Perspective on the Slave Narrative

How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research...

When, if ever, is the government justified in restricting individual rights? When, if ever, should the "greater good" trump individual rights? To prepare to discuss this hot-button topic, class members examine primary source documents,...

Did you know that lawmakers have proposed more than 5,000 bills to amend the US Constitution in Congress? Your class learns intriguing facts about the process of choosing amendments. A variety of activities including before and after...

Eleventh graders examine the impact of Abolitionist leaders on sectionalism. In small groups, they conduct research on a famous abolitionist, and develop and write a newspaper cover page based on their assigned abolitionist.

In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...

From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the...

The first ten Amendments of the U.S. Constitution are vital for young people to understand. Provide the foundation of the laws that govern our country with this junior high school lesson. Groups use the newspaper to identify rights...

How did the Voting Rights Act affect the daily lives of American citizens? A document-based lesson developed by the Student Non-Violent Coordinating committee (SNCC) presents a case study of the impact of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on...

While the Constitutional Convention lay the foundation of the new government for the United States, the protections given under the Bill of Rights were controversial. Using documents, such as James Madison's and Thomas Jefferson's...

"Hard Won, Not Done" is the big idea behind a short PBS video that celebrates the efforts of early suffragists like Carrie Chapman Catt and underscores the work that still needs to be done to ensure voting rights for all U.S. citizens.