Explore Resources

Use this interactive map to explore the past 59 presidential elections (1789–2020). Learn about the significance of the Electoral College by comparing the map and the electoral cartogram. Delve further into history by reading a brief overview of the Electoral College and the role of electors and looking at key events in past elections. Then, use the "Presidential Predictor" to see how a candidate might win the electoral vote in the next election. How would you strategize a political campaign to win the presidency?

Explore why the Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution and its enduring impact on defining our rights. In this interactive lesson from WGBH, students develop a written argument in response to the question “How does the Bill of Rights establish and continue to define the rights we have as Americans?” They gather evidence from videos featuring historian Ben Weber and from primary source documents. This resource was originally developed for the Writing in U.S. History collection, the Calderwood Writing Course: U.S. History.

In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills in U.S. history, students watch video dramatizations that tell the story of the Spanish explorers who arrived in the Americas with Columbus and introduced European, African, and Asian plants and animals to the Western Hemisphere. Students explore how the Columbian Exchange impacted life on both sides of the Atlantic. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and engagement activities.