Aerial view of rows of houses in the suburbs

Post-WWII Teaching Resources

Find primary sources and teaching activities for the Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s).

Students in classroom in Moton High School

Teaching Resources for Black History Month

Find primary sources and educational activities for teaching about African American history during Black History Month or any time.

Hand raising in the air in front of an American flag at a march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 2000

The Bill of Rights and Expanding Rights in America

Find primary source documents and teaching activities related to protecting and expanding rights in America in commemoration of Bill of Rights Day on December 15.

Right in America

Teaching Civil Rights with DocsTeach

DocsTeach, the online tool for teaching with documents from the National Archives, is full of primary sources and tools for teaching about civil rights.

What Effect Did the WWII Fair Employment Practices Commission Have on the Civil Rights Movement?

Today’s post comes from Joel Walker, education specialist at the National Archives at Atlanta. On December 31, 1942, the Counter Intelligence Section of the Seventh Naval District based in Jacksonville, Florida, distributed its monthly summary of subversive activities.  On page two of the summary, under the heading "Activities Concerning Negroes," was printed a small paragraph … Continue reading What Effect Did the WWII Fair Employment Practices Commission Have on the Civil Rights Movement?

We Shall Overcome: Anxiety and Optimism for the March on Washington

On August 28, 1963, a quarter million people came to the nation’s capital to petition their duly elected government in a demonstration known as the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Frustrated by the inaction of a gridlocked Congress, the marchers called for Congress to pass the Civil Rights bill. The size of the … Continue reading We Shall Overcome: Anxiety and Optimism for the March on Washington

1963: The Struggle for Civil Rights, a New Website

A new interactive website created by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum and the Kennedy Library Foundation, presents seven key "chapters" in one of the most tumultuous years in civil rights history. Each chapter on 1963: The Struggle for Civil Rights features primary sources that help students dig into the real stuff of history - film footage, documents, … Continue reading 1963: The Struggle for Civil Rights, a New Website