22: 21st Century United States

Throw a half hour at your listless class in early June and see if students can think a little more about the country they are living in. Start the lesson with a few charts showing wealth disparity - then watch this. Discuss.

This 30 min speech is a significant moment in the history of modern conservatism. Buchanan rails against Democratic candidates Bill Clinton an Al Gore as the “the most pro-lesbian and pro-gay ticket in history.” He complains that Democrats support discrimination against religious schools, women in combat units and want "abortion on demand"

Full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response to the attacks.

from NYTimes.co, an article that explores fundamentalism and finds it evident in both the Taliban of the 21st century and the Spanish Inquisition of the 16th century. This was published just a few weeks after the attacks of 9/11

Look at 3:20 to 4:15 of this video to get a different impression on immigration. Henry Kravis and George Roberts are two of the most successful businessmen alive, in this interview they expose a side to the immigration issue seldom addressed. Students could understand this video as well, just be sure to let them know that Roberts is referring to colleges when he uses the word "institutions" at the start of the clip.

It's easy to see that this collection of maps and charts would provoke debate - but maybe that's precisely what a US History course needs at the end of the year. What would students think of this?

Reading this article, one would come to the erroneous conclusion that geopolitical, economic or technical reasons are behind the rise in gas prices in 2008. What is not mentioned is that Goldman Sachs is selling futures contracts in petroleum. This article, masquerading as news, is actually an advertisement for Goldman Sachs. Read Griftopia to see how.

Have students read the "Career as a lobbyist" section of this article. Have them struggle with it, map it out, take notes or draw a graphic organizer. It does not matter how long it take them to figure this out - it will be worth it. When they know what it says and what jobs Tauzin had and when - ask them what sort of economy the US has.

This research library service enables you to: Search more than 819,000 U.S. broadcasts using closed captioning; Compare and Contrast perspectives across networks, stations and time; and Place video quotes within your commentary.

High School students in Alabama and New Jersey have two years to study US History. Given that teachers have twice as much instructional time available to them, they have an obligation to their students to address the "recent past" and the real possibility to will become the "crisis present" before their students get through college

Too add detail and reliable data to student discussion and debates about energy production and consumption, this site sponsored by the US Energy Information Administration offers a wide range of data organized by specific topic and interactive charts that allow for the collection of data across time.

Excellent source of data concerning petroleum imports, production and use in the United States across. The interactive charts and graphs provide drop-down menus to select specific data and calendars to select time periods

This article and it's linked resources demonstrate the tight connection between corporate interest and political leadership in early 21st century America. Students need to look beyond the rhetoric and look merely at the record to understand how the country they are growing up in operates.

This article and the video that accompanies it could accompany lessons on 9/11 - detailing the NSA's knowledge of the threat beforehand

Compelling account of the president on the day of the 9/11 attacks

Powerful quote from Carl Sagan that speaks to the leverage given to the strong by ignorance. Teachers can use this to spark thought, or to lead into conversations about the ways in which people can be deluded. It could fit into the end of a US or World History course as one of those "What does the future hold?" lessons. It also shows how some people can have a clear sense of what is coming before it comes. Sagan wrote this years before the iPhone and internet

This photo collection can be used as an inquiry launch into late 20th century United States. Or better yet, simply as an example of change over time

A comprehensive Census tract-level dataset of children’s outcomes in adulthood using data covering nearly the entire U.S. population. For each tract, we estimate children’s outcomes in adulthood such as earnings distributions and incarceration rates by parental income, race, and gender. These estimates allow us to trace the roots of outcomes such as poverty and incarceration to the neighborhoods in which children grew up.

Audio recording and transcript of the oral argument in the case, a summary and the opinion itself in the contested presidential election of 2000

Three individuals—Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffett—still own more wealth than the bottom half of the country combined. - It is irresponsible to teach US History without sharing this and the other statistics on this list. The record of human history does not include one example of a civilization that survived this type of wealth disparity without significant upheaval

The full report

The gap between what people believe and talk about and the specific identification of what they are talking about can be seen with this example. What is a recession? This is the specific agency, and this is their definition of what constitutes a recession.

This is a collection of news broadcasts on 9/11, from many stations both in the United States and other countries around the world. Students viewing these primary source documents can get a sense of the day as it developed though not the complete context of all of the events for those who lived through it