THE BIRTH OF A NEW NATION
A web link bibliography on the founding of the United States of America
This collection of sites was designed for teachers of
fifth grade social studies curriculum and their students.
The Seeds of
Colonial America This website offers a nice summary
of the colonial period leading up to the Revolutionary War. It includes a
brief, but helpful, summary of British history to give the student some
historical background of the country that founded the American colonies.
Visited 2/11/06. http://www.sagehistory.net/colonial/
You Be the Historian You get to be a detective when
you explore this interactive website. By
examining clues and using their deductive reasoning, students have the chance
to get a sense of what everyday life was like in the early 1700s. Visited 2/11/06.
http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/kids/springer/
LIBERTY! Road to Revolution Game Based on the acclaimed PBS
series, this link offers an interactive quiz
of the historical events prior to the opening shots of the American Revolution.
In playing this game, students will follow an historic roadmap and receive a
clearer understanding of the events that led to war. Visited 2/11/06. http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/road.html
The History Place - Prelude to Revolution The layout of this page is
simple, nevertheless it gives a clear and concise timeline of the historical
events from 1763 up to 1775, including summaries of the roles of key people
involved. Visited 2/11/06.
http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/revolution/rev-prel.htm
A Colony in Revolt:
TheAmericanRevolution.org This site offers a thorough
summary of all the different aspects of the war, including the different
battles, key historical figures and important events. This is a good site to
visit for a general overview of the war. Visited 2/11/06.
http://theamericanrevolution.org/
The American Revolution Home Page Similar to
theamericanrevolution.org, this site has its own special features such as an
illustrated review of the many different flags used during this period and a
very interesting feature entitled 13 Things You Never Knew About the
American Revolution. Visited 2/11/06.
http://www.americanrevwar.homestead.com/files/Index2.htm
Virtual Marching Tour of the American Revolutionary War
This site offers an incredibly detailed
review of the seminal year in the Revolutionary War, 1777. Known as the
Philadelphia Campaign, this site details the transformation of a ragtag
disorganized group of colonists into the Continental Army. Visited 2/11/06.
http://www.ushistory.org/march/index.html
Religion and the American Revolution
This interesting offering of
the Library of Congress details the role religion played in the Revolution,
from the possibility it was a cause of the war to the clergy who took an active
role in the fighting. Included are scans of originals documents from the era. Visited 2/11/06.
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel03.html
Archiving Early America A website offering archived primary source material from
the 18th Century, this site has numerous offerings, especially
contemporary biographical materials on key figures from this period, such as
the 1791 autobiography of Benjamin Franklin and the actual obituaries of
various founding fathers. Of particular interest is the section devoted to
notable women of the Colonial period. Visited
2/11/06. http://www.earlyamerica.com/lives/index.html
Africans in America | Revolution This page is a section of the website created for the PBS
series on Africans in America and is devoted to the role they played during the
revolutionary period. The site includes an interactive map that details the
status of the black slaves in each of the colonies. Visited 2/11/06. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part2/narrative.html
Indians and the American Revolution This basic page offers an excellent summary of the role
Native Americans played in the war. The page also offers links to related sites
and an extensive bibliography for further reading on the subject. Visited 2/11/06.
http://www.americanrevolution.org/ind1.html
Music of the Revolution A simple website that contains numerous
Spy Letters of the American Revolution
This unusual website deals with
a little known or discussed but crucial part of the Revolutionary War story:
the role that spies played in the conflict. It includes discussions about
revolutionary spy networks, the story of the infamous Benedict Arnold, as well
as copies of actual spy letters. Visited
2/11/06. http://www.si.umich.edu/spies/
The American Revolution and Its Era: Maps and Charts
A useful source for a teacher looking for
visual aids, this site has an assortment of authentic colonial maps and charts
from the colonial period. Fairly easy to navigate, it offers a helpful zoom
feature to allow the user to examine the documents up close. Visited 2/11/06. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/armhtml/armhome.html
Primary Source Documents A good source for discovering the content of historical
documents, this site makes up for its plain packaging with an impressive
selection of works to view, from the Tea Act of 1773 to an early draft of the
Declaration of Independence. Note: Many of these documents are not in their
original form but are simply presented in Word. Visited 2/11/06. http://www.constitution.org/primarysources/primarysources.html
Forming a New Nation:
The Avalon Project: Articles of Confederation This project of the
The National Archives Experience The National Archives’ website is a logical source for
information on the Constitution, and they do not disappoint. An included
feature is the ability to download high resolution copies of the original
Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and Bill of Rights. Visited 2/11/06.
http://www.archives.gov/national-archives-experience/charters/constitution.html
The U.S. Constitution Online This no-frills site offers a wide variety of resources on
the Constitution. Of particular interest is the Constitution for Kids
feature which offers several different explanations of the contents of the
Constitution, based on age. Visited
2/11/06. http://www.usconstitution.net/
Colonial Hall: The Biographies of the Founding Fathers
This resource offers biographies of most
of the historical figures of the time, including the signers of the
Constitution, as well as those of the Declaration of Independence and the
Articles of Confederation. Visited
2/11/06. http://www.colonialhall.com/biography.php
Sample Lessons The Center for Civic Education website offers relevant
lesson plans for all grades, several of which are designed for the upper
elementary school, including What is a Republican Government? and What
Responsibilities Accompany our Rights? The plans offer a student book as
well as the guide for the teacher. Visited
2/11/06. http://www.civiced.org/lesson-plans.html
USHistory.org This is
the website for the Independence Hall Association in