Eighth graders examine pictures & documents relating to the Hayes Plantation (Edenton, NC). They also use various maps of North Carolina to help them analyze how James Cathcart Johnston used, modified and adapted to the physical...

Students examine historical fiction as historical sources. In this historical fiction lesson, students analyze excerpts from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice as well as Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the...

Young scholars examine Susan B. Anthony's life and causes she worked for. In this Susan B. Anthony lesson, students work in groups to research the activist roles of Susan B. Anthony and decide if she was a philanthropist. Young scholars...

Learners view a film about environmental issues. They discover how environmental degradation can lead to disease. They identify the relationship between population growth and the environment.

Fifth graders investigate the end of slavery and the hidden paths slaves used to travel.  In this U.S. history lesson, 5th graders examine the travel routes slaves used in Essex County known as the Underground Railroad....

High schoolers discover that Dorothea Dix was the first to make the pubic aware of the terrible living conditions of people with mental illness in the 1800's. They evaluate the influence of citizen action on public policy.

This collection uses primary sources to explore women in the antebellum reform movement.

This short comparative analysis activity involves comparing and contrasting two images of marches for freedom - a 1917 march of suffragists and the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom by Civil Rights leaders. Students will...

A good introduction to the topic of reform movements in Pre-Civil War America. What were the reasons that encouraged reform of many social ills?

A continuation of Part I of "The Social Gospel", the underlying causes for the reform movements in the last part of the 19th century and early 20th century.

An extensive look at the consequences of manifest destiny, with emphasis on six different topics for student discussions. These include the growth of a national market economy, the impact of drastic economic changes on American society,...

What did the Second Great Awakening have to do with women's rights and social reform? How was it a stepping stone for the women's suffrage movement? Find out how this movement, which emphasized individual worth, empowered women...

Comprehensive teaching unit that explores the Progressive period in America and the reform movements that accompanied it. Contains video and text materials, web interactives, student oriented activities, and a timeline of key events from...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Lesson using primary sources from Progressive Era about the Settlement House Movement. Includes downloadable teacher materials, student materials, and primary source documents.

The 19th century brought an Americanization of literature, art, thought, and social reform. Read about how the Second Great Awakening brought a revival in religion and sparked reform movements in suffrage, slavery, and treatment of...

Find out about the impact of social reformers in the 19th century including women's rights, temperance, care for the mentally ill, and education.

The early 19th century saw giant strides in social reform. Read about those who advocated for the mentally ill, deaf, and blind from the Digital textbook from University of Houston.

An excerpt from Walter Rauschenbusch's "Christianity and the Social Crisis." Rauschenbusch was a Baptist minister and proponent of The Social Gospel movement.

This primary set uses photographs, letters, posters, and publications to explore women and the Temperance Movement. Includes teaching guide.

This site, a companion to a PBS program, explores the lives of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. With ample use of video and audio commentary, the site chronicles their work, their friendship and thus the history of the...

Article covering Antebellum social and cultural movements including education reform, literature, Seneca Falls, immigration, and religion.

Two of the social movements of the 1830s and 1840s looked to improving the lot of the mentally ill and those in prison. Read about Dorothea Dix who crusaded for humane treatment and hospitals for the insane. Several others worked to make...

The information here explores the role of Jane Addams in the social reform movement.

The reform movement during the nineteenth century is explored through original documents. This site gives an overview of the social history of this time period.