What provisions in the U.S. Constitution are relevant to the debate over the Sedition Act? For this lesson, students will read brief excerpts from actual debates in the House of Representatives as the legislators attempted to work with the version of the bill "Punishment of Crime" (later known as the Sedition Act) already passed by the Senate.

What arguments were offered in support of the Sedition Act? Washington's favorable attitude toward the Sedition Act illustrates that reasonable men in 1798 could support what most modern Americans would regard as an unjust law.

In this lesson, students examine the development of new constitutions in the reconstructed South. They also consider the political and social realities created by a dramatically changed electorate. In gaining a firmer grasp of the causes for the shifting alliances of this time, students see how far-reaching the consequences of the Civil War and Reconstruction era were and how much these events continue to shape our collective destiny today.

Students will learn about the role of money in the colonial economy by participating in a trading activity in which they observe the effects of too little money on trade within a colony.

In this lesson, through a reader’s theater, students learn about the economics of the early United States and the debate between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson over the founding of the first Bank of the United States. They examine quotations from Hamilton’s and Jefferson’s letters to President Washington and the arguments each man is trying to make about the need for and constitutionality of the bill to incorporate the bank. They read the booklet “The First Bank of the United States” to learn about the founding of the first Bank of the United States, the financial crisis associated with the bank’s stock subscription, the bank’s operations, and the way it influenced the early American economy. The students learn to read primary sources by examining letters written in the 1790s about the First Bank and its
operations. In the final activity, the students learn about the First Bank’s influence on the availability of credit in the early American economy by examining simple banking scenarios.

Explore North Carolina's colonial history with these digital Primary Source Sets from the State Archives of North Carolina.

Students explore the historical context and significance of Lincoln's inaugural address through archival documents.

With this digital collection, students will use documents to explore the meaning of slavery and emancipation in the North around the time of the Civil War, and understand the context for Lincoln’s own evolving position.

With this digital collection, students will explore the ways that literary culture shaped the meaning of the war for people who lived through it. Students will be asked to answer the following essential questions: 1. What literature was published and read during the Civil War? 2. How did literature shape the meaning of the war? How did writers and readers turn to literature to make sense of the war itself and of the profound changes it brought to the nation? 3. How might reading the literature of the Civil War lead us to think in new ways about American literary history?

In this lesson, students will use a timeline and analysis of historical documents to learn more about the Louisiana Purchase and discuss why Federalists had issue with the purchase.

Students define the concept of manifest destiny, discuss how contemporary maps of the 1840s influenced United States expansion in the 1840s, and analyze the relationship between manifest destiny and democracy.

With this digital collection, students will examine documents that offer differing views of the Mississippi in the early part of the nineteenth century.

In this activity, students listen to a historical narrative and analyze other primary and secondary sources in order to answer a series of questions.

By examining primary-source documents pertaining to the Stamp Act, students expand their knowledge of colonial objections to Parliament’s expansion of taxes in the colonies.

This Educator Notebook provides information on Women’s History in North Carolina for teachers to use as a resource, either as stand-alone units, or integrated into standard curriculum. Included is research from museum curators and educators, and articles published in the Tar Heel Junior Historian magazine which are written for students in grades 4-12. Lesson plans and suggested activities complement many of the topics. Adaptable to multiple ages, they meet curriculum goals set forth by the NC Department of Public Instruction and connect to classes in national and world history, geography, economics, and the arts, and can be part of any unit of social studies. This resource's link takes you to a very short form that gives you free downloadable access to the complete PDF book.

In this lesson, students read and interpret four documents George Washington wrote regarding his slaves and the issue of slavery. Students will analyze the reasons why Washington was conflicted over the issue of slavery and explain the significance of his eventual freeing of his slaves.

With this digital collection, students will review primary sources that develop the historical context for the debates over Africa and the slave trade. Students will consider the following questions as they review the documents: 1. How did eighteenth-century European and American writers portray Africans? How are these representations shaped by the writers’ own experiences and convictions? 2. What arguments did eighteenth-century writers make in support of and in opposition to the slave trade? How are these arguments shaped by each writer’s understanding of African civilization? 3. How does Olaudah Equiano contribute to these debates? How does he portray his own experiences of slavery and freedom? How does he define his identity as African, British, and Christian?

Looking at historic maps of the West, students can begin to appreciate the immensity and mystery of the mission Lewis and Clark accepted.

With this digital collection, students will review documents that serve to illustrate various perspectives on the causes and effects of the American Revolution. Students will answer the following essential questions: 1. How did the American Revolution affect different groups of people? 2. What are the various arguments put forth as to the cause of and reasons for the American Revolution? How do the arguments reflect the group that made them? 3. What are the different interests of each group? What stake do they have in the war? 4. Think about a definition of the word Americans. What groups of people are considered Americans at this time? Who is considered American today?

In this activity, students listen to a historical narrative and analyze other primary and secondary sources in order to answer a series of questions.