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Teaching with the Web: Using the Internet to Teach American ConservatismReprinted from the OAH Magazine of History
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Because so many web sites about political leaders or influential movements have an obvious bias to the Right or Left, finding web resources about late twentieth-century American politics is tricky. Although teachers can use these heavily biased sites to help students understand all points of view, documents are available that allow students to make their own decisions without appearing to endorse one view or the other. Following is a list of web sites featuring documents that may help students explore the ideas underlying late twentieth-century American politics. First and perhaps most useful, the National Archives and Records Administration, the Library of Congress, and other repositories contribute to the new Our Documents web site showcasing one hundred "milestone documents" in our nation"s past. Sponsored by National History Day as well as NARA and others, this web site invites Americans to consider the meaning and importance of integral historical documents and explore what those documents say about the rights and responsibilities of American citizens. The "milestone documents"—which include the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg address—can be downloaded or printed from the site. The "Teacher"s Toolbox" offers ideas and lesson plans for teaching the "Milestone Documents" in the classroom. The site is online at <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/>. The National Archives and Records Administration created "Digital Classroom" which includes "Teaching with Documents" on their official web site. Here, teachers can access lesson plans based on documents within their archives. One lesson plan, for example, specifically uses a telegram Senator Joe McCarthy sent to President Harry Truman announcing his list of security risks in the State Department. After examining the language in this telegram, students have a chance to look at an early draft of Truman"s reply—a short letter that expresses Truman"s disgust but was probably never sent. Lesson plans are separated into the time periods in which the events occurred, and they adhere to the National History Standards and National Standards for Civics and Government. The "Digital Classroom" can be accessed through the National Archives and Records Administration at <http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/index.html>. The National Archive and Records Administration also provides links to many presidential libraries, allowing researchers to access the documents and images held in those collections. The Presidential Library System provides teachers and students with access to important presidential memos, letters, and other related material. The Reagan and Bush libraries are particularly helpful for studying late twentieth-century political conservatism, containing many important documents, public as well as private. Many of the libraries also feature online exhibits that explore various facets of American history and provide historical background for each presidential administration. Although many of these library sites have education programs, they are often geared to younger children. The Presidential Libraries website can be viewed at <http://www.archives.gov/presidential_libraries/index.html>. The "Digital Classroom" page also includes links to other education sites, including EdSitement! at <http://edsitement.neh.gov/>. Created by the National Endowment for the Humanities, this site includes lesson plans, although few of them specifically deal with late twentieth-century politics. EdSiteMent! also includes a long list of links to other web sites that might be helpful. "Great American Speeches" focuses on important twentieth-century speeches. Browsing through the Speech Archive, visitors can read transcripts of the original speeches, including such interesting examples as Clarence Thomas"s 1998 speech defending his conservative politics at the Memphis Bar Association. The site includes ideas for teachers as well as games and trivia for students. Access this site at <http://www.pbs.org/greatspeeches/>. The History Channel also has a repository of speeches, political and otherwise, at <http://www.thehistorychannel.com/speeches/index.html>. Finally, Teaching Politics, established by William J. Ball in the Department of Political Science at The College of New Jersey, enhances the teaching of politics by offering teachers conference papers, book reviews, an online conference, teaching guides, and multimedia resources. Ball also maintains a "teaching politics" discussion list and a search engine for online journals, papers, and syllabi. Especially of note, the site organizes public domain images from the beginning of American politics. "Teaching Politics" welcomes submissions of new material for the site. For more information, visit <http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/>. |
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