Using ESSEX History is a three-year project to improve the quality of American History instruction in Essex County's middle schools and high schools through teacher seminars and summer institutes on the people, places and events of
Essex County, Massachusetts.

Rebecca Nurse Homestead

Field
Resources

Explore early settlement, maritime and industrial sites in Essex County.



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Jan Maetzliger

Lesson
Plans

Developed by teachers using primary and field resources available here and throughout Essex County.

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List of Import Tariffs from 19th Century

Primary
Resources

Documents, online here and available through our partners, for teaching any American History class.

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Seminars and Institutes

Primary Resources

The Fighting Founders: Political Conflict in the Early Republic


American History Through American Furniture
Powerpoint Presentation of American Furniture at the Met


Links

Thomas Jefferson: Establishing a Federal Republic
The Library of Congress has a website entitled "Thomas Jefferson: Establishing a Federal Republic." This website explores the various ways that Jefferson influenced the development of the United States. It includes documents and images that explore his influence on the physical design and layout of Washington D.C., the way his policies affected the interpretation of the Constitution, and the partisan politics that grew out of the fouders' differences of opinion.

The Founders Constitution
This online version of The Founders Constitution includes transcriptions of many of the foundational documents about the American Constitution and system of law. Documents are arranged by broad Constitutional themes and then by the specific Constitutional articles, clauses, and amendments to which they refer. Many different types of documents - philosophical writings, private correspondence, public debates, and legal decisions - make up the bulk of this terrific collection.

The Papers of John Jay
Columbia University has an online collection of "The Papers of John Jay." This collection includes an essay on entitled "John Jay and the Constitution" that lays out Jay's feelings on the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation and his belief that the United States required a stronger central government. The website also includes a discussion of Jay's work as one of the anonymous authors of "The Federalist Papers" where he, along with James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, advocated for the ratification of the Constitution. Within the essay, the website provides links to relevant correspondence between Jay and other founders and text of Jay's writings and speeches.

The Library of Congress' American Memory Collection
The Library of Congress' American Memory collection includes this online resource about the Constitutional Convention. It includes broadsides and documents from 1786-1789 relating to the drafting and ratification of the Constitution.

The Avalon Project at Yale Law School
The Avalon Project at Yale Law School provides this transcription of George Washington's Farewell Address. In it, Washington discusses many of the political issues of the Early Republic included international tensions and the dangers of party loyalty.

Using ESSEX History Themes

Using ESSEX History will address four core themes in American history. These four themes are listed below. Teachers will find materials that relate to specific topics linked to the appropriate heading. Any subjects that relate to more than one theme will be linked to all of the appropriate headings.