Students examine the impact of the nonprofit sector on society by researching philanthropic Websites. They role-play as minority groups that used alternative power structures to change society and write in their journals on a...

Students examine and respond to the text, The Bus Ride. In this African-American literature lesson, students explore pre-reading questions that focus on fairness of laws. Students read the text based on Rosa Parks and answer 11...

Students examine the transcripts of the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates and create a platform for each candidate in the 1858 Senate race. They utilize the candidates' arguments to explore the historical and political impact.

In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Dred Scott decision that African-Americans were not citizens of the United States. Yet within 18 years, Black Americans would not only have citizenship, but would be guaranteed the right to...

Read about the persisitence of President Lyndon B. Johnson in finally enacting the momentous civil rights legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Find out about his adversaries and allies in getting this legislation passed.

Learn about the civil rights legislation that outlawed discrimination in jobs, education, housing, public accommodations, and voting.

Included at this site is the complete text and images of the original document of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This law outlawed the discriminatory voting practices that African Americans had endured.

A collection of archival video clips highlighting the African American struggle for equal voting rights in 1964. Looks at the Mississippi Freedom Summer where college students helped to register black voters, the murder of three of those...

This site from the Cornell University School of Law provides an overview of civil rights legislation, including an explanation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. There are links to other sites on the subject of civil rights in general.

A collection of archival video clips highlighting a peaceful protest in Alabama in 1965 that ended in a confrontation with state troopers known as "Bloody Sunday." This was followed by a four-day march with Martin Luther King, Jr., and a...

Read about President Eisenhower's decision to send federal troops to Arkansas to enforce the desegregation of Central High School in Little Rock. See why that action was necessary, and how Central High School fit into the larger Civil...

This article contains numerous facts about black segregation history in the United States from the Civil War through the end of the Civil Rights Movement.

The Selma Freedom March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama took place in March 1965 as part of the voting rights movement.

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...

Before his assassination, Abraham Lincoln was already making plans for Reconstruction in the South. Read about his plan and the plan of the Radical Republicans. See the reasoning behind each plan.

The Kennedy administration faced triumphs and failures only to end in a horrific manner. Read about the election, presidency, and assassination of Kennedy in this summary. Also included are references for further reading, questions for...

As with most other debates leading up to the Civil War, the debate about states' rights in reference to nullifying federal laws, ostensibly about tariffs, was really about the future of slavery in the South. Read about the issues of...

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.