Maps

Best For
Grades 6-12+ (Ages 11+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

United States involvement in Vietnam in the 1950s and early 1960s consisted of sending military advisers to help the South Vietnamese in their struggle against Communists in the North. But when it was reported that North Vietnam had fired on U.S. ships in the Gulf of Tonkin, President Johnson responded by bombing North Vietnam and sending in ground troops in 1965. Within three years, more than a half million Americans were fighting in the jungles and cities of Southeast Asia. Communist supplies and troops were carried along two major trails (see map.)

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

When California asked to be admitted to the Union, the questions of whether slavery would be allowed in the new state touched off a new debate in Congress. Lawmakers patched together compromise. California would enter the Union as a free state. It would be up to the citizens in the territories of Utah and New Mexico to decide the slavery issue by vote.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

South Carolina left the Union first. Other states in the Deep South (dark gray) seceded next. The debate in the Upper South (light gray) lasted longer, but by the middle of 1861, they too, seceded. Lincoln knew that the Border States (light blue), where slavery was permitted, were crucial to the Union cause. The keep them in the Union (dark blue), he initially refused to free slaves as part of the war effort.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Drought, wind, and poor farming practices created the Dust Bowl, but the economic disaster is caused led to much needed land-use reforms.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

This map shows the westward expansion of the United States from the establishment of the first US states in 1787 to the addition of the 50th state, Alaska, in 1959. 

Best For
Grades 7-12 (Ages 12-18)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I 

Students are introduced to the physical and human features of Afghanisan.

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

Victory in the French and Indian War gave Britain control of all lands claimed by France in what is now Canada and the United States. The outcome ended raids on Massachusetts territory but created serious problems over British taxes and trade restrictions.

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Cross-Disciplinary, Arts, Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The Durand Line serves as the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The line, established in 1893, was reached in an agreement between the Amir of Afghanistan, Abdur Rahman Khan, and the British colonial government of India. It has been disputed by Pakistan, which became an independent nation in 1947, and Afghanistan ever since.

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Arts, Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S 

The distinctive shape of Yellowstone's magma chamber and its pattern of eruptions over millions of years are due to the geology of the Yellowstone hot spot. The hot spot, forming deep within Earth's mantle, remains relatively stable while the North American continent shifts slowly to the southwest.

Best For
Grades 6-12+ (Ages 11+)

Subjects
Arts, Geography, Social Studies, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Published in 1507 and composed of 12 individual sheets, Martin Waldseemüller's world map is the first known to bear the name, "America" in describing the New World.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The red line on this map shows how far north and east the boundary of Mexico stretched in 1821 when it won its independence from Spain. Between 1836 and 1853, Mexico lost the land that now makes up all or part of ten present-day U.S. states (green areas.)

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

On the eve of the American Revolution, Maryland was a prosperous mid-Atlantic colony. Its population of about 150,000 had replaced all but a few hundred Native Americans. Tens of thousands were enslaved Africans, most of whom worked planting and harvesting tobacco grown on the Eastern and Western Shores of Chesapeake Bay. The colony's rich iron deposits also spurred economic growth in the mid-1700s.

Best For
Grades 2-12+ (Ages 7+)

Subjects
Geography, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S K

As the course of the Mississippi River changed over the last 6,000 years, sedimentary deposits resulted in a series of 16 distinct river deltas, also called deltaic lobes. The majority of these deltaic lobes are grouped into three of the five delta “complexes” seen here: the Teche, the St. Bernard, and the Lafourche. The modern Plaquemines Delta Complex forms the “bird-foot” Mississippi River delta that we are familiar with today, while the Atchafalaya Delta Complex is mostly the result of the man-made diversion of water by a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project completed in 1963.

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

The main issue of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was how to deal with the spread of slavery into western territories. The compromise divided the lands of the Louisiana Purchase into two parts. Slavery would be allowed south of latitude 36 degrees 30'. But north of that line, slavery would be forbidden, except in the new state of Missouri. Maine (previously a part of Massachusetts) would enter the union as a free state, balancing out Missouri's pro-slavery senators.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

This map show the major Native American cultural regions in the United States and Canada as they were when the Europeans first arrived, It also names a few of the tribes living in each region. There was little unity among the tribes or among the regions, which made it easier for Europeans to gain control of the land.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

This map shows the location of Indian groups in part of North America before the mid-eighteenth century, but is not a snapshot of where groups were located in a specific year or time period. 

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

Since the new states of Kansas and Nebraska were north of 36° 30', they should have been admitted as free states according to the Compromises of 1820 and 1850. By allowing popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska, the 1854 act overturned the previous compromises and increased tensions, especially in Kansas. There, pro-slavery forces from Missouri swarmed in to try to sway the vote. For a while Kansas had two governments, one for and the other against slavery. Ultimately the anti-slavery forces won in Kansas, but the fighting that had taken place there foreshadowed the Civil War that would engulf the country in the next decade.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

In 1677, Massachusetts was made up of Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony plus the areas of New Hampshire, Maine, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket. The colonies of Connecticut and Rhode Island were originally settled by people from Massachusetts.

Best For
All Grades

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

In 1800, the newly independent United States of America was neighbored by colonies established by other European nations, including Spain, France, and Britain. 

Best For
Grades K-12 (Ages 5-18)

Subjects
Geography

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The Pony Express replaced the Butterfield Overland Mail Trail in 1860.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The Louisiana Purchase raised questions for Americans. What peoples and land lay in the newly acquired territories? Would the rivers lead them to the Pacific Ocean? Thomas Jefferson organized a Corps of Discovery, led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Captain William Clark, to find the answers.

Best For
Grades 6-12+ (Ages 11+)

Subjects
Arts, Geography, Social Studies, Science

Appropriate For
T I F S 

British Capt. Robert Falcon Scott and Norwegian Capt. Roald Amudsen engaged in a "Race to the Pole" during the 1910-1911 polar year. The race typified the harrowing experience of polar exploration.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Arrows on the map show major escape routes on the Underground Railroad. The width of the arrows gives some indication of which routes carried the most people. The goal of most fugitive slaves was Canada, but some found freedom in Mexico and on the islands in the Caribbean Sea. After the Civil War, many returned to the United States.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

America's war for indpendence began on April 19, 1775, when the first shots were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts.

Best For
Grades 2-12+ (Ages 7+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

The Underground Railroad was a network of people working to take slaves from the southern United States to freedom in the northern U.S. and Canada.

Best For
Grades 3-12+ (Ages 8+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

This map shows how the Gulf Stream current affected the planned route of the Mayflower from Plymouth, England to the Plymouth colony.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Ignoring Dutch claims to the land, English Puritans from Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay settled along the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound on lands they purchased from Native American peoples. By 1645, the settlements of Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford had united to form River Colony, which became known as Connecticut. New Haven was separate, with its own government. Concerns about attacks by Indians and the Dutch led both colonies to become part of the New England Confederation in 1643.

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

Waterways and a growing network of railroads linked the frontier with the eastern cities. Produce moved on small boats along canals and rivers from the farms to the ports. Large steamships carried goods and people from port to port. Railroads expanded to connect towns, providing faster transport for everyone.

Best For
Grades 4-12+ (Ages 9+)

Subjects
Geography, Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S K

Between 1870 and 1900, the largest number of immigrants continued to come from northern and western Europe including Great Britain, Ireland, and Scandinavia. But "new" immigrants from southern and eastern Europe were becoming one of the most important forces in American life. More controversial, and much more limited, was immigration from Asia and Latin America.

Best For
Grades 5-12+ (Ages 10+)

Subjects
Social Studies

Appropriate For
T I F S 

After Custer's defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn (known to the Lakota as Greasy Grass), the U.S. Army stepped up its campaign against western tribes. In a series of military engagements as well as massacres, the Army defeated powerful tribes such as the Lakota and Apache. By the time of the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, violent Native American resistance had almost completely ended.