Describes the Northwest Ordinance as a vision for self-government and discusses the conflict between William Henry Harrison and Jonathan Jennings in the newly formed Indiana Territory. Elaborates on how statehood in Indiana was achieved and what status slavery assumed in Indiana. (BSR)

Highlights five resources for teaching about the rise of U.S. nationalism between 1812 and 1865 available from the Educational Resource Information Center (ERIC). Items included are: (1) the War of 1812; (2) the annexation of Texas; (3) the Kansas-Nebraska Act; and (4) the question of slavery. (BSR)

Described are the planning and production of a television docudrama based on the classic slave narrative, "Twelve Years a Slave," in which Solomon Northup tells the story of his experiences. The program shown on PBS television was produced with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. (RM)

Warns against reinforcing what is called the "sacred mythology" of the "miracle at Philadelphia," and urges teachers to tell the full story of the flaws, fights, and decades of legal and political work required to bring the original constitution in line with the U. S. Declaration of Independence. Supports this argument with a…

This simulation for secondary students takes place in 1858 in Jackson, Mississippi. Harriet Beecher Stowe, the American abolitionist, has been apprehended. A street trial is convened to hear charges against her. Students role-play accusors and witnesses for the defense. (RM)

Briefly outlines the ways race and technology shaped: (1) the early enslavement of African Americans; (2) the work of bondsmen and women during the antebellum era; and (3) the increasing urbanization of the African American population during the industrial age. (CMK)

Analyzes how Black women fought for and won basic citizenship rights in the United States. Cites examples which show how the struggle of Black women helped to transform the U.S. Constitution. (Author/BSR)

In this activity high school students read and discuss a letter written by a fugitive slave in England asking Britons not to be misled by a statement made by a clergyman claiming that the American federal government was not responsible for slavery, that it was the individual states that were at fault. (RM)

Contends that the literature on westward expansion during the early republic does not provide a platform for assisting teachers in the development of a coherent story on the rise of the west. Provides suggestions for recovering the truth about westward expansion using the available literature, both current and old. (CMK)

Provides a review of literature published on slavery in colonial North America, focusing on how this literature has changed over the years. Includes literature in topical areas, such as the Atlantic slave trade, African American culture, and race. Includes a bibliography. (CMK)

Presents a lesson plan in which students explore the impact of industrialization on agriculture, the experience of William Ellison, a free black cotton gin mechanic, and the skills that Ellison needed. Students discuss handwritten documents, diagrams, and census information related to the cotton gin. Includes a bibliography and four handouts. (CMK)

Explores the slave trade system that brought slaves to the Chesapeake Bay area during the eighteenth century colonial United States. Uses information from the "Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: A Database on CD-ROM" to examine slave routes. Provides information on the origins and distribution of slaves in the Chesapeake Bay region and the…

Compares post-emancipation societies in Haiti, Jamaica, Russia, the southern United States, Cuba, Brazil, and Zaria, relative to the acquisition of land by former slaves. Suggests that this information might provide a comparative perspective for instruction about the efforts of Blacks and Whites after abolition. (KO)

Discusses five topics on African Americans that are essential to studying United States History in the years between 1760 and 1830: (1) African Americans in the Revolutionary War ; (2) the rise of free black communities; (3) early abolitionism; (4) the spread of slavery; and (5) black resistance to slavery. (CMK)

Discusses rules used in the House of Representatives from 1836 to 1844 to suppress discussions of slavery. Presents a lesson using primary documents that allows students to assess the role of the "gag rule" in creating sectional tension and to follow the transformation of an individual in the growing dispute. Includes documents. (DSK)