- Abolition and John Brown's Raid
Using contemporary accounts, newspaper cartoons, replicas of authentic maps, and other primary sources, students explore the life of the abolitionist figure, John Brown—from his early days of agitating against slavery to the raid at Harper's Ferry to his conviction and execution.
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- The Battle of Gettysburg
During the three-day battle of Gettysburg, the fortunes of the Northern and Southern armies rose and fell with every passing hour. The focal points of this lesson discuss how different decisions within the battle could have altered the outcome and how a Confederate victory might have affected the course of the war.
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- The Battle of Saratoga
In 1777, under the command of General John Burgoyne, the British Army attempted to divide America's colonial forces in half by controlling the route from Montreal to the Hudson Valley—a plan that ultimately collapsed with the surrender of Saratoga. How viable was the plan to begin with? How did it fail? What if it had succeeded?
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- The Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King, Jr.
This lesson focuses on Martin Luther King's significant contributions to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, including the Birmingham boycott and his spellbinding "I Have a Dream" speech, as well as the impact of his 1968 assassination. Activities include creating an ad campaign using King's image to inspire activism and speculating how he might have led a 21st-century civil rights movement.
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- The Compromise of 1850
With this lesson, students hold a mock Senate debate on the agreement that temporarily forestalled the American Civil War, including the positions of those who wanted new states free, those who wanted new states open to slavery, and those who wanted each state's citizens to decide for themselves. Students also think through possible outcomes had the Compromise in fact kept the nation at peace.
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- Counterculture
Go beyond the stereotypical images of peace signs and flower power-era hippies and involve students in the social and political forces that fostered the 1960s and 1970s counterculture. Activities focus on the important events and lasting influence of the Women's Movement, the Black Power Movement, the American Indian Movement, and the Youth Movement, and poses questions about these groups' lasting impact had a fatal drug or sexually transmitted disease spread through the Summer of Love.
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- The Election of 1980
In November 1980, reeling from a stagnant economy and frustrated by the Iran hostage standoff, American voters went to the polls to choose a president. Would Jimmy Carter have been reelected had he successfully dealt with the Iran hostage and oil crisis? Students will see that the election of Ronald Reagan was more than just a change in leadership; it was a wholesale political shift that would remake the country—and an example of a reemerging conservatism that was happening throughout the Western world.
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- The Emancipation Proclamation
Here students follow the evolution of Abraham Lincoln's position toward emancipating slaves and gauge the ramifications of the landmark proclamation on the course of the American Civil War and the future of the nation.
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- The First Battle of Bull Run
How devastating was the Battle of Bull Run for the defeated North? What if the Union Army had won? In this lesson, students use actual correspondence from battle participants to follow the action, and with the help of maps, devise a strategy for a Union victory that could have shortened the war dramatically.
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- First Contacts
The first encounter between Christopher Columbus and the inhabitants of Hispaniola was the beginning of widespread exchanges across the hemispheres—food, goods, gold, and, to the devastation of many Native Americans, disease. With this Defining Moment, students investigate this momentous meeting, and speculate: What if it had been the Europeans who carried home a highly infectious and deadly disease?
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- The Free Speech Movement
Berkeley 1964: Campus policies banning political and religious meetings are being challenged. The administration's controversial responses only expanded the scope and intensity of the protest. The victory won in the name of free speech reverberated across campuses nationwide. With this lesson, students revisit those times, focusing especially on the experiences and words of the movement's charismatic leader, Mario Savio, and explore what may have been if he had not emerged as a prominent spokesman.
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- The Gorbachev Coup
On August 18, 1991, Soviet hard-liners launched a coup d'état against Soviet Secretary General Gorbachev. With no significant military support and public opinion overwhelming against it, the coup failed in just two days. Here, students review the defining moment that ultimately led to the final dissolution of the Soviet Union (and the political ruin of Gorbachev as well), and consider just how different the world would be if it had been successful.
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- Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression
Widely blamed for the Depression, President Herbert Hoover was defeated soundly by Franklin Roosevelt in his reelection bid, ushering in an era of vigorous economic action under the New Deal. In this Defining Moment, students take a closer look at Hoover's political philosophy, the causes of the Depression, and the hypothetical consequences of a 1932 Hoover victory.
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- The Iran-Contra Affair
The secret program to divert proceeds from an Iranian arms-for-hostages deal to anti-Communist forces in Nicaragua may have been innovative, but to many, it was at odds with the federal law forbidding any type of support for the Contra forces. Drawing on primary sources from all viewpoints, students will analyze the national debate over Iran-Contra, including how it exemplified a conflict between the rule of law and expedience in the name of security, as well as discuss what may have happened had the weapons sale to Iran not been made public.
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- The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
In this Defining Moment, students take leading roles in recreating one of the most talked about events in American political history—the Lincoln-Douglas debates from the 1858 U.S. Senate election in Illinois. Analyze Stephen Douglas' Freeport Doctrine, which held that territories had a right to include or exclude slavery, which outweighed the Federal Supreme Court ruling.
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- The Mexican-American War
What were the catalysts for the war between the United States and Mexico? How did the American victory—which resulted in gaining over half of Mexico's territory—impact the nation? What if the United States had been defeated? These questions are at the heart of this Defining Moment lesson on the Mexican-American War of 1846.
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- The Monroe Doctrine
On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe delivered his annual message to Congress—and established a foreign policy precedent that reverberated well into the 20th century. This lesson looks at the development and consequences of the doctrine that sought to prevent European powers from colonizing or interfering with newly independent states in the Western Hemisphere.
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- New York Dutch
This Defining Moment looks at the experiences of the 17th-century colony established by the Dutch West Indies Company, in what is now New York City, from its beginnings to the onset of the American Revolution. Students can explore life in the colony under the military-like rule of Peter Stuyvesant, examine its role as a valued pawn in the imperial conflicts between the Netherlands and Great Britain, and speculate on what would have happened if Stuyvesant had resisted the British siege in 1664 instead of surrendering.
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- Peaceful Settlements?
In exploring the Pequot War (1636-1637), the first extended armed conflict between Native Americans and European colonies, students will analyze the issues that fueled the war, including clashes over property ownership, legal rights, and religious differences, and will get a larger sense of the relationship between tribes and settlers in pre-Revolutionary America.
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- The Prohibition Era
The 18th Amendment outlawing alcohol was one of the most radical federal laws ever enacted in the United States. This Defining Moment charts the major turning points within the country's ratification of Prohibition and explores its impact on American life up to its repeal. Students look at possible ways the amendment could have been defeated and consider how 1920s America would have looked without the ban on alcohol.
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- Reaganomics
The Economic Recovery Act in 1981 made "Reaganomics" the official fiscal policy of the United States. It was a radical change of direction for the country, one that dramatically reset the national discussion on taxes, spending, and the role of government. This lesson helps students understand the various aspects of President Reagan's plan, preparing them to analyze its impact and legacy, and to understand how history would have played out had his plan been different.
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- Reconstruction
Lincoln envisioned a reintegration of the defeated South back into the Union that would be swift, forgiving, and as painless as possible. Working with a range of primary materials, students will learn how Reconstruction did not progress the way Lincoln had hoped as they delve into the mood of the nation, the contentious relationship between President Johnson and Congress, and the central issue of the status of freed slaves.
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- Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal
It was initially dismissed as a "third-rate burglary," but investigations of the break-in at Democratic headquarters in Washington D.C. eventually revealed a complex web of illegal activity that brought down Richard Nixon's presidency. In this lesson, students explore the full scope of Watergate, and consider what might have happened had Nixon chosen not to resign.
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- Sherman's March to the Sea
This Defining Moment brings one of the most famous campaigns in U.S. military history to life in the classroom, as students follow Major William Sherman's march across Georgia, from Atlanta to Savannah, in 1864. Activities include using a Civil War-era map as a game board, plotting the march's flanking moves, diversions, devastations, and attacks, and looking at specific moments when the march could have been thwarted.
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- The Spanish-American War
Victory in the Spanish-American War set the stage for the transition of the United States from a staunchly isolationist nation to an actively engaged world power. But what if the United States had not involved itself in the Cuban revolution against Spain? What if William Randolph Hearst and the "yellow journalists" had failed to foment public support for the war?
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- Tear Down This Wall: The Fall of the Soviet Union
In a 1987 speech in Berlin, President Reagan urged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to demonstrate his commitment to peace by destroying the wall dividing the city. In 1989, when the wall did come down, Gorbachev seemed to be reaping the benefits of his policy of openness (perestroika). Yet, as students will see, that same defining moment also inspired Soviet hard-liners to attempt to remove Gorbachev from power.
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- The Tet Offensive
Even with 467,000 troops in Vietnam—triple the number sent to Iraq in 2003—U.S. forces were ill-prepared for the North Vietnamese offensive of January 1968. This Defining Moment helps students understand why "Tet" is synonymous with the frustrations of fighting a guerilla war in the modern age. It also looks at why the offensive turned American public opinion against the war and poses the question: "What if Tet had been perceived as a U.S. victory?"
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- The Texas Revolution
Most Texas residents who won their freedom from Mexico wished to have their home territory admitted to the United States. But across the United States, opinion was sharply divided on whether the annexation should take place, with both pro- and anti-abolitionist forces fearful of how the new state would address slavery. Use this Defining Moment to dig into the controversy here.
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- Theodore Roosevelt's Presidency
Theodore Roosevelt fulfilled his pledge not to run for reelection in 1908, and instead supported his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft. Four years later, the still hugely popular Roosevelt was again a presidential contender challenging Taft, running on the "Bull Moose" ticket. What brought Roosevelt out of retirement? What if he had become the United States' first third-party president?
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- The Truman Doctrine and Soviet Expansion
In the aftermath of World War II, as Stalin's expansionist ambitions became apparent, President Harry S. Truman changed the United States' stance on the USSR from FDR's "compromised arrangement" to a policy of containment. But what if Truman had pursued another, less confrontational approach? That question is at the heart of this fascinating exploration of the beginnings of the Cold War.
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- The United States Constitution
The ratification of the Constitution capped off 20 years of rebellion, revolution, and rebuilding—including 4 uncertain years under the Articles of Confederation. Here, students explore the writing and passing of this extraordinary document, and consider what might have happened if the states had rejected it.
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- The Vietnam War
Here students track the United State's slow path toward full-scale involvement in Vietnam, one presidential decision at a time—from the 1958 North Vietnamese invasion of Laos to the escalation after the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin crisis.
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- Westward Expansion: Railroads and the Telegraph
This Defining Moment focuses on the immeasurable role of communications and transportation technologies in helping the United States fulfill its "manifest destiny" and reunify the nation after the Civil War. Students analyze the positive and negative impact of the development of the transcontinental railroad and the telegraph.
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- World War II: Pearl Harbor
With the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan brought the United States into a global war that it had shown no real eagerness to join. What was the strategy behind the Japanese strike? How would the course of World War II have been different if the Japanese had kept their focus on their conflict with China?
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