Bielski Brothers’ Biography
Introduce students to the four brothers whose partisan unit saved Jewish lives from the forests of Belarus.
Ben Railton on the Freeman and Walker Cases
Professor Ben Railton shares the stories of Elizabeth Freeman and Quock Walker, two enslaved people who successfully sued for their freedom in the early years of the American republic.
Danielle Allen on Youth in Democracy
Political philosopher Danielle Allen explains why listening to the voices of young people is essential to the democratic process.
Danielle Allen on Civic Agency
Political philosopher Danielle Allen discusses the ways of participating in democracy and the role of youth voices in the three-step process all civic agents follow.
The Costs and Benefits of Belonging
Login Required
Use these slides to help students learn about group membership and explore the range of responses available to us when we encounter exclusion, discrimination, and injustice.
Freedmen’s Bureau Agent Reports on Progress in Education (en español)
In Spanish, this is an excerpt from a January 1866 Freedmen’s Bureau report on the state of education for freedpeople in the South, written by Freedmen’s Bureau inspector John W. Alvord.
Freedpeople Protest the Loss of Their Land
The Committee of Freedmen on Edisto Island, South Carolina wrote a letter to Freedmen’s Bureau Commissioner O.O. Howard responding to President Johnson’s land policy.
Freedpeople Protest the Loss of their Land (en español)
In Spanish, The Committee of Freedmen on Edisto Island, South Carolina wrote a letter to Freedmen’s Bureau Commissioner O.O. Howard responding to President Johnson’s land policy.
He Was Always Right and You Were Always Wrong
Henry Blake, a freedman from Arkansas, describes how sharecropping limited his freedom, noting that sharecroppers were always kept in debt.
He Was Always Right and You Were Always Wrong (en español)
In Spanish, Henry Blake, a freedman from Arkansas, describes how sharecropping limited his freedom, noting that sharecroppers were always kept in debt.
"The Honoured Representative of Four Millions of Colored People"
Historian Douglas R. Egerton describes the life and political career of Mississippi politician Blanche K. Bruce, the first African American to serve a full six-year term in the United States Senate.