Resource Library
Find compelling classroom resources, learn new teaching methods, meet standards, and make a difference in the lives of your students.
We are grateful to The Hammer Family Foundation for supporting the development of our on-demand learning and teaching resources.
Introducing Our US History Curriculum Collection
Draw from this flexible curriculum collection as you plan any middle or high school US history course. Featuring units, C3-style inquiries, and case studies, the collection will help you explore themes of democracy and freedom with your students throughout the year.
The First South Carolina Legislature
This image shows 63 members of South Carolina’s 1868 state legislature, the first state legislature with a Black majority.
The First South Carolina Legislature (en español)
This image, captioned in Spanish, shows 63 members of South Carolina’s 1968 state legislature, the first state legislature with a Black majority.
The Fourteenth Amendment
This is the full text of the fourteenth amendment to the US Constitution, which granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” including former slaves recently freed.
The Fourteenth Amendment (en español)
In Spanish, this is the full text of the fourteenth amendment to the US Constitution, which granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” including former slaves recently freed.
He Was Always Right and You Were Always Wrong
Henry Blake, a freedman from Arkansas, describes how sharecropping limited his freedom, noting that sharecroppers were always kept in debt.
He Was Always Right and You Were Always Wrong (en español)
In Spanish, Henry Blake, a freedman from Arkansas, describes how sharecropping limited his freedom, noting that sharecroppers were always kept in debt.
"The Honoured Representative of Four Millions of Colored People"
Historian Douglas R. Egerton describes the life and political career of Mississippi politician Blanche K. Bruce, the first African American to serve a full six-year term in the United States Senate.
The Honoured Representative of Four Millions of Colored People (en español)
In Spanish, historian Douglas R. Egerton describes the life and political career of Mississippi politician Blanche K. Bruce, the first African American to serve a full six-year term in the United States Senate.
The Importance of Getting History Right
Historian James Grossman describes the importance of establishing an accurate history of Reconstruction.
The Influence of "The Birth of a Nation"
The three-hour silent film The Birth of a Nation did “incalculable harm” to Black Americans by creating a justification for prejudice, racism, and discrimination for decades to follow.
Names and Freedom
Historians Douglas Egerton and Leon Litwack explain the process of freedpeople adopting new surnames.