Culture

George Catlin Paintings

George Catlin is best known as a painter of the American Indians. After seeing a delegation of Plains Indians in Philadelphia, he decided to dedicate his life to recording the lives and customs of Native Americans. Soon after completing law school, Catlin became a professional artist. He traveled extensively throughout North America in the 1830s and he visited South America in the 1850s, painting hundreds of Indians and keeping detailed records of his journeys.

Interactive History from PBS

View panorama images of historic locations and explore the lives of early settlers.

Jamestown Artifacts

View images and read descriptions showing how we know about Jamestown settlers.

Jamestown Colony

You are the Captain of the Jamestown Colony:
Can you do any better than the real colonists? You will have a copy of the London Company's Instructions to help guide you. Also, you can ask your fellow colonists and the Native Americans for advice. Be careful, though, because some advice is better than others!

Jamestown Fort

An interactive map of the fort at Jamestown. Click on the areas to see photographs of the location today and read what archeologists are discovering!

The First Thanksgiving

An interactive exploration of what really happened at the first Thanksgiving.

The Plymouth Colony

Encyclopedia article from Grolier that describes the settlement of the original English colony in the United States

Within These Walls

"Within These Walls..."tells the stories of five families who lived in this house over 200 years and made history in their kitchens and parlors, through everyday choices and personal acts of courage and sacrifice. In this online exhibition from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, students will learn how the Smithsonian acquired the house at 16 Elm Street, Ipswich, Massachusetts and saved more than a dozen family stories and 200 years of American social history. They will also learn some of the methods historians and curators used to learn about this house's past, the ways that it changed over time, and the people who lived in it.

Government

Analyzing the Christy Painting

An interactive painting of the Constitutional Convention.

Ben's Guide to U.S. Government

For Kids!

Bill of Rights Game

Answer questions about whether or not situations are legal based on the Bill of Rights.

Congress for Kids

Congress for Kids gives you access to interactive, fun-filled experiences designed to help you learn about the foundation of our federal government and how its actions affect you.

Constitutional Timeline

Follow the interactive timeline from the beginning of our country to modern day, and experience the Constitution's active role in the past and present.

Ratification of the Constitution - Interactive Maps

Each state can be clicked on to show what the outcome of ratificaton was and to show the parts of states that supported the Federalist and Anti-Federalist views.

The Bill of Rights

Read a transcript of the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights Explained

This site gives a good description of what each of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution means to you.

The Democracy Project

This PBS Kids site gives you an opportunity to take part in democracy.

The U.S. Constitution - An Almost Painless Guide

This movie from HowStuffWorks.com explains how the U.S. Constitution establishes how our government works.

Reference

American Memory Project - Library of Congress

Digitized Primary documents, photographs, maps, recordings and more are here to be explored.

Charters of Freedom

Learn about and view the documents that have shaped our nation.

Lesson Topic - Primary Sources for Colonies

This site from the Library of Congress has many links to primary documents that could be used for a unit of study.

List of American Presidents

History

Abolitionists

Read the biographies of several famous abolitionists.

Experience the Underground Railroad

Your body, your time, your very breath belong to a farmer in 1850s Maryland. Six long days a week you tend his fields and make him rich. You have never tasted freedom. You never expect to.
And yet . . . your soul lights up when you hear whispers of attempted escape. Freedom means a hard, dangerous trek. Do you try it?

Interactive Map of Underground Railroad Routes

This map will help you learn more about major routes used by people on the Underground Railroad.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

What was the historical significance of the Lewis and Clark expedition? What impact did it have on the growth of the nation...and on its Native American inhabitants?

On the Water

The United States grew up on the water and remains a maritime nation to this day. Explore this site from the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to experience the history of America on the water.

Underground Railroad Information

There were probably at least as many attempts at escape from slavery in the North America of the late 1600s and the 1700s, both individual and in groups, as in the 1800s when various forces, from the national Constitution to the local slave patrols, were all aligned to prevent escapes.

Geography

Maps and Mapmakers

Students examine Martin Waldseemüller's 1507 map of the world to discover a new way of thinking about what was important to the mapmaker.