Primary Source Spotlight: Constance Baker Motley

Primary Source Spotlight: Constance Baker Motley

Constance Baker Motley image set James Meredith and NAACP lawyers Constance Baker Motley and Jack Greenberg photo Founding of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund memorandum from Thurgood Marshall Constance Baker Motley historical newspaper coverage NAACP lawyer Constance Baker Motley discusses her surprise at crowds at the March on Washington video Our Guest Speaker:…

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Black Women Achievements Against the Odds

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Black Women Achievements Against the Odds

Look closely at this source and respond to the questions below. Where is your eye drawn to first? Next? After? What do you notice about the source’s design? What, in particular, stands out to you? Why do you think this source was created? How do you know? (Be sure to point to evidence from the…

Collections Spotlight: African American Perspectives

Collections Spotlight: African American Perspectives

“African American Perspectives” gives a panoramic and eclectic review of African American history and culture and is primarily comprised of two collections in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division: the African American Pamphlet Collection and the Daniel A.P. Murray Collection with a date range of 1822 through 1909. Most were written by African-American authors,…

Primary Source Learning: U.S. Electoral College

Primary Source Learning: U.S. Electoral College

Background & context The Electoral College – What Is It and How Does It Function? In Custodia Legis November 6, 2012 Electoral College Fast Facts US House of Representatives History, Art & Archives The Electoral College National Archives The Electoral College National Conference of State Legislators Research Guide: The Law of the Electoral College Contemporary…

Primary Source Learning: LOC.gov Teacher-Created Lesson Plans

Primary Source Learning: LOC.gov Teacher-Created Lesson Plans

The Teacher’s section on LOC.gov features close to 100 teacher-created lesson plans. As you can see from the image above, lesson plans are listed in alphabetical order and there is a handy search bar to help you easily conduct a keyword search. Use the links below to jump to select groupings of the LOC.gov lesson…

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Does Your Vote for President Count?

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Does Your Vote for President Count?

Work in a group to discuss what you can learn from this historical newspaper article (download .pdf) just by examining the headline, illustrations, the introduction (the first three paragraphs), and the section headers. What questions do you still have? Divide the reading of the article among your group members so that each reads 2 or…

Timely Connections: State of the Union as Civic Learning Opportunity

Timely Connections: State of the Union as Civic Learning Opportunity

The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) has put together a list of resources for educators to help students understand, analyze, and respond to the upcoming State of the Union. The resources are divided into sections that include the following: Youth Perspectives, the Speech and Its Media Coverage, and Background…

Primary Source Learning: U.S. Constitution

Primary Source Learning: U.S. Constitution

Congress.gov Constitution Annotated analysis & interpretation of the U.S. Constitution Timely Connections: Constitutional Rights of Students Guided primary source analysis activities The Constitutional Amendment National Anti-Suffrage Association Lessons from the Citizen U Multidisciplinary Civics Lesson Library Find Your Freedom Beyond the Bill of Rights Citizen U Constitutional Rights Foundation Introduction to the Constitution California History-Social…

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Presenting Party Platforms

Guided Primary Source Analysis: Presenting Party Platforms

Zoom into this 1888 presidential election document online or in a .pdf document. Look closely at the graphical elements of the complete document and compare and contrast the presentation of information in the Harrison and Cleveland maps. Which is more pleasing visually and why? How does the visual presentation affect the tone of each map? Describe…

Primary Source Learning: U.S. Presidents

Primary Source Learning: U.S. Presidents

Learning from the Source: lessons Abraham Lincoln & Me Primary Source Activity Book The Art of Mourning (Lincoln) Monumental Men Mourning Lincoln & the Art of Tribute Presidential Portraits Indian Territory Resettlement Guided primary source analysis activities A Plan of My Farm (Washington) Jefferson’s Pasta Machine Abolition frowned down (Quincy Adams) Rats Leaving a Falling House (Van…