sitting for Justice: Woolworth's Lunch Counter
Read a brief description of the sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina. This sit-in, passive and non-violent resistance to segregation laws, lasted for six months.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Separate Is Not Equal: Jim Crow Laws
Find Jim Crow laws, see signs, and read restrictive covenants that restricted freedom of movement, housing, and use of public facilities by African Americans in the late 19th and 20 centuries.
Digital History
Digital History: The 14th Amendment and the Jim Crow Laws [Pdf]
Read about the background of the passage of the 14th Amendment which resulted in the famous case before the Supreme Court, Plessy v Ferguson, almost thirty years later. Suggested student exercises ask students to assess the issue of...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Discusses the famous Supreme Court decision that ended school segregation, Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954).
Curated OER
Nmah: Separate but Equal: The Law of the Land
Photo of Supreme Court judges who decided Plessy v Ferguson
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: The Pursuit of Justice
This book analyzes 30 Supreme Court cases chosen by a group of Supreme Court justices and leading civics educators as the most important for American citizens to understand. An additional 100 significant cases included in state history...
Black Past
Black Past: Garvey, Marcus
In this encyclopedia entry you can read about Marcus Garvey, newspaper entrepreneur and advocate of black pride and separatism.