In spite of the common vision and status that linked most of the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention, no obvious route existed for how to revise the Articles of Confederation to build a stronger central government.
"Representation" remained the core issue for the Philadelphia Convention. What was the best way for authority to be delegated from the people and the states to a strengthened central government?
Jeffrey Rosen of the National Constitution Center in conversation with Walter Isaacson of the Aspen Institute. Created by Aspen Institute.
The 15th Amendment, ratified on February 3, 1870, extended the right to vote to Black American men seven years after the emancipation proclamation deemed the enslaved population free. Giving Black men voting rights was yet another way for the federal government to recognize them as full American citizens.
A framework for a new and stronger national government had been crafted at the Philadelphia Convention by a handful of leaders. But how could their proposed system be made into law?
The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution gives Congress the power to collect a federal income tax from all individuals and businesses without sharing or “apportioning” it among the states or basing the collection on the U.S. Census.
The National Park Service provides an account of the 1733 Slave Insurrection, the first instance in which enslaved people took control of a colony. The insurrection served as a spark to later slave revolts that would take place. They took fate into their own hands as they rose against their oppressors. The insurrection marks a significant historical event for Virgin Islanders who continue to recognize the men and women who risked their lives for freedom.
Changes in voting qualifications and participation, the election of Andrew Jackson, and the formation of the Democratic Party"”due largely to the organizational skills of Martin Van Buren"”all contributed to making the election of 1828 and Jackson's presidency a watershed in the evolution of the American political system.
Our Emancipation Story is a retelling of the events of 1848 on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands which led to the emancipation of the enslaved in the former Danish West Indies. The events are told through four poems by local poet Richard Schrader. The purpose of the project is to integrate local writers into art, history, and literature in our Virgin Islands classrooms. It endeavors to build a VI literary canon and to encourage student wrietrs to add to the writers that came before them. The script was written by Regina Keels and filmed and produced by Douglas Canton.
In this activity, students will analyze a historical map showing percentages of enslaved people by county following the 1860 Census. Students will form an understanding of the distribution of slavery in the southern United States prior to the Civil War.
This site recounts the struggle for control of Hawaii between native Hawaiians and American business interests in the late 1800s. This 1897 petition and a lobbying effort by native Hawaiians convinced the U.S. Congress not to annex the islands. But months later the U.S.S. Maine exploded in Havana and the Spanish-American War began. The U.S. needed a mid-Pacific fueling station and naval base.
Primary source images, standards correlation, and teaching activities are included in this resource.
Presidents Washington ($1), Lincoln ($5), Jackson ($20), and Grant ($50) all appear on currency. But what about this guy Alexander Hamilton on the ten-spot? How did he get there? A sawbuck says you'll know the answer after reading this piece.
By the 1920s, a majority of the US population lived in cities rather than in rural areas. In this video, Kim explores the economic opportunities cities offered to women, migrants, and immigrants, as well as the passage of new immigration restrictions.
In this resource the history of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is presented through a collection of videos.
In this second video giving an overview of World War II, we see Germany and the Axis powers only continue to gain momentum in 1940.
In this second video giving an overview of World War II, we see Germany and the Axis powers only continue to gain momentum in 1940.
In 1941, the Axis gains further momentum with control of most of Continential Europe. Hitler decides to break pact and invade Stalin's Soviet Union. United States enters World War II after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
In 1941, the Axis gains further momentum with control of most of Continential Europe. Hitler decides to break pact and invade Stalin's Soviet Union. United States enters World War II after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
In 1942 we see the Axis get pushed back in North Africa and get bogged down in the Soviet Union. The tide of war turns in favor of the Allies.
In 1942 we see the Axis get pushed back in North Africa and get bogged down in the Soviet Union. The tide of war turns in favor of the Allies.