U.S. History

Explore comprehensive lessons, activities, and resources covering the major eras of American history.

Teach Arcade’s U.S. History hub organizes free classroom resources by unit so you can plan faster and teach deeper. Each topic page includes ready-to-use materials—worksheets, lesson plans, primary sources, videos, projects, and interactive activities—designed for middle and high school social studies classrooms.

Use these units to build background knowledge, practice historical thinking, and support DBQ-style writing. Many resources work well for stations, inquiry lessons, document analysis, and review days. Whether you’re introducing a new era or preparing students for a unit test, you can quickly locate strong materials without paywalls.

Browse by era below—from Colonial America and the American Revolution through the Civil War, industrial growth, world wars, the Cold War, civil rights, and contemporary issues. New resources are added regularly as Teach Arcade expands its free library for teachers.

Colonial America

Life in the colonies, regional differences, and early self-government.

American Revolution

Causes, turning points, founding documents, and independence.

Constitution & Early Republic

Drafting the Constitution, federalism, and the nation’s first administrations.

Expansion & Reform (Jacksonian Era)

Manifest Destiny, democratization, reform movements, and Native displacement.

Civil War & Reconstruction

Sectional crisis, war, emancipation, and rebuilding the Union.

Industrialization & Gilded Age

Big business, labor, immigration, and urbanization.

Progressive Era & Imperialism

Reform movements, women's suffrage, and expanding global power.

World War I

U.S. entry, the home front, and postwar settlements.

Great Depression & New Deal

Economic collapse, relief programs, and long-term reforms.

World War II

Mobilization, the European and Pacific theaters, and the aftermath.

Cold War

Containment, crises, proxy wars, and domestic tensions.

Civil Rights

Movements for racial equality and expanding civil liberties.

Contemporary America (1970s–Present)

Politics, culture, globalization, and modern U.S. developments.