American Independence (Teaching with Historic Places)

Use this lesson to learn about the Battle of Bunker Hill.

This lesson is based on the Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, Massachusetts. It is among the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

This lesson is based on the Saratoga National Historical Park, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

The lesson is based on the Bennington Battlefield, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Bennington Battlefield has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

This lesson is based on the Washington Monument, one of the thousands of properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Understand why George Washington was so revered during his lifetime and beyond, and learn why it took 100 years to complete this famous monument in his honor.

Learn about Independence Hall and about how the international influence of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution led to the designation of the building as a World Heritage Site.

Use this lesson to learn about the Liberty Bell and the nation's founding.

By the time of the Revolutionary War, Dutch, German, Irish, Scotch, and British settlers prospered from lucrative trade and productive farms. Yet the whole area suffered from long-established prejudices and hatred between groups and individuals. When war broke out, European Americans and American Indians fought each other for control of New York's political power, land, and commerce. No episode better captures the brutal civil war than the Battle of Oriskany.

Examine the influence of Reverend Joseph Bellamy, a leading preacher in New England from 1740-1790, in colonial American religion, and learn about the role of religion in 18th-century life as well as the resurgence of religious fervor known as the Great Awakening.

The American Revolution in the 1770s started an era referred to by historians as the Age of Revolutions (ca. 1760-1850). Revolts for equality and republicanism took place in Haiti, France, and much of Latin America. While there is a relationship between these revolutions, the movements for independence in Central and South America have a complicated relationship with the American Revolution.