Describes the location of Qumran. Also provides theories of Pere Roland de Vaux and others concerning the Essene people and their lifestyle.

Examine the tension experienced by African-Americans as they struggled to establish a vibrant and meaningful identity based on the promises of liberty and equality in the midst of a society that was ambivalent towards them and sought to...

This lesson relates to the westward movement in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Students analyze the role that gunfighters played in the settlement of the West and distinguish between their factual...

This short narrative describes the creation of NAWSA and the strategies used to successfully obtain enfranchisement for women along with a link to the National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection home page.

The Spanish Civil War was a precursor of the tumult of World War II. Read a brief description of those involved in this civil war and see posters supporting each side.

In this activity, learners discuss the reliability of a painting of the First Thanksgiving to introduce the idea that is crucial to consider a source's date.

Learn about the history and purpose of the MacDowell artist colony, a creative sanctuary for artists, composers, and writers located in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Founded in 1907 and home to such artists as Thornton Wilder and Leonard...

This brief biography is of Eero Saarinen who was the architect of several famous yet very different designs such as the St. Louis Gateway Arch and the main terminal at Dulles International Airport.

With the help of digitized primary documents -- pictures, photograph, recordings, and written accounts -- young scholars will explore and define what the "American Dream" meant for people over the course of the nineteenth and twentieth...

In 1912, popular media headlined the sinking of the world's largest luxury passenger ocean liner while on its maiden voyage. Newspapers captivated the world's attention with stories from survivors and about victims who did not survive....

Information on the Lend-Lease Act which was signed on October 23, 1941. It discusses the repercussions of the signing of the act.

Tells about Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence.

Check out this page for the general terms of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Spanish-American War and results for the United States.

A beautiful on-line exhibition of photographs by Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii offers "A vivid portrait of a lost world - the Russian Empire on the eve of world War I and the coming revolution." The site also has photos of ethnic...

The 1867 Treaty of Cession, in which the United States purchased Alaska from the Russian empire, marked an unusually peaceful transition. The purchase of Alaska was done under amicable circumstances, and both Russia and the U.S. felt...

This lesson provides discussion, culminating, and extension activities to enhance student understanding of the Constitution, and the Committees of Detail and Style. Students have the opportunity to compare the work of those two...

The Geneva Conventions is composed of four treaties that set the standard in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims in war. This article discusses the importance of the conventions and the challenges faced by...

Language of the Land uses the metaphor of a journey to tour the rich literary heritage of the US through maps, the words of authors, images of characters, and photographs.

Different peoples have contributed to the history of the western United States. To gain an understanding and appreciation of this history, students investigate the region's cultures and identify the contributions that each make to the...

Learners will analyze a set of pictograph documents created by native peoples of Puebla, Mexico in 1531. Students will take on the role of historians, study the documents, and create a scenario to explain what these documents were for,...

This unit provides a flexible investigative structure for the study of selected themes in U.S. history and culture using the American Memory collections and related resources. Core goals are the development of relationships between...

Part of a larger effort to document the Civil War through primary resources consisting of personal narratives, Part I covers the "election of Abraham Lincoln, the secession crisis, the outbreak of hostilities, mobilizing for war, and...

A large collection of chronological links to the text of the official records of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.

This congressional record of the proceedings of the Electoral Commission of 1877 includes primary source documents that give insight into the functions of the electoral college. Includes discussions of vote counting, contested results...