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Youtube Playlist The Civil War and Reconstruction - 1850 -1861 Discover how the issue of slavery came to dominate American politics, and how political leaders struggled and failed to resolve the growing crisis in the nation. A House Divided: The Road to Civil War, 1850-1861 is a course that begins by examining how generations of historians have explained the crisis of the Union. After discussing the institution of slavery and its central role in the southern and national economies, it turns to an account of the political and social history of the 1850s. It traces how the issue of the expansion of slavery came to dominate national politics, and how political leaders struggled, unsuccessfully, to resolve the growing crisis. We will examine the impact of key events such as Bleeding Kansas, the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates, and John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, and end with the dissolution of the Union in the winter of 1860-61. This course is part of the series, The Civil War and Reconstruction, which introduces students to the most pivotal era in American history. The Civil War transformed the nation by eliminating the threat of secession and destroying the institution of slavery. It raised questions that remain central to our understanding of ourselves as a people and a nation - the balance of power between local and national authority, the boundaries of citizenship, and the meanings of freedom and equality. The series will examine the causes of the war, the road to secession, the conduct of the Civil War, the coming of emancipation, and the struggle after the war to breathe meaning into the promise of freedom for four million emancipated slaves. One theme throughout the series is what might be called the politics of history - how the world in which a historian lives affects his or her view of the past, and how historical interpretations reinforce or challenge the social order of the present. Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor o

"The United Nations Cyberschoolbus was created in 1996 as the online education component of the Global Teaching and Learning Project, whose mission is to promote education about international issues and the United Nations. The Global Teaching and Learning Project produces high quality teaching materials and activities designed for educational use (at primary, intermediate and secondary school levels) and for training teachers. The vision of this Project is to provide exceptional educational resources (both online and in print) to students growing up in a world undergoing increased globalization." \n\n "Within the Cyberschoolbus site there are a number of activities and projects that teach students about global issues in an interactive, engaging and fun way."

I was frustrated by my inability to find primary source documents on my last mini-lesson for the Conscription Act; however I was happy to stumble upon these in regards to this week's Takaki reading. PBS already provides a great wealth of resources to teachers - including lesson plans - and I couldn't resist posting this one. The rest of the site includes other primary source documents as well as images, all broken down over periods that correlate to episodes from their "The West" series.

The National Postal Museum provides several curriculum guides for teachers to use to teach about the history of the postal service, stamps, letter writing, and other historical events relating to the history of communication.

FREE is a website pool of teaching and learning resources from various branches of the federal government. From the website: "More than 1,500 federally supported teaching and learning resources are included from dozens of federal agencies. New sites are added regularly. . . . FREE is maintained by Peter Kickbush and Kirk Winters, Office of Communications and Outreach, with support from the Development Services Team in the Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Education."

This site is amazing, I was just playing around with it and I am definitely using some of the resources for my unit. :)

Provided through the National Archives, an "online exhibit" of the Consitution.  It includes high resolution images, links to related sources, articles, and information.  Provides THE primary source for the study of the Constitution, the Constitution itself!

Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by Dr. Mary Shuttleworth, an educator born and raised in apartheid South Africa, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating effects of discrimination and the lack of basic human rights. The purpose of YHRI is to teach youth about human rights, specifically the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and inspire them to become advocates for tolerance and peace. YHRI has now grown into a global movement, including hundreds of groups, clubs and chapters around the world. Youth for Human Rights International teaches human rights education both in the classroom and in nontraditional educational settings. We aim to reach people from diverse backgrounds, with materials which often appeal across generations. By teaching human rights through all means-from conferences and workshops to hip-hop and dancing-this message has spread around the world.

The UN's Millennium Goals as they have constructed them for kids. It's still a ton of information and not in the easiest or most engaging format but it might be a great place for students to get started examining world issues like Hunger, HIV/AIDS or Infant Mortality and what they can do.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. The United States could no longer remain half-slave and half-free, and the ensuing war over the fate of slavery ripped apart the nation.

This website links to thousands of newspapers worldwide. I would use this site to collect primary sources or as a research mechanism for current events.  It would be a valuable resource to students who are doing research projects on a specific country or international topic.

Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest.

The Newseum site provides lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school teachers.  The lessons focus on first amendment rights and the role of media in society.  Links to other online resources allow teachers to find supplemental materials for other lesson plans and units. The site also contains a number of primary sources.

I will be teaching the Era of the Constitution this upcoming Wednesday. When I was in US history in high school we did a cool simulation where we played the roles of the convention's members and I thought this was a pretty good lesson plan for doing such an activity.