All in the Family

This video from the series Faces of America details the process of documenting family history and tracing lineage back through maternal and paternal lines.

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Booker T. Washington: An Education

This video segment from The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow chronicles Booker T. Washington’s invitation to head the Tuskegee Institute and explains his philosophy of education.

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A Cold Reception: Anti-Immigrant Sentiment in the United States

In this lesson, students explore the hostile reception immigrants have often received from anti-immigrant “nativists” in an America not always eager to accept them and the change they represent.

A Colony of Aliens

In this video segment from Faces of America, learn about Benjamin Franklin’s objection to German immigrants in colonial Pennsylvania.

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The Economics of Jim Crow

In this lesson, students learn how the laws and practices of Jim Crow crippled many African Americans and lead to economic destabilization.

Edisto Island

In this video segment from The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, freedmen on Edisto Island receive the news that their land will be taken away.

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The Fourteenth Amendment - Part I

This video segment from The Supreme Court introduces viewers to the Fourteenth amendment.

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The Fourteenth Amendment - Part II

In this video segment from The Supreme Court, learn about the 1883 Supreme Court decision that marked the end of federal protections for individuals in states and the beginning of Jim Crow segregation.

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Journey from Jamaica

Poet Elizabeth Alexander learns how her grandfather came to the US from Jamaica in this video from Faces of America.

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The Journey of the Jewish Americans

This segment from The Jewish Americans shows how in the 19th century Jews and other groups were sometimes not welcomed when they immigrated to the United States.

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Ma Family History

This video from Faces of America explores Yo-Yo Ma's family history and how it was preserved.

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Opportunity Beckoned in the New World

This video from the series Faces of America details the immigration of Stephen Colbert’s German ancestors to Pennsylvania in the early 1700s.

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Picturing America - The Brooklyn Bridge

In this video from Picturing America on Screen, learn how three 20th century artists created works of art in tribute to the Brooklyn Bridge.

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Pioneers of the American West

Chef Mario Batali learns about his ancestors who left Italy for the American West in this video from Faces of America.

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Slavery in the North

This hands-on, media-enhanced lesson uses video segments from the PBS series Finding Your Roots to explore the extent to which slavery existed in the North.

Slavery in the North

This video segment from Finding Your Roots discusses the existence of slavery in the North through the ancestry of Kevin Bacon.

Tenant Farmers

Learn about the difficult living conditions faced by Stephen Colbert’s Irish ancestors in this video from Faces of America.

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To Hawaii from Japan

This video from Faces of America reveals the circumstances that led Kristi Yamaguchi’s grandfather to move from Japan to Hawaii.

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The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Disaster

In this segment from The Jewish Americans learn how the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire led to labor reform and workers' rights.

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A Very Sad Period in Irish History

Students learn about the effects of the Irish Potato Famine in this video segment from Faces of America.

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