April 19, 2023, College Park, MD—National History Day® (NHD) is proud to feature the work of two scholars and 30 educators who contributed to Revolutionary Ideals, a new collection of lesson plans and essays in preparation for the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 2026. These classroom materials will help middle school and high school social studies teachers engage students with unique primary sources and engage active learning strategies to further historical thinking skills.
The materials in this book resulted from a 2022 Summer Teacher Institute held in partnership with the Rhode Island Historical Society. This program focused on revolutionary ideals, exploring the ideals of the time and considering how they were (or were not) practiced or applied fully. Working with scholars, repositories, museums, and historical societies, teachers studied the colonial and revolutionary eras through expert lectures, museum visits, and research at various archives and libraries.
“This resource is designed to start the celebration of our nation’s anniversary by exploring the foundational ideas on which this nation was built,” said Dr. Cathy Gorn, National History Day Executive Director. “By engaging expert scholars and historical collections, the teachers produced lesson plans to help teachers across the nation engage their students with the questions and ideas that permeated the founding era while engaging diverse stories that help students see the time period in a new light.” NHD would like to thank Tom Lauer and the Dr. Scholl Foundation for their generous support of these programs and this resource.
The book contains the following essays and lessons:
| Essays: |
| Staging a Revolution: The Complex History of Turning Thoughts into Actions C. Morgan Grefe, Ph.D., Executive Director, Rhode Island Historical Society |
| Revolutionary Ideals and the Study of American History Abby Chandler, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Lowell |
| Lesson Plans: |
| Using Maps to Compare European Colonization in North America Eun Jung Kim, Santa Teresa High School, San Jose, California Abigail Kuhn, Charlotte Middle School, Charlotte, Michigan |
| The Puritans and “Liberty of Conscience”: Conflicting Views on Religious Freedom in Colonial New England Leif Liberg, Saint Mary’s Ryken High School, Leonardtown, Maryland William Turner, Cornerstone Charter Academy High School, Belle Isle, Florida |
| New Ideas in a New Land: Roger Williams’s and William Penn’s Quest for Autonomy and Freedom in Colonial America Julia Texeira, Barrington Middle School, Barrington, Rhode Island Kevin Wagner, Carlisle High School, Carlisle, Pennsylvania |
| Metacom’s (King Philip’s) War: The Remaking of Colonial Identity Valerie Carnevale, North Smithfield Middle School, North Smithfield, Rhode Island Christina O’Connor, Hingham High School, Hingham, Massachusetts |
| The Regulators of North Carolina: Rebels with a Cause Guadalupe Cardenas, Lee County High School, Sanford, North Carolina Kathryn Kennedy, George Stevens Academy, Blue Hill, Maine |
| Rum and Revolution: Rhode Island’s Role in the Triangular Trade Marisa Rubel, School Lane Charter School IB Campus, Bensalem, Pennsylvania Christopher Stewart, North Lakes Academy Charter School, Forest Lake, Minnesota |
| The Gaspee Raid: Prelude to the Boston Tea Party? Michael McNamara, Ponaganset High School, Glocester, Rhode Island Frank X. O’Grady, Menlo Park Academy, Cleveland, Ohio |
| Party in Philadelphia: Tea, Time, and Troubles Alan Birkemeier, Central Middle School, Columbus, Indiana Paul Nadeau, Western Hills Middle School, Cranston, Rhode Island |
| Women’s Coverture: Unpacking the Historical Context of Abigail Adams’s Call to “Remember the Ladies” Kris Hart, Ardsley High School, Ardsley, New York Deanna McDaniel, Genoa Middle School, Westerville, Ohio |
| The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Great Law of Peace: A Precursor to the United States Constitution Jodi Belford, Western Hills Middle School, Cranston, Rhode Island Joe Russell, Ph.D., Plano East Senior High School, Plano, Texas |
| Founding Mothers: Women and the Spread of Revolutionary Ideals Meghan FitzGerald Laura Quindlen, Freedom High School, South Riding, Virginia |
| Free Press and its Limits in Colonial America Rebecca L. Byrd, Sevier County High School, Sevierville, Tennessee Michelle Zaia, Brookfield Central School, Brookfield, New York |
| Revolutionary Ideals and Native Nations: Taking Sides in the American Revolution Amy Boehning, Mililani High School, Hawaiʻi Sandra E. Garcia, Theodore Roosevelt Middle School, Glendale, California |
| Promises Made, Promises Broken: The Rhode Island First Regiment and The Struggle for Liberty Dianne E. Johnston, University Academy Charter School, Panama City, Florida Sarah R. Woltring, Murphy High School, Mobile, Alabama |
| Revolutionary Ideals in Action: Comparing the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions Ken Ekstein, Frontier Regional School, South Deerfield, Massachusetts Kristin Rentschler, Columbia City High School, Columbia City, Indiana |
About National History Day® (NHD):
NHD is a non-profit organization based in College Park, Maryland, that seeks to improve the teaching and learning of history. The National History Day Contest was established in 1974 and currently engages more than half a million students every year in conducting original research on historical topics of interest. Students present their research as a documentary, exhibit, paper, performance, or website. Projects compete first at the local and affiliate levels, where the top entries are invited to the National Contest at the University of Maryland at College Park. NHD is sponsored in part by HISTORY®, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Park Service, The Better Angels Society, and the Diana Davis Spencer Foundation. For more information, visit nhd.org.
About the Rhode Island Historical Society:
The Rhode Island Historical Society, the state’s oldest and only state-wide historical organization, is dedicated to honoring, interpreting, and sharing Rhode Island’s past to enrich the present and inspire the future. Founded in 1822, the RIHS is an advocate for history as a means to develop empathy and 21st-century skills, using its historical materials and knowledge to explore topics of timeless relevance and public interest. As a Smithsonian Affiliate, it is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible public programming and educational opportunities for all Rhode Islanders through the Newell D. Goff Center for Education & Public Programs and across its four sites: the John Brown House Museum, the Museum of Work & Culture, the Mary Elizabeth Robinson Research Center, and the Aldrich House. The RIHS is proud to be the Rhode Island Affiliate for National History Day.
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