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Mid-1800s reform era group presentations

Students will work in groups to present information on the reforms of the mid 1800's. Topics could include the Unitarians, abolition, women's rights, growth in education, treatment of the mentally ill, temperance, and utopian communities.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Social Studies)

By Angie Panel Holthausen.

North Carolina women and the Progressive Movement

This lesson includes primary sources from Documenting the American South specifically related to North Carolina women involved in reform movements characteristic of the Progressive era. For the most part, these documents detail women's work in education-related reform and describe the creation of schools for women in the state. They also demonstrate that, as was true in the rest of the nation, the progressive, female reformers of N.C. were segregated based on race and socio-economic status.

Format: lesson plan (grade 11–12 Social Studies)

By Meghan Mcglinn.

Dorothea Dix Hospital

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 11.7

Dorothea Dix, a reformer from New England, came to North Carolina in the 1840s to campaign for a state mental hospital that would provide humane care to the mentally ill. Her efforts resulted in the construction of Dix Hill Asylum (now called Dorothea Dix Hospital) which opened in 1856.

Format: article

Turning the century

Students will create a museum display illustrating life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Format: lesson plan (grade 9–12 Social Studies)

By Lisa Stamey.

Reform movements across the United States

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 11.2

In the 1830s and 1840s, a wave of social and political reform swept the United States. Various groups of reformers, often inspired by religion, worked to expand the vote, promote equal rights for women, improve labor conditions, build free public schools, limit alcohol use, and improve treatment of criminals and the insane.

Format: article

Vietnam: Historical background

Vietnam has strong historical connections to China and India and has been ruled by both China and France. After turmoil and wars in the twentieth century, Vietnam embarked on a program of reform that has opened relations with the United States.

By Lorraine Aragon.

Southern women and the bicycle

In North Carolina in the New South, page 5.3

Editorial from the Charlotte Observer, 1895, on whether women in North Carolina were "ready" for bicycles. Includes historical commentary.

Format: newspaper

Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.

Whigs and Democrats

In North Carolina in the New Nation, page 11.1

After the War of 1812, the two-party system of Federalists and Democratic-Republicans collapsed, and an era of one-party rule was known as the Era of Good Feelings. But new conflicts arose over the presidency of Andrew Jackson, the Second Bank of the United States, and tariffs, and two new parties, the Whigs and the Democrats, emerged. In North Carolina, the Whigs gained power in the 1830s and began a period of reform.

Format: article

By David Walbert.

Women's history

LEARN NC has selected several resources from our collections to help your students learn about women's history. Find lesson plans, websites, and articles to help your students learn about the achievements and experiences of women.

Format: bibliography/help

High school history and English: Natural partners

In Where English and history meet: A collaboration guide, page 1

Strategically plan a collaborative unit and overcome those everyday obstacles that prevent success. While this article focuses specifically on English-history collaboration, there is much to kindle the interest of any high school teachers.

By Karen Cobb Carroll, Ph.D., and NBCT.

Nathan Cole and the First Great Awakening

In Colonial North Carolina, page 6.13

Diary of a Connecticut man from the 1760s tells of his conversion experience after attending a revival at which the famous minister George Whitefield preached. Historical commentary explains the differences between eighteenth-century and present-day religion and revivals.

Format: diary

Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.

Resources on the web

The Frederick Douglass Papers

Documents the activities of the noted abolitionist, writer and publisher. Included within this collection are copies of Douglass's writings, correspondence with noted abolitionists and scrapbooks documenting his activities. (Learn more)

Format: website/general

Provided by: Library of Congress