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We the People

Materials that have been endorsed and vetted by U.S. Capitol Historical Society education team.

The USCHS education team follows ISKME's Open Educational Practice Rubric.

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Reconstruction and the Veto
Unrestricted Use
CC BY
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This is a lesson plan about Reconstruction and the use of the veto during this period. It investigates how members of Congress and President Andrew Johnson utilized their Constitutional powers to shape the Reconstruction Era. 

Subject:
U.S. History
Material Type:
Lesson Plan
Author:
Katherine Ryan
Date Added:
06/20/2023
The Road to Civil Rights
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By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
● Identify key events of the Civil Rights Movement and their place in time
● Explain the significance of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution in relation to the
expansion of rights for African Americans and how they laid the footing for the Civil Rights Movement
● Summarize central ideas of short, dense text
● Apply Tier 2/academic and Tier 3/domain-specific vocabulary associated with the Civil Rights Movement

Subject:
Education
English Language Arts
History
Reading Informational Text
U.S. History
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Assessment
Author:
Brooke Machado
Date Added:
12/28/2021
Roles of the President: Classroom Resource Packet
Conditional Remix & Share Permitted
CC BY-NC
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What exactly does the president do in the White House? Most citizens understand that the President of the United States is the leader of the country, but they may not be able to explain all the duties and powers that come with that position. The Constitution specifically lists several presidential responsibilities. Other presidential roles have developed as our country has grown and changed. Learn about the requirements to become president and how the president carries out some of the major duties of this important position, as well as some historic examples.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson Plan
Provider:
The White House Historical Association
Date Added:
11/12/2020
Separation of Powers or Shared Powers: Weighing the Evidence
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
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In this activity, students will identify and draw conclusions about the relationship between the legislative, executive and judicial branches by critically analyzing primary sources. Using the scale, they will decide whether the United States government more appropriately fits the concept of "separation of powers" or "shared powers." They will formulate an opinion about each document and place it on the scale accordingly, and support their opinions with specific evidence from the primary sources.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Primary Source
Provider:
National Archives and Records Administration
Provider Set:
DocsTeach
Date Added:
11/13/2020
Slavery, Freedom, and the White House
Conditional Remix & Share Permitted
CC BY-NC
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Although many people think of the White House as a symbol of democracy, it is also a part of our country’s history of slavery. From the start of White House construction in 1792 until emancipation took effect in Washington, D.C. in 1862, enslaved men, women, and children labored at the Executive Mansion. The stories of these individuals, working under the oppressive institution of slavery in the “People’s House,” demonstrate a stark contrast to the ideals of freedom and democracy that the White House has long represented.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Lesson Plan
Provider:
The White House Historical Association
Date Added:
11/12/2020
Statue of Freedom and Philip Reid
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
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Atop the Dome of the U.S. Capitol stands a statue more than 19 feet tall, cast in bronze. Her name is Freedom. American artist Thomas Crawford sculpted Freedom from plaster at his studio in Rome, Italy. Crawford created three designs. The statue was shipped across the ocean in five pieces and assembled by an Italian craftsman for temporary display on the Capitol grounds. Then the pieces were to be taken apart and cast into bronze.The U.S. government hired Clark Mills, who owned a foundry in Washington, D.C., to make the bronze castings. A foundry is a factory where metal is melted for casting. However, the artist who assembled Freedom covered the seams between the five pieces in plaster, hiding them from view. He refused to take his work apart unless he received a pay raise. Only one man knew what to do. His name was Philip Reid.

Subject:
U.S. History
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Author:
OER LIBRARIAN
Date Added:
12/09/2020
StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators, StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators Curriculum, 1. Role of Women in the Civil Rights Movement
Only Sharing Permitted
CC BY-NC-ND
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Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the role of women in the civil rights movement.

Subject:
Performing Arts
Social Science
Material Type:
Unit of Study
Author:
Jennifer Welch
Rebecca Welch Weigel
Date Added:
07/13/2021
StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators, StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators Curriculum, 4. Youth Action and Leadership
Only Sharing Permitted
CC BY-NC-ND
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Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the role of the youth activism in the civil rights movement.

Subject:
Performing Arts
Social Science
Material Type:
Interactive
Unit of Study
Author:
Jennifer Welch
Rebecca Welch Weigel
Date Added:
07/12/2021
StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators, StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators Curriculum, 5. Mississippi Sovereignty Commission: Surveillance, Corruption and Violence
Only Sharing Permitted
CC BY-NC-ND
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Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the power and influence of the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission.

Subject:
Performing Arts
Social Science
Material Type:
Unit of Study
Author:
Jennifer Welch
Rebecca Welch Weigel
Date Added:
07/12/2021
StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators, StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators Curriculum, 6. Violent vs. Nonviolent Resistance
Only Sharing Permitted
CC BY-NC-ND
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Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the struggle to pursue nonviolent resistance.

Subject:
Performing Arts
Social Science
Material Type:
Unit of Study
Author:
Jennifer Welch
Rebecca Welch Weigel
Date Added:
07/12/2021
StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators, StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators Curriculum, 7. Coalition Building: From COFO to Freedom Summer
Only Sharing Permitted
CC BY-NC-ND
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Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and the importance of coalition building to achieve civil rights.

Subject:
Performing Arts
Social Science
Material Type:
Unit of Study
Author:
Jennifer Welch
Rebecca Welch Weigel
Date Added:
07/12/2021
StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators, StoryWorks: Beautiful Agitators Curriculum, 8. The Voting Rights Act of 1965
Only Sharing Permitted
CC BY-NC-ND
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Through the play Beautiful Agitators and accompanying curriculum, students will eplore the life of Vera Mae Pigee and reflect on the struggle and sacrifice that led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Subject:
Performing Arts
Social Science
Material Type:
Unit of Study
Author:
Jennifer Welch
Rebecca Welch Weigel
Date Added:
07/12/2021
To Sign or Not to Sign
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
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Students will consider the arguments made by members of the Continental Congress regarding whether or not to sign the Declaration of Independence. They will also have the opportunity to analyze each section of the Declaration to understand its meaning and consider the consequences of signing the document.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Primary Source
Provider:
National Archives and Records Administration
Provider Set:
DocsTeach
Date Added:
11/13/2020
Tour the White House in 360 Degrees
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Welcome to the White House 360 Virtual Tour! This immersive experience will bring you inside the halls of the White House and provide access to all the public rooms on the Ground and State Floors. It will also allow you to examine the rooms and objects even closer than you would in person.

This feature was made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.

Subject:
Applied Science
Architecture and Design
Art History
Arts and Humanities
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Primary Source
Author:
White House Historical Association
Date Added:
03/11/2021
Transfer of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence to the National Archives (1952)
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
Rating
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This footage shows the Constitution of the United States and the Declaration of Independence as they are loaded into an armored truck at the Library of Congress, taken to the National Archives Building in a procession down Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues, and carried up the building's steps. President Harry S. Truman and Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred M. Vinson speak in a ceremony at the National Archives Rotunda on the historic importance of the documents.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Lesson
Provider:
National Archives and Records Administration
Date Added:
12/08/2020
US Constitution -- The "Fifth Page"
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
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The so-called "Fifth Page" of the US Constitution -- also known as the Transmittal Page -- has never been publicly displayed. On the 225th anniversary of the ratification of the US Constitution the Fifth Page was displayed at the National Archives in Washington, DC. The Fifth Page has received the same care as the more famous documents in the Charters of Freedom and is encased in the same type of state-of-the-art oxygen-free encasement as the Declaration of Independence, Constitution pages one to four, and the Bill of Rights.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Lesson
Provider:
National Archives and Records Administration
Date Added:
12/08/2020
The U.S. Constitution at the National Archives
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
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In this Inside the Vaults video short, Chief of Reference at the National Archives Trevor Plante literally takes viewers inside the Archives vaults to see some of his favorite rarely-displayed documents. They include:
• The original text of the "Virginia Plan," Edmund Randolph's proposal for a national government that included three co-equal branches: "supreme legislative, judiciary and executive";
• A printed copy of the Constitution with George Washington's handwritten annotations;
• The final printed copy of the Constitution, which was delivered to the Constitutional Convention September 13, 1787, approved by vote on September 15, and then signed on September 17; and
• The state of Pennsylvania's ratification copy of the Constitution — unlike the four-page version of the Constitution on display at the National Archives in Washington, DC, the entire text is on one enormous sheet of parchment so it could be more easily transported.

Inside the Vaults includes highlights from the National Archives in the Washington, DC, area and from the Presidential libraries and regional archives nationwide. These shorts present behind-the-scenes exclusives and offer surprising stories about the National Archives treasures.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Lesson
Provider:
National Archives and Records Administration
Date Added:
12/08/2020
U.S. Constitution finds a permanent home at National Archives
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
Rating
0.0 stars

Come see the U.S. Constitution on permanent display at the National Archives in Washington, DC. September 17 is designated as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Lesson
Provider:
National Archives and Records Administration
Date Added:
12/08/2020
The Voting Record of the Constitution
Unrestricted Use
Public Domain
Rating
0.0 stars

In this activity, students will analyze a primary source document to find relevant historical data and measure the degree of agreement and disagreement during the Constitutional Convention.

Subject:
History
U.S. History
Material Type:
Activity/Lab
Primary Source
Provider:
National Archives and Records Administration
Provider Set:
DocsTeach
Date Added:
11/13/2020