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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Hoover's Last Stand

For Students 5th - 8th
The Great Depression was not the fault of Herbert Hoover, but see how he was unable or unwilling to take the steps to address it. Find out how the election of 1932 was the result of his misunderstanding of the economics of the time.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Bonus March

For Students 5th - 8th
Read how anger about the increasing hardships affecting people in the Great Depression resulted in a march on Washington, D.C., by veterans of World War I. See what the demands were of the so-called Bonus Army, and how the demands were met.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Domestic and International Politics

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the politics, both domestic and international, of the three presidents in the 1920s. Domestic scandals and attempts to patch international problems stood out in this decade.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Books and Movies

For Students 5th - 8th
A look at the literature and movies written and produced in the Jazz Age. See how the writers of the age reflected the consumer society and the emptiness of middle class. Movies appealed to mass culture and millions went to the movies...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Intolerance

For Students 5th - 8th
The 1920s was a time of intolerance and a return to nativism, a claim to return to American values, defined as those held by white, western European descendents. Read about the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, restriction on immigration,...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Red Scare

For Students 5th - 8th
A dark side to the Jazz Age was the increase in the fear of Communism. Read about the federal government's actions to stem anything that was thought to threaten American security.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Old Values vs. New Values

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of the clash between the old way of life of the Victorian Age and the new, the Jazz Age.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: A Consumer Economy

For Students 5th - 8th
The booming economy of the 1920s introduced new products and ways of paying for those products. Read about the increase in the kinds of household appliances, places to buy the appliances, and the financing of all those new consumer goods.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Flappers

For Students 5th - 8th
The liberation of women as expressed by the flappers of the 1920s was in stark contrast to the actions of women in the Victorian Age. Read about how flappers expressed their freedom in fashion, employment, and leisure activities.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Fight Against "Demon Rum"

For Students 5th - 8th
The Eighteenth Amendment showed how difficult it is to legislate morality. Read about the advantages of Prohibition, especially in terms of public health. The disadvantages far outweighed the advantages. See how lawlessness increased...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Age of the Automobile

For Students 6th - 8th Standards
Henry Ford's use of the assembly line to manufacture his automobiles led to many ramifications. Read about the spin-off industries created by the growth of the automobile industry, and see what impact the auto had on culture.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Over Here

For Students 5th - 8th
World War I was not fought by Americans just in Europe. Read about the many ways people at home helped the war effort. See how badly German-Americans were treated as anti-German passions were fueled.
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eBook
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: New England Colonies: Reaching to Connecticut

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about how the colony of Connecticut grew from an expansion of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. See how Thomas Hooker's idea of government resulted in a model of colonial charters, and find out how two very different settlements in...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The War Against the Bank

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about Andrew Jackson's animosity toward the Second Bank of the United States and some reasons for his feelings. Was his veto of the Recharter Bill good for the country? Take the little survey to express your views.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Radical Reconstruction

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the frustration the Radical Republicans in Congress had with the Reconstruction plans of Andrew Johnson. Find out what legislation they were able to pass over Johnson's veto, and how they attempted to protect emancipated...
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Article
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: French Alliance Brings Joy to Washington at Valley Forge

For Students 9th - 10th
General order written by Washington to express pleasure of the Treaty of Alliance with France, ratified in May, 1778.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Middle Colonies: Quakers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

For Students 5th - 8th
A good look at the philosophy of the Quakers who colonized William Penn's religious refuge in the colony of Pennsylvania. Read about Penn's liberal views about government, religious freedom, and relations with Native Americans.
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: Ancient Egyptian Dynasties: Ruling Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms

For Students 7th - 8th
Egypt is famous for its enormous pyramids, many of which can still be visited today. The pyramids were built by the rulers of Egypt, called pharaohs. In the following informational text by USHistory.org, discusses the rise and fall of...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Experiments With Utopia

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the communities, often religious, that strove to be a Utopia, a perfect place where man's natural goodness would provide a good life. Several Utopian communities were spread across the East and Midwest.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: A New Civil Rights Movement

For Students 5th - 8th
A very brief overview of the inception of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s, its successes and failures into the 1960s, and a prediction of despair in the 1970s.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Suburban Growth

For Students 5th - 8th
Find out how many veterans returning from World War II were able to realize the American Dream of home ownership, and see how this resulted in the growth of suburban areas across the nation.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The 1950s: Happy Days

For Students 5th - 8th
A brief look at American life and politics in the 1950s with an increase in consumerism and fear of the Soviet Union.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Domestic Challenges

For Students 5th - 8th
The American soldiers returning from World War I had a huge impact on the economy. Read about President Truman's domestic policies and find out about the surprise of the election of 1948.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Korean War

For Students 5th - 8th
A quick overview of the Korean War, its causes, outcome, and its role in the Cold War.