The Battle of Gettysburg

The Emancipation Proclamation

The Battle of Antietam

Scene from the movie Glory

Civil War photography

The Battle of Bull Run

The Anaconda Plan

The Strengths & Weaknesses of the North & the South/ The Anaconda Plan

America: The Story of Us.... The Civil War

Civil War Lecture

Here is a series of lecture videos on the American Civil War.  They were designed for a high school class, but they are very easy to follow.  Each video covers a different aspect of the war and is about 5 minutes long.

Video 1: Strategy and Strengths
Video 2: Technology
Video 3: Southern Home Front
Video 4: Northern Home Front
Video 5: The Battles
Video 6: Gettysburg
Video 7: The War Ends

The American Civil War

Click HERE for a PowerPoint overview of the American Civil War

Dred Scott

A student film.

Lincoln, Westward Expansion and the Causes of the Civil War

Bleeding Kansas

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Here are links to listen to the audio books version of Harriet Beecher Stowe's famous book, Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

Click on the following...

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

The Fugitive Slave Law

The Compromise of 1850

Lynching

Strange Fruit

Composed by Abel Meeropol (aka Lewis Allan)
Originally sung by: Billie Holiday

Southern trees bear strange fruit

Blood on the leaves
Blood at the root
Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze
Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees

Pastoral scene of the gallant south
The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth
The scent of magnolia sweet and fresh
Then the sudden smell of burning flesh

Here is a fruit for the crows to pluck
for the rain to gather
for the wind to suck
for the sun to rot
for the tree to drop
Here is a strange and bitter crop

Frederick Douglass

  
     Frederick Douglass was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement, which fought to end slavery within the United States in the decades prior to the Civil War.
A brilliant speaker, Douglass was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to engage in a tour of lectures, and so became recognized as one of America's first great black speakers. He won world fame when his autobiography was publicized in 1845. Two years later he began publishing an antislavery paper called the North Star.
     Douglass served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks. Douglass provided a powerful voice for human rights during this period of American history and is still revered today for his contributions against racial injustice.

For more information click here.

Slavery

Slavery

Slavery

Slavery

Slavery

The Erie Canal

How a Canal Works

How canals work


The Erie Canal


The Panama Canal (Timelapse)

Lowell Factories in the North

The Plantation System

All We Got Is Cotton, Slaves, and Arrogance!

How the Cotton Gin Contributed to Slavery

The North and the South Before the Civil War

The North before the Civil War

The South before the Civil War

Northern Cities (Gangs of New York)

Southern plantations (Gone with the Wind)

The Gold Rush

William S Dean Californio Geneaology

A photo essay of this man's (William S. Dean) Californio family ancestors back to c. 1840s; most of the ancestors lived in Santa Ana and San Juan Capistrano areas of Southern California.

The Last of the Californios

Lewis and Clark

From left to right: French fur trapper and Sacagawea's husband, Toussaint Charbonneau;  York; Clark's slave; Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and Sacagawea

CHECK THIS OUT

Ken Burns Documentary: The West

Click here and journey through this amazing 8 part mini series.

THE WEST is an eight-part documentary series which premiered on PBS stations in September 1996. This multimedia guided tour proceeds chapter-by-chapter through each episode in the series, offering selected documentary materials, archival images and commentary, as well as links to background information and other resources of the web site.

James K. Polk "Napoleon of the Stump"

James K. Polk

America in Motion

Oregon

Oregon Trail


A Pioneer Story

Pee Wee Herman Visits the Alamo

The Almao

Black Seminoles and the Largest Slave Revolt in U.S. History

Toussaint L'Ouverture and the Haitian Revolution

The Louisiana Purchase

Manifest Destiny in 10 MInutes

Archie Bunker Learns Manifest Destiny

Manifest Destiny in Leggos

Westward Movement

Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way (mural study, U.S. Capitol)
Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1816 - 1868)

"This dramatic image of westward expansion is a study for a mural in the United States Capitol, one of the most ambitious statements of cultural nationalism during the mid-nineteenth century. Leutze combined pioneer men and women, mountain guides, wagons, and mules to suggest a divinely ordained pilgrimage to the Promised Land of the western frontier. In the border, medallion portraits of explorers Captain William Clark and Daniel Boone flank a vista of the San Francisco Bay -- the ultimate western destination. Above, a bald eagle holds a scroll on which is lettered Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way -- while Native Americans escape in a maze of winding plant tendrils."

Manifest Destiny

John Gast - "American Progress," (1872)

"...To state the truth at once in its neglected simplicity, we are free to say that were the respective cases and arguments of the two parties, as to all these points of history and law, reversed - had England all ours, and we nothing but hers - our claim to Oregon would still be best and strongest. And that claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federated self-government entrusted to us." 

~  John L. O' Sullivan, "Manifest Destiny" editorial, New York Morning News on December 27, 1845

Andrew Jackson, racist murderer or great voice of the common man?

GREAT Andrew Jackson Video!!!

What Should Monroe Do To Protect To Support The New Latin American Nations

• Who were three of the leaders of the Latin America Revolutions? How did they inspire their people?
• What is the Monroe Doctrine?    

The Monroe Doctrine 

The Battle of New Orleans

Andrew Jackson nicknamed "Old Hickory"

     American victory in a battle that never had to happen. American forces under General Andrew Jackson defeated British forces on January 8, 1815, several weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which had officially ended the war. Neither group of troops had gotten the news by the time the battle began. This battle is also interesting in that the British lost more than 700 dead and 1,400 injured while the Americans lost only 8 dead and 13 wounded.

Tecumseh

 

Born: 1768 
Birthplace: Old Piqua (now Ohio)
Died: 5 October 1813 (killed in battle) 
Best Known As: The Native who “cursed” the president

A chieftain of the Shawnee tribe in what is now the Ohio region, Tecumseh worked to unite other Indian tribes to oppose white expansion into the west in the early 1800s. That dream was crippled when U.S. troops (under future president William Henry Harrison) defeated warriors led by Tecumseh's brother Tenskwatawa (known as The Prophet) at the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe. Tecumseh was killed while fighting on the British side at the Battle of Thames (near what is now Detroit) during the War of 1812.

After Tecumseh’s death Tenskwatawa allegedly predicted that if Harrison were elected president he would die in office, and so would presidents elected every 20 years thereafter. This was supposed to be in retaliation for Tecumseh's death. While there is no proof The Prophet ever said such a thing, the prediction proved true for Harrison and every 20-year president through John Kennedy. Thus the "Curse of Tecumseh" became a part of popular lore... Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman was named in honor of the Shawnee chief.

For more information click here.

Blockade

The surrounding of an area by soldiers or ships to stop people or supplies leaving or entering

What Should Madison Do To Protect American Sailors and Settlements?

1. Describe the deal Madison made with Britain and France?
2. Why didn't the deal work?
3. What was found on the battlefield of Tippecanoe Creek?
4. Summarize: Battles on Land and Sea
5. Summarize: The Battle of New Orleans
6. What were the results o the War of 1812?

Embargo

An official order to stop trade with another country

How Should President Jefferson Deal with Pirates?

1. What is impressment?
2. Who is at war again?
3. Who are we selling supplies to?
4. Describe America’s relationship with the Barbary States of North Africa.
5. Explain how Jefferson solved half the problem.
6. Define embargo

Impressment

The practice of kidnapping men and forcing them into military service.

What Should John Adams Do To Protect American Ships

1. What was the purpose of the Jay Treaty?
2. Explain the XYZ affair?
3. Why didn't Adams win the election of 1800?
4. Even though Adams fell out of popularity, what did he do at the end of his presidency that he could be proud of?

Washington Creates a Foreign Policy

• Washington became the first president of the United States in 1789. 
• The United States did not have a standing army and was facing serious economic problems (they were broke).
• The new country was border on three sides by colonies belonging to Britain and Spain.  Niether countries had a very friendly relationship with the United States.
• In 1793, France and Britain went to war and France was eager for the Unites States to honor the Pre-Revolutionary War alliance it had made with the United States.  
• Washington knew that the new country was not ready for war and chose a policy of neutrality.  Under this policy, the United States would do nothing to aid France or Britain in their war against each other.
• In his farewell speech, Washington urged for a policy of avoiding alliances with other countries.  This policy became known as isolationism.    

Ask yourself...

1. What foreign dangers did the United States face during the Washington administration? 
2. In his farewell address, Washington recommended that the United States take a neutral, or isolationist, stand in foreign affairs. What are the advantages of Washington’s advice? 
3. What are the disadvantages? 
4. What role did geography play in Washington’s thinking? 
5. Do you think that the United States today could live according to Washington’s advice?

Foreign Policy

• Procedures pursued by a nation in its dealings with other nations,designed to achieve national objectives.
• Guidelines for how a  country handles political and economic interactions with other countries
• How the government deals with governments from other countries 

John Adams on the Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798

Under the threat of war with France, Congress in 1798 passed four laws in an effort to strengthen the Federal government. Known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts, the legislation sponsored by the Federalists was also intended to quell any political opposition from the Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson.


The first of the laws was the Naturalization Act, passed by Congress on June 18. This act required that aliens be residents for 14 years instead of 5 years before they became eligible for U.S. citizenship.

Congress then passed the Alien Act on June 25, authorizing the President to deport aliens "dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States" during peacetime.

The third law, the Alien Enemies Act, was enacted by Congress on July 6. This act allowed the wartime arrest, imprisonment and deportation of any alien subject to an enemy power

The last of the laws, the Sedition Act, passed on July 14 declared that any treasonable activity, including the publication of "any false, scandalous and malicious writing," was a high misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment. By virtue of this legislation twenty-five men, most of them editors of Republican newspapers, were arrested and their newspapers forced to shut down.

One of the men arrested was Benjamin Franklin's grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, editor of the Philadelphia Democrat-Republican Aurora. Charged with libeling President Adams, Bache's arrest erupted in a public outcry against all of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

One of the men arrested was Benjamin Franklin's grandson, Benjamin Franklin Bache, editor of the Philadelphia Democrat-Republican Aurora. Charged with libeling President Adams, Bache's arrest erupted in a public outcry against all of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Thomas Jefferson's Moments From HBO's Mini Series John Adams

Alexander Hamilton

Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton Arguing Over Dinner

Washington's Farewell Address

Washington and Edmond Genet on the French Revolution

The Whiskey Rebellion

Nearly twenty years after the revolutionary War began, the United States government faced a small-scale revolution by some of its own citizens. As in the previous war, taxes were a central issue. And Alexander Hamilton understood that putting down this rebellion was critical to the life of the nation.

In order to create a self-supporting and effective government, Treasury Secretary Hamilton knew he needed to find a steady source of revenue. He proposed an excise tax on whiskey produced in the United States, and Congress instituted the levy in 1791. In general, the citizens of that time felt negatively toward the idea of taxation. The farmers of western Pennsylvania, many of whom distilled whiskey and profited from its sale, proved outright hostile to the idea.

In July of 1794, a force of disaffected whiskey rebels attacked and destroyed the home of a tax inspector. The rebellion grew in numbers, if not in actions, and threatened to spread to other states. Hamilton knew that the presence of a large and potentially hostile force in Pennsylvania could not be tolerated. If the government were to survive, it would have to show itself capable of keeping control. 

Hamilton advocated the use of military force; President George Washington instead put state militias on the ready and sent in negotiators. When talks proved fruitless, Washington acquiesced to Hamilton's view. A force of 13,000 militia troops, led by Hamilton and Virginia governor Henry Lee, marched into western Pennsylvania. 

By the time the federal force arrived, the rebellion had collapsed and most of the rebels had fled. Two men were convicted of treason and later pardoned by Washington. Alexander Hamilton was elated. The fledgling federal government had proven it could keep order -- a necessity if the U.S. was to avoid instability. But many, in particular Thomas Jefferson, thought that this resort to military force was a dangerous mistake. It convinced them that Hamilton was a dangerous man.