Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness Document-Based Questions (DBQs) Playlist
23 items
Benjamin Franklin Mini DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
55 Min
This Lesson should follow the Colonial Identity: English or American? Point-Counterpoint.
55 Min
Abigail Adams: “Remember the Ladies” Mini DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
85 Min
Use this lesson with the Mercy Otis Warren Narrative and the Judith Sargent Murray Primary Source "On the Equality of the Sexes" to allow students to discuss gender roles and expectations in the founding period.
85 Min
Federalist/Anti-Federalist Debate on Congress’s Powers of Taxation DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
65 Min
Use this lesson with The Ratification Debate on the Constitution Narrative and the Were the Anti-Federalists Unduly Suspicious or Insightful Political Thinkers? Point-Counterpoint to have students analyze the debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists.
65 Min
The Global Impact of the American Revolution DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
90 Min
This Lesson can be used at the beginning of Chapter 4 to reinforce and review the key events of the American Revolution covered in Chapter 3. This activity will also introduce students to the effects the Revolution had on the world stage in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
90 Min
Methods of Slave Resistance DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
80 Min
Use this Lesson to have students examine how enslaved men and women resisted slavery during the late 1700s and early 1800s.
80 Min
John Marshall’s Landmark Cases DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
70 Min
This Lesson should follow the Marbury v. Madison Decision Point.
70 Min
Changing Views of Slavery Mini-DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
Use this Lesson to help students understand the role of slavery in the rise of sectionalism, also examined inThe Missouri Compromise Decision Point.
Responses to the Cherokee Removal Mini DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
95 Min
This Lesson can be used alongside The Trail of Tears Narrative to highlight the plight of American Indians during the Jackson presidency.
95 Min
Irish and German Immigration DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
50 Min
Introduce students to the push and pull factors that led to high levels of immigration from Germany and Ireland from 1830 to 1860. Facilitation Notes: This activity is designed for groups of five students. The activity works best if each student only sees their printed primary source. The students should have some background knowledge on the European industrial revolution and its impact on urban growth and immigration in the United States.This lesson targets the foundational skills of analyzing documents, grouping documents, and constructing a thesis as required of the DBQ essay on the AP exam.
50 Min
Dred Scott v. Sandford DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
90 Min
What attempts were made to resolve the issue of slavery in the U.S. territories?
90 Min
John Brown: Hero or Villain? DBQ
Lesson - 3 Activities
Lesson
3 Activities
Use this Lesson alongside theJohn Brown and Harpers Ferry Narrative to allow students to fully evaluate John Brown's approach to abolitionism. Facilitation Notes: Use available classroom technology to display a United States map so that they are within view throughout the lesson. Also, write theKey Questionon the board so that it is in view throughout the lesson.
The Election of Lincoln and the Secession of Southern States DBQ
Lesson
Lesson
90 Min
Use this Lesson with The Election of 1860 Narrative and the South Carolina Secession Debate, 1860 Primary Source to allow students to analyze the motivations of South Carolina to secede from the United States.
The Emergence of Black Codes DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
90 Min
Use this Lesson once students have a strong understanding of the rights of African Americans both before and after the passing of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. It would also be helpful for students to have read the O. O. Howard and the Freedmen’s Bureau and The Ku Klux Klan and Violence at the Polls Narratives.
90 Min
The Rhetoric of Abraham Lincoln DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
85 Min
Use this Lesson in conjunction with the Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation Decision Point to have students analyze Abraham Lincoln's rhetoric throughout his presidency.
85 Min
The Annexation of Hawaii DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
100 Min
Use this Lesson with The Annexation of Hawaii Narrative to show how American policymakers and businesses looked outside U.S. borders to continue expanding American influence.
100 Min
The Progressive Movement DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
80 Min
Use this Lesson with the Wilsonian Progressivism Narrative and the Did the Progressive Movement Diverge from Founding Principles and Did It Affect the Purpose of Government? Point-Counterpoint to understand the Progressive Era.
80 Min
Schenck v. United States DBQ
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
80 Min
Use this Lesson with The Espionage Act of 1917 Primary Source to explore how domestic groups who spoke out against U.S. involvement in World War I were treated. Facilitation Notes: Students should know how to approach primary sources, as well as some factual background regarding the events and time period of World War 1.
80 Min
Was the Use of the Atomic Bomb Justified? DBQ
Lesson - 1 Activities
Lesson
1 Activities
65 Min
Use this lesson with The Manhattan Project Narrative and the Dropping the Atomic Bomb Decision Point to show the development of the United States' nuclear program and subsequent use in the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
65 Min
Korematsu v. United States and Japanese Internment DBQ
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
80 Min
Use this lesson to have students explore the challenges to civil liberties faced by Japanese Americans in internment camps during WWII.
80 Min
McCarthyism DBQ
Lesson - 2 Activities
Lesson
2 Activities
70 Min
Use this lesson with The Postwar Red Scare Narrative to discuss the impact McCarthy and widespread fear of Communism had during the 1950s. This Lesson can also be used with the Cold War Spy Cases Narrative and the George Kennan ("Mr. X"), "Sources of Soviet Conduct," July 1947 Primary Source.
70 Min
Civil Rights DBQ
Lesson
Lesson
Use this lesson with the Freedom Riders Narrative; The March on Birmingham Narrative; the Black Power Narrative; the Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail," 1963 Primary Source; the Martin Luther King Jr., "I Have a Dream," August 28, 1963 Primary Source; the Civil Disobedience across Time Lesson; and The Music of the Civil Rights Movement Lesson to discuss the different aspects of the civil rights movement during the 1960s.
Vietnam War DBQ
Lesson
Lesson
Use this Lesson with the Did U.S. Media Provide Fair and Accurate Coverage of the Tet Offensive? Point-Counterpoint following the Kent State Narrative to discuss the increase of anti-Vietnam War sentiments in the United States into the 1970s.
Cold War DBQ (1947-1989)
Lesson
Lesson
Use this lesson after students have read the introductory essay to introduce foreign policy milestones during Reagan's presidency. This lesson can be used with The Iran-Contra Affair Narrative; the "Tear Down This Wall" Ronald Reagan and the End of the Cold War Decision Point; and the Ronald Reagan, "Tear Down this Wall" Speech, June 12, 1987 Primary Source.