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Now Viewing: Grade 8

From the Connecticut Social Studies Frameworks: In eighth grade, students engage in the study of events, documents, movements, and people emphasizing 18th/19th century America with a focus on inquiry into the development of the United States as a nation. The study of U.S. history in the 18th and 19th centuries requires that students generate and research compelling questions such as:

How do Americans define freedom and equality and how have American conceptions of freedom and equality changed over the course of U.S. history for members of various racial, ethnic, religious, and gender minority groups?
Is America a land of political, economic, and social opportunity?
What was the significance of Connecticut’s contribution to America’s story?
Is the United states a “just” society and how has the concept of justice evolved over time?
Is there an American national identity; what does it mean to be an American?
What should be the current role of the United States in world affairs?

Themes

Topics

Towns

Connecticut’s Utopia: The Enfield Shaker Community

To what extent is a “perfect society” attainable?

The Struggle for Equality: Black Burials in the Old Willimantic Cemetery

To what extent did burial practices reflect the status of enslaved people and free Black people in Connecticut?

Connecticut’s Complicity in Slavery

To what extent was Connecticut a “slave state”?

Anti-Racist Allies and Accomplices in Connecticut History

In what ways are both anti-racist allies and anti-racist accomplices important in the struggle for social justice?

Telling Their Stories: African Americans in the American Revolution

How do historians reconstruct the stories of people from the past?

The Role of Enslaved People in Founding Connecticut

Why should enslaved people be seen as “founders” of Connecticut?

Understanding the Census: Tracking Connecticut’s Black Population

How did attitudes towards slavery and Black Americans change over time in early Connecticut?

Amos Beman: Freeman, Freedom Fighter, and Agent of Change

How do people become agents of change within systems of oppression?

William Lanson: New Haven Entrepreneur, Abolitionist, and Black Governor

In a land of opportunity, how have the successes of African Americans, Indigenous, Latinx, and other People of Color challenged the status quo?

Freedom and Liberty in 1776

What did “freedom” mean at the time of the American Revolution?

Historic Taverns of Connecticut

What role did taverns play in people’s lives in Connecticut during the late 18th and early 19th century?

A Petition for Freedom in 1779

How did laws and rules in the colonies both promote and hinder freedom and equality?

LGBTQ+ History in Connecticut: Colonial Era Laws and Legislation

How did colonial laws marginalize LGBTQ+ individuals?

Trade between the Tunxis and the English in the 1700s

In what ways were the English and Indigenous peoples in Connecticut economically interconnected in the mid-1700s?

Religious Freedom for Jews in Connecticut

How did Jewish immigrants expand religious freedom in Connecticut?

Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. Defies the Embargo Act of 1807

When can a U.S. state refuse to follow a federal law?

From Freedom Seeker to American Success: James L. Smith in Norwich

To what extent was the North a “land of opportunity” for people of color in the early 1800s?

Indigenous Students and Connecticut’s Mission Schools

How can we achieve a better understanding of the past in the absence of primary sources that represent the full picture?

Local Geography and King Philip’s War

What role does geography play in conflict?

Government is People: Creating a Symposium of Local, State, and Federal Government Speakers

What does the government do?

Paving the “Way”: Connecticut Women Artists in the Early Republic

In what ways were women’s professional options linked to their educational opportunities in the late 18th and early 19th centuries?

Empowering Students’ “Civic Voices” in Local and State Government: Middle/High

Why is it important that students use their “civic voices” in local and state government to produce positive change?

Asian American History in the Civil War Era: Connecticut’s Connection to the Trade in Indentured Chinese Workers

How have American conceptions of freedom and equality changed throughout U.S. history for members of various racial, ethnic, religious, and gender minority groups?

The Hartford Convention: An Act of Treason?

Was the Hartford Convention an act of treason?

Locals Stand Strong: The Battle of Stonington in the War of 1812

What is the significance of a military victory in the face of overwhelming odds, both at the time of the event and when looking back on history?

Learning by Looking: Reading a Post-Civil War Photograph

What can we learn from an anonymous historical photograph?

Historic Maps: Skill-Builder Activity

How can we use maps to learn about the past?

Visions of Change: Colt and the Growth of Industrial Connecticut

What impact did industrialization have on people’s lives in the mid- to late-19th century?

Life Along the Salmon Brook: A Connecticut Town in the Early Industrial Era

How did the Industrial Revolution change small towns in Connecticut/New England?

Connecticut’s Ratification of the Constitution

How are decisions made about how a nation should be governed?

Who Gets to Vote? History of Voting Rights in Connecticut and the United States

How have the American conceptions of freedom and equality changed over time?

Lovely St. School, Avon, 1912

Kids in Connecticut History: Image Analysis Skill-Builder

In what ways have the lives of children in Connecticut changed or stayed the same over time?

The Amistad Incident and the Face of Slavery

What role did the Amistad incident play in the abolitionist movement in the United States?

Exploring Communities: Using Historic Maps to Learn about the Past

Why do our communities look the way they do today?

Myron D. Webster Civil War Haversack

How does an entire society participate in war?

Last Words of Captain Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale: A Connecticut Hero

What makes a hero?

Recruitment poster for George Washington’s Continental Army

To Join, or Not to Join, George Washington’s Army

Why do people enlist in the military?

Accused: 17th-Century Witch Trials

What factors led to the 17th-century witchcraft trials in Connecticut?

Caleb Brewster & The Culper Ring

In what ways did “ordinary” Americans contribute to the American Revolution?

The Black Law in Connecticut

What is social justice?

New London’s Role in American Independence

What was Connecticut’s role in the American Revolution?

Venture Smith: From Slavery to Connecticut Businessman

How can a former slave prosper in a colony where slavery is legal?

The Iron Industry of Northwest Connecticut

Would there have been a thriving iron industry in Connecticut without the geological and geographical advantages of the northwest corner?

The Inventions of A. A. Hotchkiss And Sons

How did Sharon, Connecticut, manufacturers A. A. Hotchkiss and Sons contribute to major innovations in U.S. history?

Nancy Toney

Abolition and African Americans in Connecticut

In what way did the abolition of slavery indicate progress, or decline, for the lives of African Americans?

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