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Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was widely influential when it was published in 1852. The Library's “Sources and Strategies” article in the May 2014 issue of Social Education, the journal of NCSS, discusses the influence of the novel. Perhaps just as important as its effect, however, was Stowe’s original impetus for writing it.
Posted in: National Expansion and Reform (1815-1860), Poetry and Literature
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
One way to engage students with what they're reading, without turning an extra-curricular club into a class, is to introduce Library of Congress primary and secondary sources related to a particular book, a particular author, or to reading in general.
Posted in: Teaching Strategies
![Girls Wanted [1916] drawing](https://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/files/2014/03/Triangle-GirlsWanted1.jpg)
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
On March 25, 1911, a fire swept through the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, killing 146 men and women, many of them recent immigrants. It was later discovered that the workers faced many obstacles as they tried to flee the fire: Doors were locked by the factory's management and the fire escapes were inadequate. This catastrophe, which led to a public outcry, prompted updates to labor laws and reforms to fire and safety regulations.
Posted in: Development of the Industrial United States (1877-1914)
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
“The context for each imaginary contraption becomes fodder for understanding ideas about space and flight.” We’ve added some ideas at the end for ways to use these primary sources to deepen student understanding of the ways in which people have imagined space and flight.
Posted in: Fine and Performing Arts, Science Technology and Math
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Tesla, Guglielmo Marconi, and Thomas Edison were among the respected scientists who believed one of our neighbors was trying to contact us. A news article "Hello, Earth! Hello!" published on March 18, 1920, details the history of signals, possibly electromagnetic, picked up by Marconi and verified by scientists around the world, including Edison and Tesla. All three agreed the signals were deliberately sent from another planet. Based on the information they had, this was a realistic inference.
Posted in: Science Technology and Math
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
We have explored using primary source items to develop research questions, and to strengthen analysis through sourcing and contextualizing. Next, we explore the value of using primary sources from the Library of Congress to guide students to evaluate sources and use evidence.
Posted in: Teaching Strategies
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Do you have students who love winter sports? The upcoming winter Olympics will provide lots of opportunities to watch intense competition and celebrate the glorious triumphs of the athletes. Why not engage students’ energy and interest with Library of Congress primary source items related to both historical winter Olympic teams and winter sports?
Posted in: Primary Source Highlights
Posted by: Cheryl Lederle
Primary sources can help students explore just how controversial voting rights were in the century preceding the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Posted in: African American History, Contemporary United States (1945-present), Government and Law