Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "Pike from John Brown's Raid"

John Brown's Legacy

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:19:53 GMT

In this lesson, students will examine primary sources to understand John Brown’s actions in Harpers Ferry and will develop a creative project on his legacy. This resource was produced to accompany the exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

The Civil War

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:22:31 GMT

From 1861-1865, Americans battled over preserving their Union and ending slavery. The Civil War is the focus of this section of The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, an online exhibition. This pivotal and complicated period of American history is divided into sections that allow students to focus either on a specific aspect of the war, or the conflict as a whole. The sections included are: John Brown, Fort Sumter, the Battle of Bull Run, major turning points, the war at sea, Wilderness to Appomattox, political leaders, military leaders, soldiers in blue and gray; battles and casualties and Reconstruction and the legacies of the war. A non-flash version of this site is available: The Civil War.

The Time Trial of John Brown

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:06:28 GMT

In this lesson, students will examine the difference between history and memory by debating the legacy of John Brown. Using video clips of an actor playing Brown, students are invited to debate his actions and determine how history should remember him. The video segments are also available on YouTube.

National Youth Summit: Abolition

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 16:41:16 GMT

In this webcast, a historian of 19th century slavery and slave literature, the Ambassador of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the US Department of State, the great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass, and a high school student activist joined together with high school students from around the country and the world in a moderated panel discussion to reflect upon the abolition movement of the 19th century and explore its lessons for modern-day slavery and human trafficking. The program featured excerpts from the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE documentary The Abolitionists. A conversation kit with discussion questions and lessons to prepare for the webcast is available here.