Land and Freedom Lessons in US History

Links to further reading on the Land and Freedom lesson topics

1. Indian Land Ownership
Index of Native American resources on the Net
World History Archives: Native Americans in the US Comprehensive and authoritative historical materials, tribe by tribe.
Acquisition of Property by Discovery -- 1823 Decision by Chief Justice John Marshall that elaborated -- somewhat apologetically -- the legal principle under which the United States justified sovereignty over lands that had been occupied by Native Americans.
Seattle, Real and Feigned -- comparison of the famous, fictional "Chief Seattle Speech" with Seattle's actual remarks.
The Iroquois Constitution -- history and full text of this amazing 500-year old document.

2. The Dutch and The New World
The United States of America and the Netherlands -- comprehensive online history of Dutch immigration and settlement.
A Brief Outline of the History of new Netherland -- with a fascinating chapter on the history of wampum.
Great Estates of the Hudson Valley -- a look at some of those incredible mansions.
Rensselaerswyck -- well-annotated history of one of the largest patroonships.
3. Colonial Mercantilism
History and links on the policy of mercantilism.
American Labor History: Colonial American Labor -- social classes in preindustrial America.
The "Triangular Trade", and the slave market in the mercantile system..
Adam Smith's views on mercantilism.
4. The Declaration and Natural Rights
Brief history of the Declaration, with bibliography.
The French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789).
Full text of the Declaration in easy-to read format, with all the Signers.
The omitted Anti-slavery Clause from Jefferson's original draft, with interpretation.
The Bill of Rights: A Brief History by the ACLU, with copious references.
5. Jefferson and Liberty
Collected quotations from Jefferson's writings from the University of Virginia.
Jefferson on the "wall of separation" between church and state.
Frequently Asked Questions on Thomas Jefferson: all you ever wanted to know, and more.
"To Labour for Another" -- slave life at Monticello, and Jefferson's complex views on slavery.
6.The Louisiana Purchase
History of the Louisiana Purchase from the State of Louisiana site. (Lavishly illustrated -- takes a long time to load).
The Louisiana Purchase Treaty exhibit and text, from the National Archives.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition -- "Teaching with Documents" from the National Archives. Includes many excellent primary sources.
All about the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
7. The Tariff Issue of 1824
Issues and results of the Election of 1824 (and every other Presidential election in US history).
Illustrated history of US Tariff policy, 1816-1860.
Politics in the 1820s -- well-annotated overview, by students from Darien, CT.
Henry Clay: An Introduction.
8. The Panic of 1837
Land Speculation of the 1830s -- a collection of firsthand tales.
Martin Van Buren -- brief biography with extensive references, by the Internet Public Library.
The Destruction of the Second Bank of the United States -- historical analysis, with descriptions of "free banking" and "hard money" ideologies.
Shame on the $20 Bill -- an unmerciful, but well-documented, lambasting of Andrew Jackson's career
9. John Jacob Astor: America's Wealthiest Man
The almost-forgotten tale of John Jacob Astor's life while he was still poor.
Biography of Astor by the Astors' Beechwood Estate in Newport, Rhode Island.
Another John J. Astor bio -- from a website inspired by Astor's philosophy.
The Current Value of Old Money -- comprehensive resources on comparing yesterday's costs and imcomes with today's.
10. The Anti-Rent Riots In New York State
Rebellions -- an overview of the various rebellions staged by citizens in the early years of the United States.
Essay on the Anti_Rent Riots by Stan Rubenstein the Henry George School.
A detailed Timeline of New York history, 1837-1840.
The third Constitution of New York State, adopted in 1846.
11. Irish Immigration
Interpreting the Irish Famine, 1846-1850 with illustrations -- and check out this list of references.
Views of the Famine -- contemporary photographs and cartoons, with references.
The US Immigration & Naturalization Service -- how things have changed.
Population and Subsustence -- Henry George's famous refutation of the Malthusian theory of overpopulation, with a description of the real causes of the Irish famine.
12. The Mexican Cessions
By the numbers: Table of Boundaries of the United States -- with population figures, slave/free state breakdowns, and more.
Manifest Destiny -- homepage by PBS.
America in the 1840s -- extensive summary of the major events of the Harrison-Tyler Administrations.
Text of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The odd history of The Gadsen Purchase.
13. Railroad Land Grants
Bibliography of books and articles on the railroad land grants.
Railroads & Clearcuts -- informative site on a campaign to undo the continuing environmental havoc wrought by 19th century land policy.
Central Pacific railroad maps showing land grant patterns.
North Fork environmental issues -- Nitty-gritty on how the legacy of checkerboard-pattern land grants complicates land management to this day.
Laws about Lands -- a summary of legislative milestones in public lands policy.
14. The Homestead Act
More on the Homstead Act from the Homestead National Monument.
How Adeline Hornbek, single mother of four, defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a successful ranch under the Homestead Act.
A History of Grazing on Public Lands from the Utah bureau of Land Management.
Major Clusters of Peak State Population Percent Increase by Decade.
15. Forty Acres And A Mule
"Been here so long..." Curricular resources on the WPA Slave Narrative Project.
History of"Reconstruction and Restoration" in South Carolina.
History of African Americans in Congress from the Congressional Black Caucus.
Resources on Plessy vs. Ferguson from a very useful Supreme Court resource site.
16. Imperialism In Central America
Anti-Imperialism in the United States, 1898-1935 -- comprehensive and fact-filled!
"The Bloody Rise of US Imperialism" from the Revolutionary Worker.
To the Person Sitting in Darkness -- Mark Twain's great anti-imperialist satire.
A Brief History of US Interventions, 1945 to the present.
17. The Closing Of The Frontier
Musings on America's Cultural Roots and the importance of the frontier in our national psyche.
Overview of Critiques of Turner's Frontier Hypothesis.
A fascinating study of Deerfield, Massachusetts -- a frontier settlement in the 17th century.
Chronology of the Plains Indians in the 19th century, with a wealth of material on treaties made and broken.
18. The Reform Period And Henry George
Cartoons of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era.
Henry George's Progress and Poverty in an illustrated, abridged online edition.
How the Other Half Lives -- the famous 1890 study of New York tenements by Jacob Riis.
Evangelical Christians in the Progressive Era, led by William Jennings Bryan, were leading fighters for social justice.
19. Roosevelt, The Deficit And The New Deal
America from the Great Depression to World War II -- searchable photographic archive from the Library of Congress.
The New Deal Network -- a huge compendium of resources on the Depression and the New Deal, with many curricular materials.
Overview of the impact of J. M. Keynes's theory on public policy.
Picturing the Boom-Bust Cycle -- Aggregate supply and demand charts, for beginners.
20. Land, Our National Heritage
Landed Property is Different, according to many great economists and philosophers.
Public Land Statistics from the Bureau of Land Management.
All about the Alaska Permanent Fund -- how Alaska's oil revenues benefit every citizen of that state.
Make up your own mind: These people urge us to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. These people say we shouldn't.
Who Owns the Sky? -- description of the proposal to fight greenhouse-gas buildup by creating a Sky Trust.

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