The National Memorial for Peace and Justice (NMPJ) opened in Montgomery, Alabama, on April 26, 2018. The memorial provides a sacred site where people can gather and reflect on America's history of racial injustice and represents an essential milestone in the ongoing process of racial reckoning in the United States. As Alabama has historically been…

Kentucky's elementary social studies curriculum includes introductory knowledge in state and national history, providing an opportunity for teachers to include instruction on the influence of slavery on society before and after the Civil War, and sometimes on current events. For example, following the violent events in 2017 in Charlottesville,…

Spanish missions that dot the landscape in California today exist as centers of historical interpretation. Visitors to California, residents of the state, and school children often turn to these sites to learn about the early history of the region. Unbeknownst to many visitors, the history presented at many contemporary California mission sites…

In this article, the author describes how historians and history buffs work to close the knowledge gap about the Black Civil War experience. The war is being revisited in some college history courses and is being championed this year by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. The nation's oldest and largest organization…

This article discusses the Pleasant Valley School, located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, which is now a living history project where contemporary 4th grade students throughout Oklahoma have the opportunity to spend a day as students did in a turn of the century one-room schoolhouse, complete with coal heating, ink wells, and "McGuffey…

Charles Carroll Jr. would be long forgotten but for a single notable accomplishment: he built an exceedingly handsome house. Begun in 1801 with money from his wealthy father-- Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence-- the Federal-style home has near-perfect proportions and airy rooms. The…

This booklet takes children on a tour of one of the oldest and most historic State Houses in the nation, that of Massachusetts. The booklet explains that the State House is the workplace of the Governor, the Legislature, and constitutional officers. It offers a historical overview of the Massachusetts State House. The first one was built in 1712,…

Soaring mountain peaks, glaciers, deep-blue lakes, and lush forests delight the senses of visitors who drive on Going-to-the-Sun Road through Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana. The construction of the Going-to-the-Sun-Road, dedicated in 1933, made this experience available to the many visitors who come to the park by car. Building this…

Paterson, New Jersey, was established in the 1790s to utilize the power of the water that cascades through the Passaic River Gorge. Massive brick mill buildings lined the canals that transformed the power of the falls into energy to drive machines. These mills manufactured many things during the history of this industrial city. In the late 19th…

Discusses the founding of San Antonio, originally San Antonio de Bexar, which, in 1718, came into being as a military settlement involved in Spanish imperial defensive measures. Focuses on the development and continued growth of San Antonio, Texas's most populous city in the 19th century. (CMK)

Provides a lesson centered on excerpts from a 1675 letter from the bishop of Cuba, Gabriel Diaz Vara Calderon, to Queen Mariana of Spain that describes life in Spanish Florida missions. Includes a list of questions and excerpts from the letter. (CMK)

Presents a lesson about frontier life in Texas and is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file "Castolon Historic District" and other source materials about Castolon and ranching in the Big Bend region. States that the lesson could be incorporated into units on westward expansion or U.S. geography. (CMK)

This educational packet contains information about Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (Republic, Missouri), the site of a bitter 1861 struggle between Union and Confederate forces for control of Missouri. The packet contains the following materials: (1) Educational Group Reservation Form; (2) Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Movement Maps (six…

This educators' guide deals with preparation for and a visit to the historic location of Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (Republic, Missouri), the site of the struggle on August 10, 1861, between Union and Confederate forces for control of Missouri. The guide contains the following materials: Educational Group Reservation Form; Educational…

This educational guide is organized to help elementary grade students make the most of their study of and visit to Wilson's Creek National Battlefield (Republic, Missouri), the site of an August 1861 struggle between Union and Confederate forces for control of Missouri. The packet is divided into the following sections: (1) Educational Group…