First Semester Topics

Internet Modern History Sourcebook: Colonial North America

Provides direct links to primary source documents on this site and throughout the Internet on Colonial North America, Early Conquests, Political Forms, and American Society. (Paul Halsall, Fordham University, New York, NY)

This Web site takes students on a virtual tour of early American colonization. Learn how in 1585, seven ships and about 100 men set sail across the Atlantic to open the doors to English colonization to the new world. The site contains information sections on: Roanoke, Jamestown, Plymouth, and Colonial life.

Virtual Jamestown

Provides maps, images, and numerous primary source documents: letters, court records, newspapers and public records. Designed to become a comprehensive examination of Jamestown, the site offers virtual panoramas of Jamestown, a timeline and teaching materials. (University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA)

Africans in America: The Terrible Transformation

Click on Narrative for an orientation to the history and historical resources of the time period, choose Resource Bank to browse through a collection of annotated images and documents and Teacher's Guide for advice on using the web site and TV documentary in U.S. History classes. (The American Experience, PBS/WGBH, Boston, MA)

Religion and the Founding of the American Republic

Examines the role of religion in Colonial America from the 17th century through the Great Awakening to the founding of the federal government. Site includes numerous images and primary-source documents. (Library of Congress, Washington, DC)

Colonial Williamsburg

Provides profiles of life in colonial Williamsburg with information on trades, clothing, food, families, politics, and the African-American experience. (Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Williamsburg, VA)

Discoverers Web

Provides an alphabetical list of explorers and a listing of primary and secondary sources relating to exploration. Scroll down and click on the section for North and Central America for explorers related to the land that became the United States of America. (Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, Netherlands)

First Nations Histories

Provides brief descriptions of the first nations. For detailed information on nearly 50 tribes, select the link Geographic Overview of First Nation Histories. Each tribal page includes sections on Language, Culture, Population, and History, which offer well-researched accounts of each tribe's early encounters with Europeans. The site includes an internal search engine. (Vermont's Sovereign Internet Connection, Bellows Falls, VT)

PBS Online: Lewis and Clark

Serves as a companion web site to the PBS documentary film. Follow the Native Americans link, where sixteen of the tribes encountered by Lewis and Clark are described in detail. Ranging from Shoshones to Clatsops, a brief description of the culture of each tribe is included, along with an account of the interaction between the Native Americans and the expedition. (PBS and WETA-TV, Washington, DC)

An Outline of American History: The War of Independence

Covers the events, contributing factors, and important players in the American Revolution. It includes an introduction and essays with numerous hyperlinks to further information on a variety of topics such as the frontier spirit of self-reliance, the first stirrings of unity, tax disputes, and the Boston "Tea Party." (University of Groningen, the Netherlands)

Constitution of the United States

Features a complete transcription of the original Constitution and Bill of Rights, including high-resolution images of each page. The site provides biographies of the 55 delegates to the convention, a detailed description of the convention, and a question and answer section. (National Archives, Washington, DC)

Archiving Early America

Provides the archives of the Early America Review, a journal focusing primarily on 18th-century America through the media of the day (newspapers, writings, maps, and pamphlets). Primary source documents such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are featured as well as many "Milestone Events" of the era including the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, and Washington's Farewell Address (DEV Communications Inc., Anna Maria Island, FL)

History of the Constitution

Describes the evolution from the Articles of Confederation to the constitutional convention, the "Great Compromise," ratification, and finally, the Bill of Rights. (Ben's Guide to Government, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC)