Jack Rakove of Stanford University examines the creation and significance of the Bill of Rights, arguing that it is perhaps not as significant as popularly believed.
To listen to this lecture, select "The Bill of Rights" under "Listen to Dr. Rakove's lectures."
Can you suggest any sources for a furnishing plan for a 1790 second floor bedroom of the house of a well-to-do 3rd generation Scots-Irish farm family who lived just north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania?
Depending on how much information you already have about the house, you might have to begin with examples of basic architectural plans of other houses from the time that are roughly in the same area. A good place to look for this is in the Historic American Buildings Survey (a New Deal project), all of which is now available online from the Library of Congress.
Architectural drawings, made during the 1930s, of a wide variety of almost 40,000 historic buildings around the country are provided, as well as photographs, and written descriptions, including notes on changes and additions that had been made since the buildings were first completed. An example from the database is the documentation of the William Maclay Mansion, built in downtown Harrisburg in 1793.
Diagrammatic plans of 18th-century houses showing the placement of furnishings do not exist. Nor are there photographs to consult, obviously. Paintings present an opportunity and a challenge: A family getting its portrait painted would often ensure that the painter include an array of the family’s prized possessions in the background. There are a few places where you can see such paintings as well as large collections of actual pieces of early American furniture, identified by date and place of manufacture:
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
The Athenaeum of Philadelphia
However, when families had their photographs taken in the mid-19th century and later, they often rearranged their furnishings to bring all their treasures into the picture—even dragging armoires and organs outside if the photo was taken there. Consequently, even if domestic portraits of an earlier period often showed plenty of furniture, it was not necessarily arranged as it would have been in normal use.
In addition, it was still common practice for portraitists to surround the people in their paintings with objects that indicated their social position or their profession or accomplishments, such as a pet parrot next to a Nantucket ship captain, showing the “souvenir” he had brought back from one of his voyages.
This is all caution against expecting the arrangement of domestic furnishing in posed paintings to reproduce how a room would have looked if one had walked into it on an ordinary day.
Local historians and curators of historic residences have furnished houses in Pennsylvania. You can visit these and get ideas from them:
Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation, Media, Pennsylvania.
Thomas Massey House, Broomall, Pennsylvania.
Stenton, home of the Logan family, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Cliveden, home of Benjamin Chew, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Grumblethorpe, home of John Wister, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Hans Herr House, Willow Street, Pennsylvania.
Conrad Weiser Homestead, Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania.
Trout Hall, Allentown, and the Troxell-Steckel House, Egypt, Pennsylvania.
One problem in describing a “furnishing plan” is the fact that most of the furnishings of houses at the time, with the exception, perhaps, of the largest pieces, like beds, were often moved from room to room, depending on transient needs. This was especially true of rooms, such as upstairs bedrooms, where company was not received.
Even famous houses of the 18th century that were later restored—such as Washington’s Mount Vernon or Jefferson’s Monticello—have generally only had their furnishings restored in an impressionistic way. Not strangely, house owners do not and did not ordinarily make lists of their furnishings, much less room by room. And most people, even relatively wealthy ones, did not accumulate anywhere near as many items of furniture as people do today.
Except for the very wealthiest people in the 18th century, and well into the 19th century (when furniture became mass-produced and relatively less expensive), most people’s sleeping room would have had only a bed, a chest, and perhaps a chair and a small table. A spinning wheel might also have found space there.
Sometimes, letters from the time mention items of furniture—if they’ve been broken or replaced or given as wedding gifts or in token of friendship or esteem. That can be helpful in reconstructing a family’s furnishings.
Another place to look is in wills, inventories, and probate records. Specific items of furniture are often recorded there, as they are disbursed to the next generation. It is sometimes evident where the deceased lived and some information is often provided about social status and occupation. Historian Barbara Clark Smith, elsewhere on this website, shows how useful this can be by looking an example of an 1804 probate inventory of the possessions of Thomas Spring of New Castle County, Delaware.
DocsTeach, a National Archives and Records Administration project, recognizes the need to bring primary sources into your classroom. To assist in the effort, NARA has pulled together thousands of primary sources, as well as a selection of pre-made activities and tools for building your own primary-source-centric activities.
Documents offers exactly what it sounds like it would—primary sources. The sources are divided into chronological categories—Revolution and the New Nation, Expansion and Reform, Civil War and Reconstruction, Development of the Industrial United States, Emergence of Modern America, Great Depression and World War II, Postwar United States, and Contemporary United States. Results can then be narrowed further by selecting audio/visual, charts/graphics/data, image, map, or written document. If you prefer, you can use a keyword search. All search results are shown with thumbnails to give you a small preview of the sources for your consideration.
Activities provides pre-made classroom activities. These require access to a computer, and are based on the same tools which the site provides for making your own activities. You can also sort them by historical thinking skill—chronological thinking, comprehension, analysis and interpretation, research capabilities, and issues-analysis and decision-making. Registering gives you access to a much larger collection, many of which are created by other educators. There is no registration cost.
If you're registered, consider making your own activity for use by yourself and others. There are tools which help students to create sequences, participate in analytical discussion, connect documents, geographically map documents, use documents to gain an understanding of the bigger picture, weigh evidence, and examine source context.
Take a moment to peruse the Teacher Resources as well. Here, you can find information on national history standards, using DocsTeach activities in the classroom, Bloom's taxonomy, and the National Council of Social Studies.
Read our Digital Classroom article on DocsTeach for more detailed information on using the site.
Old St. Augustine Village preserves nine historic houses, dating from 1790 to 1910. Five exhibit galleries situated around the houses interpret the history of the area.
The village offers exhibits, guided tours for school groups, and occasional recreational and educational events.
Yale University has made a sampling of their courses available for listeners, viewers, and readers.
As of writing, the history subsection contains six courses—two of which relate directly to U.S. history ("The American Revolution" and "The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845-1877") and one which touches on relevant issues, "Epidemics and Western Society Since 1600." Each of these courses offers links to individual pages for each lecture. Lecture pages contain short text overviews of the topic at hand; a list of any reading which was required for the day; and links to lecture audio, video, and transcriptions.
Our site links you directly to the Yale's history courses. However, consider exploring other topics as well. Maybe a lecture on Roman architecture will give you background for discussing monuments in Washington, DC, or an economics course will give you a new way of thinking about the American Revolution. Interdisciplinary possibilities are endless.
On this electronic field trip, students get the chance to see up close historical documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Students will also have entry to the entire Independence National Historical Park with 21 historical sites available for fascinating tours.
Conner Prairie brings Indiana history to life with the perfect mix of education, adventure and fun! The park offers an authentic look at the 1800s through engaging, hands-on experiences. These experiences cover a variety of K–12 Indiana academic standards including social studies, language arts, science and math. The park has hundreds of scenic acres and many historic buildings. The museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and is committed to multi-sensory learning. Also, Conner Prairie is a proud recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This award recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental or economic contributions to their communities.
The site includes several historic areas that cover a variety of themes. In 1836 Prairietown, step back in time and interact with staff portraying residents of the town. At the Conner Homestead, tour the brick house William Conner built in 1823 and visit the Loom House to find out about textile processes. Also in the Conner Homestead are opportunities to meet farm animals and try a hand at dipping candles. In the Lenape Camp, find out about Lenape (Delaware) Indian history and culture while exploring a wigwam and a trading post. The 1859 Balloon Voyage exhibit presents the story of pioneer and aeronaut John Wise and his attempted flight from Lafayette to New York. For an additional fee and weather permitting, Conner Prairie offers a flight in a tethered, helium-filled balloon that can accommodate up to 25 people and rises to around 300 feet. Inside the Welcome Center, visit Science Lab for a look at science concepts and the history behind them.
Conner Prairie's newest experience, 1863 Civil War Journey: Raid on Indiana, immerses you in the story of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry raid on Indiana. Using theatrical wizardry, including video, sound, staging and Conner Prairie interpreters dressed in authentic period costumes, guests are asked to enlist to defend their state from the raiders. How would you react to a call to arms? Become fully engaged in this pivotal moment in Indiana history.
In addition to general park touring, Conner Prairie offers special staff-led programs and seasonal programs. Also, from November through March, Conner Prairie offers outreach programs at schools and other community organizations. Advance reservations are required for all programs including school groups booking the general self-guided tour.
Some buildings in Prairietown and Lenape Camp are not wheelchair accessible. However, in the case of non-accessible buildings, staff can come outside to interact with those unable to enter their building. A map showing which buildings are accessible is available on the website.
For more details and information, see the Conner Prairie website.
With the construction of the Cape Henry Lighthouse in 1792, the waters of the Chesapeake Bay became navigable and safe ensuring steady trade and commerce on the Virginia and Maryland coasts. Today, the Cape Henry Lighthouse is open to the public during the spring, summer, and fall.
The lighthouse offers exhibits and tours.
A project of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, PhilaPlace explores the history of two neighborhoods in Philadelphia—Old Southwark and the Greater Northern Liberties—historically home to immigrants and the working class. Using an interactive map and more than 1,240 primary sources and audio and video clips, visitors to the site may navigate the neighborhoods and learn more about their development from 1875 to the present day.
Visitors may navigate the interactive map using filters found under two tabs to the left of the map: "Places" and "Streets."
Under "Places," click on marked points of interest to bring up photographs or audio or video clips describing the history of the location. These points of interest may be filtered by 14 topics (such as "Food & Foodways," "Education & Schools," and "Health") or by contributor (the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, its partners, or visitors to the site). The map may be set to show the city's streets in 1875, 1895, 1934, 1962, or the present day—note that points of interests from all time periods appear on all maps. Two virtual tours through the points of interest are available, one for Greater Northern Liberties/Lower North and South Philadelphia.
Under "Streets," visitors can view demographics for four streets—S. 4th St., S. 9th St., I-95, and Wallace Street—from 1880-1930. Buildings on each street are color-coded to show land use, the number of residents per building, and the ethnicity and occupation of each building's residents.
Collections allows visitors to search the more than 1,240 primary sources and audio and video clips available on the site. Filter them by topic, neighborhood, type, or contributor.
The site's blog presents mini-features on certain locations, notifications of updates, and information on professional development and other PhilaPlace-related events. Educators provides a timeline for each of the neighborhoods and four suggested lesson plan/activities, while My PhilaPlace lets visitors create free accounts and save favorite materials to them—or create their own up-to-25-stop city tour. The Add a Story feature allows visitors to tag locations on the maps with their own short descriptions or memories (up to 600 words long), and accompany them with an image or audio or video clip.
Attractive, interactive, and accessible, PhilaPlace may appeal to Pennsylvania educators looking for a tool to help students explore urban history.
This website—a small portion of the larger Documenting the American South project—presents the full text of more than 130 works of literature by more than 75 authors, published between the mid-1600s and 1920. Notable works include the first history of Virginia, written in 1673 by House of Burgesses member Robert Beverley, poems by Edgar Allen Poe, Booker T. Washington's autobiography Up From Slavery, and several of Mark Twain's and Kate Chopin's works. Other works include collections of slave songs, sermons, and narratives published in the mid-1800s, including Frederick Douglass's famous narrative, several works addressing Ku Klux Klan activities, and many lesser-known works of fiction. Though there is no built-in search feature, all works are presented as lengthy text files and can be searched using a computer's "Find" function. Users new to Southern history may want to turn first to the "Introduction," which provides brief essays on many aspects of Southern history, literature, and culture, including early colonial-era literature, the genres of biography and autobiography, black literature, the Civil War, travel writing, folklore, and humor.