The Nation’s coverage of civil rights and race relations | The Nation

The Nation Classroom

In this package of rich educational content, you’ll find articles and reporting from the pages of The Nation magazine. Since its first issue, in July 1865—just weeks after the end of the Civil War—The Nation has offered critical insight into the most important events in American life.

This program offers reportage and first-person essays from The Nation’s coverage of civil rights and race relations as well as a wide range of educational resources. We’ve organized the material into eight chronological modules. You can also access another resource—a collection of Nation articles covering race relations and white supremacy in recent years.

 
STUDENT CONTENT
TEACHER CONTENT
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Student Modules

1865–77: The Post–Civil War Era and Realities of Reconstruction

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1877–99: The Reemergence of White Supremacy

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1900–18: Bleakness and Progress

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1919–29: Return From World War I, Jim Crow, Harlem Renaissance

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1930–45: Depression, War and Bright Spots

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1945–65: Civil Rights, Civil Strife: Landmark Movement Moments

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1966–90: Black Power, the Long Hot Summer and ‘Trickle-Down Economics’

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1991–Present: From Mass Incarceration to Black Lives Matter

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About The Nation Classroom

The Nation’s coverage of civil rights and race relations

Each module contains the following:

  • An introduction to the time period
  • Multiple excerpts from original Nation articles along with original, full-text PDF versions.
  • Vocabulary lists
  • Questions to help students develop insights and analytical skills
  • Practice activities for testing mastery of those skills

The excerpts from Nation articles are presented in a format similar to that of the DBQ (document-based question) section of the AP US History exam. The excerpts feature vintage primary source reporting offering vivid looks at issues that have divided the country.

The practice exercises that follow the excerpts are designed to help students become comfortable with the AP exam’s DBQ format. The first two exercises challenge students to read closely and analyze the excerpts. The third practice activity poses a question and asks students to construct an essay that uses the excerpts to answer that question.

Teacher Modules are password-protected and include all content on student pages, plus:

  • Lesson plans for direct teaching of the content
  • Discussion questions to pose before and after reading of the magazine articles
  • Definitions of selected vocabulary from the excerpts
  • Model responses to questions
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