Resource Library
Find compelling classroom resources, learn new teaching methods, meet standards, and make a difference in the lives of your students.
We are grateful to The Hammer Family Foundation for supporting the development of our on-demand learning and teaching resources.
Introducing Our US History Curriculum Collection
Draw from this flexible curriculum collection as you plan any middle or high school US history course. Featuring units, C3-style inquiries, and case studies, the collection will help you explore themes of democracy and freedom with your students throughout the year.
Pardon/Franchise Engravings by Thomas Nast
Wood engravings by Thomas Nast depict the tension between the demands of healing and justice during the Reconstruction era.
Part Four: Interracial Democracy
Scholars discuss how African Americans and whites initially worked together within Reconstruction governments.
Part One: The World the War Made
Scholars discuss the effects that the changes brought about by the Civil War had on the identities of American citizens.
Part Six: The Legacies of Reconstruction
Scholars discuss the legacies of the Reconstruction era as part of Facing History & Ourselves’ work on the period.
"Of Course He Votes the Democratic Ticket" (1876)
A political cartoon by Thomas Nast from Harper’s Weekly depicts the intimidation techniques that the Democratic Party used to suppress the votes of Black Southerners in the election of 1876.
"Of Course He Votes the Democratic Ticket” (en español)
Wood engraving by Thomas Nast from Harper’s Weekly (1876)
"Shall We Call Home Our Troops?" (1875)
Wood engraving by Thomas Nast from Harper's Weekly depicting the reaction of the radical South toward African Americans after the North does not follow up their promises.
"The Birth of a Nation" Summarizes Reconstruction
Title cards, or intertitles, from The Birth of a Nation, a 1915 film portraying D.W. Griffith's racist vision of life in the South during the Civil war era.
Part Three: The Political Struggle, 1865-1866
Scholars discuss the different visions for Reconstruction held by Congress and President Johnson.
Part Two: Defining Freedom
Scholars discuss the evolution of the definition of freedom for emancipated slaves after the Civil War.
“Emancipation” (1865)
Thomas Nast's celebration of the emancipation of Southern slaves with the end of the Civil War. Nast envisions a somewhat optimistic picture of the future of free blacks in the United States.