The United States is no stranger to strange lands. From its founding as a British colony to its settlement of the West, America is rooted in a tradition of exploration, conquest, and opportunism. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marked a new era in American expansion. A growing US economy was hungry for more resources and new markets. Politicians pressured the government to protect and promote American interests worldwide. An expanding population was redefining American society. Each of these factors contributed to the age of American imperialism—an era of unprecedented territorial and political growth and cultural development. Following the Spanish-American War of 1898, the US emerged as a formidable world power with territories across the Pacific and Caribbean. Of course, these new borders came with growing pains. As US imperialists insisted that the country had a responsibility to civilize "inferior" peoples, opponents lobbied on behalf of the colonies, insisting that imperialism contradicted the nation's founding principles of sovereignty, equality, and democracy.

American Encounters provides a narrative of the history of American art that focuses on historical encounters among diverse cultures, upon broad structural transformations such as the rise of the middle classes and the emergence of consumer and mass culture, and on the fluid conversations between "high" art and vernacular expressions. The text emphasizes the intersections among cultures and populations, as well as the exchanges, borrowings, and appropriations that have enriched and vitalized our collective cultural heritage.

Courses, music, games, comics, webinars, and more curated by the US State Department for English language instruction.

American English Sounds is a web resource that allows English as a Second Language (ESL) students to practice perceiving and producing the sounds of American English in order to improve their pronunciation.

Short Description:
A comprehensive survey of American Environmental History

Long Description:
For too long the environment has been considered little more than a neutral background to history. This text surveys findings of the new field of Environmental History about how the environment of the Americas influenced the actions of people here and how people affected their environments, from prehistory to the present.

Word Count: 160922

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Short Description:
A comprehensive survey of American Environmental History

Long Description:
For too long the environment has been considered little more than a neutral background to history. This text surveys findings of the new field of Environmental History about how the environment of the Americas influenced the actions of people here and how people affected their environments, from prehistory to the present.

Word Count: 80438

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Poster showing a man on the running board of a truck identified as Transport Americain, with missiles exploding in the sky above. Merchants - Chicago. Forms part of: Willard and Dorothy Straight Collection.

A patriotic, Unionist sheet music illustration. Liberty stands on a pedestal, wearing a Phrygian cap, a white tunic over a long gown emblazoned with stars, and a red sash. She holds a sword in her right hand and a staff with American flag in her left.|Entered according to Act of Congress by Charles S. Stoddard.|Gilmour & Dean, Litho.|The Library's copy of the music sheet was deposited for copyright by Charles S. Stoddard on April 18, 1862.|Title appears as it is written on the item.|Published in: American political prints, 1766-1876 / Bernard F. Reilly. Boston : G.K. Hall, 1991, entry 1862-4.

Groups of students read and discuss American folklore stories, each group reading a different story. Using a jigsaw strategy, the groups compare character traits and main plot points of the stories. A diverse selection of American folk tales is used for this lesson, which is adaptable to any text set.

Students will research and analyze 5 common American football penalties; identifying why they are fouls and what the appropriate penalty would be.

This course explores the reasons for America’s past wars and interventions. It covers the consequences of American policies, and evaluates these consequences for the U.S. and the world. History covered includes World Wars I and II, the Korean and Indochina wars, the Cuban Missile Crisis and current conflicts, including those in in Iraq and Afghanistan, and against Al Qaeda.

This course explores the reasons for America's past wars and interventions. It covers the consequences of American policies, and evaluates these consequences for the U.S. and the world. History covered includes World Wars I and II, the Korean and Indochina wars, the Cuban Missile Crisis and current conflicts, including those in in Iraq and Afghanistan, and against Al Qaeda.

This course examines the causes and consequences of American foreign policy since 1898. Course readings cover both substantive and methods topics. Four substantive topics are covered:

major theories of American foreign policy;
major episodes in the history of American foreign policy and historical/interpretive controversies about them;
the evaluation of major past American foreign policies–were their results good or bad? and
current policy controversies, including means of evaluating proposed policies.

Three methods topics are covered:

basic social scientific inference–what are theories? what are good theories? how should theories be framed and tested?
historical investigative methodology, including archival research, and, most importantly,
case study methodology.

Historical episodes covered in the course are used as raw material for case studies, asking “if these episodes were the subject of case studies, how should those studies be performed, and what could be learned from them?”

The United States was founded on the principles of natural rights, equality, and classical republicanism, but how well did it actually live up to these ideals? In this lecture, Professor Rob McDonald of the US Military Academy at West Point describes the conflict between the ideals of the American Revolution and the unfortunate realities of the time.

A French soldier picking up medical supplies from the Red Cross. Two nurses in background. The Red Cross was one of three official charitable organizations of the war and the Red Cross was the only one allowed at the front. Picture caption: Paris-D€_Ęp't. Promotional goal: Fr. G2. 1917. Item is no. 195 in a printed checklist available in the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Reading Room.

Fun Evasion game with students giving them the opportunity to use spacial awareness, evasion tactics, cardio exercise, and teamwork in a fast and fun paced game

In this unit students gain an understanding of the elements of gothic literature as evidenced in four short stories: The Raven (Poe), The Masque of the Red Death (Poe), The Yellow Wallpaper (Gilman), and the Lottery (Jackson). Vocabulary is included for each story. Lessons focus on using text evidence to support analysis for tone, diction, inferencing, character analysis, author's purpose, and irony. Lessons include both independent and small group work, shorter writing tasks, small and large group discussion, and other opportunities for instructors to differentiate the lesson to suit classroom needs.

Word Count: 246826

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Word Count: 101870

(Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Introductory course on American Government, designed also to prepare for the College Board's CLEP subject matter exam.