sources

Contains excerpts from interviews, magazine and news articles, and letters that provide insight into the effects of the Great Depression of the 1930s on America and its people.

Primary source materials present different aspects of the Civil War, including the debate over slavery, secession of the Confederate States, the war itself, and life for the slaves after emancipation.

Presents speeches by various African American religious and political leaders from the days of slavery to the present, along with biographical information and historical background.

Describes and illustrates the American West from 1763 to 1912 through a variety of images created during that period.

Uses a variety of contemporary materials to describe and illustrate key events during the Reconstruction period that followed the Civil War.

Uses a variety of contemporary materials to describe and illustrate the battles fought between January 1864 and April 1865 that led to the end of the Civil War.

Describes and illustrates the opening up and settling of the Old West, its trails, canals, railroads, and other aspects, from the early migrations to the coming of the telephone, through a variety of images created during that period.

Presents excerpts from the speeches and writings of over thirty notable African-Americans from colonial times to the twenty-first century, and includes commentary about the time period in which each person lived, information about the speaker/writer, and notes on the public response to the words.

A compilation of articles recalling immigration to America, discussing reasons for immigration, the process of starting a new life, hardships of assimilation and discrimination, and the more recent changes in immigration policy.

Presents excerpts from nineteen documents written by people who worked to advance the cause of civil rights in the U.S., including articles, autobiographical essays, declarations, government documents, poems, and speeches; grouped in three thematic units covering desegregation, economic rights, and human rights.