This National Park Service website offers links to a variety of articles about the history and politics of Alaska. Users can download PDF articles about World War II in Alaska, the Alaska Goldrush, and national historic places. The site also features links to educational resources such as teachers' guides to teaching about historic places and culture.

Pieces together the story of the James Robinson family from artifacts found in archaeological excavations around the house where they lived for nearly a century. An African American born free in 1799, Robinson worked in a Virginia tavern earning nearly $500 to purchase 170 acres of land near Bull Run. There he built a log cabin, and his family turned the land into a prosperous farm, making him one of the wealthiest African Americans in the Manassas area in the mid-19th century.

explores the city's history and shows how it continues to shape the city's life today. It uses residential, commercial, industrial, and religious locations to create a tour of 37 properties that documents how past and present come together.

Rebekah Edmondson and Mahnaz Akbari both served in Afghanistan – Rebekah as a member of the Cultural Support Team and Mahnaz as a commander of the Female Tactical Platoon. Learn about the unique role American and Afghan women played at a time when US servicewomen were not allowed to fill combat positions.The Military Women’s Memorial, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only historical repository documenting all military women’s service. It is located at the ceremonial entrance to Arlington National Cemetery and features an education center, interactive exhibitions, a world-class collection of military women’s stories, and engaging programs and events for all generations. Find out more about us at www.womensmemorial.org.

This short article, produced by historian Dr. David Toye for the Saylor Foundation, describes the employment of indentured servants and slaves in the different regions of the American colonies.
title"Slavery and Indentured Servitude in the American Colonies" 2018 by userSaylor Academy
under license"Creative Commons Attribution 4.0"

Authored by Jasmine Dunbar (Virginia Beach History Museums)Students will examine the daily lives of enslaved individuals and the institution of slavery in early Virginian history and understand its connections to current societal issues of predjudice, racism, and white supremacy.

This Lithograph by Richie Dunnavant c. 1850, was likely an advertisement for Slash Cottage as a resort destination on the Richmond-Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF and P) railroad.  As trains passed through rural communities on its way from city to city, in this case, Richmond to The Potomac River, small "resort" towns were built to delight passengers.  

In this activity, students will compare and contrast the experiences and contributions of Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Van Lew, and Mary “Bowser” during the Civil War era. Students will conduct a gallery walk (in-person or virtually) to gather information about these three women using a graphic organizer.

The purpose of this lesson is to help students understand the U.S. foreign policy toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It focuses on spying and includes the Rosenbergs, Alger Hiss, and U-2 Pilot Francis Gary Powers.  Students will analyze primary and secondary sources while working in groups and individually.   

Take a glimpse inside the Oval Office and discover the story of American diplomacy in Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team. When George H. W. Bush assumed the American Presidency in 1989, much of the world was in turmoil, and it was clear that American diplomacy was entering a new era. Learn about the Cold War struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States and how the foreign policy team of President George H. W. Bush guided the country and the world. Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team explores a series of major upheavals through the recollections of the individuals who faced them.  In this collection, you will find short-form videos from the original film about the team and the events that the George H. W. Bush administration faced from 1989 to 1991. These media resources help educators to learn more about the individuals and the rapid changes that they faced. Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team is a co-production of VPM and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center. 

 Take a glimpse inside the Oval Office and discover the story of American diplomacy in Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team. When George H. W. Bush assumed the American Presidency in 1989, much of the world was in turmoil, and it was clear that American diplomacy was entering a new era. Learn about the Cold War struggle between the Soviet Union and the United States and how the foreign policy team of President George H. W. Bush guided the country and the world. Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team explores a series of major upheavals through the recollections of the individuals who faced them.  In this collection, you will find short-form videos from the original film about the team and the events that the George H. W. Bush administration faced from 1989 to 1991. These media resources help educators to learn more about the individuals and the rapid changes that they faced. Statecraft: The Bush 41 Team is a co-production of VPM and the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.

Students will examine the life of Crispus Attucks and/or James Lafayette. They will explore how both men were able to fight for their freedom as enslaved, or formerly enslaved people. Students will analyze primary and secondary sources to learn more about the life and journey of  both of these men, as well as their impact on historical events.

This three-day lesson is intended to guide students through the difficult history topic of lynching through the Billie Holliday song “Strange Fruit.”

This primary source activity seeks to introduce and/or reinforce concepts of Virginia living in the Early American Republic by exploring the dichotomy of rural and urban life through the experiences of John Marshall and Patrick Henry between 1771 and 1795, and by extension, the realities of urban and rural slavery in the post-colonial era.

Students will simulate the taxes placed on the colonists without having representation and visually represent the loss of wealth for the colonists and the wealth gained by Parliament and the Monarchy by using Google Sheets to create charts. 

This teaching guide and activity seeks to introduce primary sources to students so that theyT can understand how to analyze and interpret them to make conclusions about the past. The primary sources the students will analyze are from the John Marshall House’s collection. All of the sources presented, both objects and written, focus on the theme of clothing during the Early Republic (1780-1820), the period in which John Marshall lived. This teaching guide and activity follow the Virginia Standards of Learning from 4th-6th grade, but may be applicable for other grades/ages.

uses properties listed in the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places to enliven history, social studies, geography, civics, and other subjects. TwHP has created products and activities that help teachers bring historic places into the classroom. Lesson plans turn students into historians as they study primary sources, historical and contemporary photographs and maps, and other documents, and then search for the history around them in their own communities.

This guided reading of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843) focuses on expanding vocabulary, developing student understanding of imagery and other figurative language, strengthening reading comprehension, and strengthening expository and persuasive writing skills.

The U.S. state of Texas declared its secession from the United States of America on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States on March 2, 1861, after it replaced its governor, Sam Houston, when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. As with those of other States, the Declaration was not recognized by the United States government at Washington. Some Texan military units fought in the Civil War east of the Mississippi River, but Texas was most useful for supplying soldiers and horses for Confederate forces. Texas’ supply role lasted until mid-1863, after which time Union gunboats controlled the Mississippi River, making large transfers of men, horses or cattle impossible. Some cotton was sold in Mexico, but most of the crop became useless because of the Union naval blockade of Galveston, Houston, and other ports.

The U.S. state of Texas declared its secession from the United States of America on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States on March 2, 1861, after it replaced its governor, Sam Houston, when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. As with those of other States, the Declaration was not recognized by the United States government at Washington. Some Texan military units fought in the Civil War east of the Mississippi River, but Texas was most useful for supplying soldiers and horses for Confederate forces. Texas’ supply role lasted until mid-1863, after which time Union gunboats controlled the Mississippi River, making large transfers of men, horses or cattle impossible. Some cotton was sold in Mexico, but most of the crop became useless because of the Union naval blockade of Galveston, Houston, and other ports.