THE CHOICES PROGRAM BROWN UNIVERSITY
VIDEO COLLECTION

We the People:
A New Nation

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Introduction: "We the People"?

A New Nation: Introduction
What is structural racism?
How was structural racism a part of the founding of the United States?
How have the legacies of slavery affected the history of the United States?
What is racial slavery and how is it different from other forms of slavery?
Why should we use the term “enslaved people” instead of “slaves”?
What are some common misconceptions about racial slavery?
How was patriarchy part of the founding of the United States?
What is patriarchy?
Why is it important for high school students to learn about slavery in the United States?
Why is it important for high school students to learn about the history of slavery in the United States?
What role does slavery play in the history of the United States?
Why is it essential to learn about the history of slavery in the United States?

Part I: The New Nation

What was the transatlantic trade of enslaved people?
How were Native people affected by the American Revolution?
How did slavery change after U.S. independence from Britain?
Why were state constitutions inadequate after the American Revolution?
What crises led to the Constitutional Convention?
What did James Madison hope would happen at the Constitutional Convention?
What is a republic?
Were all early Americans familiar with the ideas of democracy and republican government?
How were issues of representation addressed at the Constitutional Convention?
What were the Federalist Papers?
Whose interests did the U.S. Constitution reflect?
How is racial inequality rooted in the founding of the United States?
What was life like for enslaved people in New England?
Why did people in the United States believe their revolution was so influential worldwide?
How did the Haitian Revolution inspire Black abolitionists in the United States?
How did the French Revolution affect Saint-Domingue?
What is the significance of the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions?
How did the Haitian Revolution affect the world?
How did Indian societies adapt to the arrival of Europeans?
What was the U.S. response to the Haitian Revolution?
How did enslaved people resist slavery?

Part II: An Expanding Nation

How did slavery contribute to the economy of the United States and the world?
What was daily life like for enslaved people?
What types of work were enslaved people forced to do in the winter months?
How did gender shape the experiences of slavery?
How did enslaved people adapt to cold weather in the Upper South?
How did enslaved people respond to and resist slavery?
How did enslaved people resist slavery?
How did enslaved people resist slavery?
How did enslaved people build communities?
What kinds of sources can be used to show how enslaved people experienced their lives?
How do historians use material culture to learn about the past?
How is the term “westward expansion” problematic?
What was the North American West like before Europeans arrived?
How did interactions between Indian and European groups in the West change after 1800?
How do Indian primary sources contribute to our understanding of westward expansion?
Why should U.S. high school students study the Haitian Revolution?

Part III: A Changing Nation

What was the “Cotton Kingdom”?
What are some common misconceptions about slavery in the United States?
Why is the Mississippi Valley so important in the years before the Civil War?
What kind of freedom did enslaved people seek?
Why did enslavers withhold provisions from enslaved people?
How have the legacies of slavery affected the history of the United States?

Lesson: The Geography of Expansion and Dispossession

Why are Indian views sometimes left out of the history of the West?
Why is it important to incorporate Native American perspectives in U.S. history?

Lesson: Slavery and the Constitution

Whose interests did the U.S. Constitution reflect?

Lesson: Ideals in U.S. Founding Documents (online)

Why is it important for high school students to learn about the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution?

Lesson: The Expansion of Slavery and the Cotton Economy

How did slavery contribute to the economy of the United States and the world?
What was the “Cotton Kingdom”?
Why is the Mississippi Valley so important in the years before the Civil War?
What were the daily hardships faced by enslaved people in the Mississippi Valley?
What are some common misconceptions about slavery in the United States?
Why does the misperception that slavery only happened in the southern United States exist?

Lesson: “Invisible” Churches

How did enslaved people resist slavery?
How did enslaved people challenge the institution of slavery?
How did enslaved people respond to and resist slavery?
How did enslaved people resist slavery?
How did enslaved people resist slavery?
How did enslaved people build communities?

Lesson: Demands for Rights

What is the basic principle of American democracy?
What kind of freedom did enslaved people seek?

Lesson: Assessment Using Documents (online)

How did the Haitian Revolution affect the world?
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