Louisiana Purchase
Source: HISTORY
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson arranged to buy the Port of New Orleans and over 800,000 million square miles of land from France, which doubled the size of the country.
Historic Figures
Finishing the Dream
Source: NBC Learn
Great civil rights advances have been achieved in the United States, but there is still much to be done for the full equality of all. Explore this NBC site to learn about how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.
Ferdinand Magellan
Source: Bio
Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan is credited with the first journey around the world. Learn about how he—and his crew after his death midway through the journey—achieved this incredible feat.
The Man Who Invented Mars
Source: Boston Globe
Sometimes, we only see what we want to see. For the influential astronomer Percival Lowell, this meant seeing signs of advanced civilization in Mars’s ancient water channels. In spite of evidence to the contrary, Lowell’s vision of an inhabited neighbor in our solar system inspired years of speculation.
Film Review: ‘Selma’
Source: Variety
The Academy Award-nominated film Selma centers on a key struggle in the American civil rights movement. Read one reviewer’s appraisal of its artistic and narrative achievement.
Rosa Parks
Source: History
Rosa Parks is well known for her decision not to give up her seat to a white person on a segregated bus during a time when a racist law forced African Americans to do this. Learn more about the life and efforts of this unassuming hero.
Richmond will fall again for 150th anniversary
Source: The Washington Post
Read about a four-day commemoration in Richmond, V.A. which will mark the 150th anniversary of the fall of the Confederacy’s capital on April 3, 1865.
Congress Passes 13th Amendment, 150 Years Ago
Source: HISTORY
Read about the journey of the passage of the 13th Amendment, which ensured that slavery would not exist in the United States.
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Funny Civil War
Source: The New York Times
In the second year of the Civil War, Nathaniel Hawthorne published an article in Atlantic Monthly outlining his unconventional views on the war. American Studies professor Cynthia Wachtell offers her opinion about the piece.
Malala Yousafzai’s Courage
Source: Miami Herald
Much has been written about Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning teen from Pakistan’s rugged mountain region who continues to push for education for girls despite death threats. Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion columnist Leonard Pitts shares his thoughts.