Imperialism
Empire or Humanity?: What the classroom didn’t teach me about the American empire
Background Reading for Teachers and High School Students - PDF. By Howard Zinn. 4 pages.
An essay which raises questions about the justifications for empire building and imperialism.
Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
What War Looks Like
Background Reading for Teachers and High School Students PDF. By Howard Zinn. 4 pages.
An essay by Howard Zinn on the impact of war.
Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Discovering Columbus: Re-reading the Past
Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 6 pages.
How to engage students in a critical analysis of the textbook version of “discovery.”
Education, Imperialism, Individuals in US History, Native American
The People vs. Columbus, et al.
Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 8 pages.
Role play in the form of a trial to determine who is responsible for the death of millions of Tainos on the island of Hispaniola in the late 15th century.
U.S. Mexico War Tea Party: “We Take Nothing by Conquest, Thank God”
Teaching Activity PDF. Lesson by Bill Bigelow and student reading by Howard Zinn. 21 pages.
Interactive activity in the form of a tea party introduces students to the history of the U.S. Mexico War.
Imperialism, Individuals in US History, Latino, Slavery, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
What the Tour Guide Didn’t Tell Me
Teaching Activity PDF. By Wayne Wah Kwai Au. 5 pages.
Lesson on the history of Hawai’i and the impact of colonization and tourism.
Asian American, Imperialism, Pacific Islander, Racism & Racial Identity, US Foreign Policy
History Textbooks: “Theirs” and “Ours”
Teaching Activity PDF. By John DeRose. 4 pages.
Analysis of textbook passages from different countries, videos and books are used to explore different perspectives about the same event in history, i.e. “Philippine-American War” vs. “War of Philippine Independence”.
Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
A Revolution of Values
Teaching Activity PDF. By the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 3 pages.
Text of speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on the Vietnam War, followed by three teaching ideas.
Civil Rights Movements, Imperialism, Individuals in US History, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Rethinking the Teaching of the Vietnam War
Teaching Activity PDF. By Bill Bigelow. 8 pages.
A role play on the history of the Vietnam War that is left out of traditional textbooks.
Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Vietnam and Beyond: The Historic Resistance
Teaching Activity PDF. By Mike Benbow and Robin Pickering. 17 pages.
Questions and teaching ideas for Chapter 18 of Voices of a People’s History of the United States on opposition to the Vietnam War.
Imperialism, Social Class, US Foreign Policy, Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
Explore by Theme
- African American
- Art & Music
- Asian American
- Civil Rights Movements
- Criminal Justice
- Democracy & Citizenship
- Economics
- Education
- Environment & Food
- Immigration
- Imperialism
- Individuals in US History
- Labor
- Latino
- Laws & Citizen Rights
- LGBT
- Media
- Native American
- Pacific Islander
- Racism & Racial Identity
- Slavery
- Social Class
- US Foreign Policy
- Wars & Related Anti-War Movements
- Women's History









