http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ A search of MERLOT materials Copyright 1997-2013 MERLOT. All rights reserved. Sat, 25 May 2013 11:31:55 PDT Sat, 25 May 2013 11:31:55 PDT http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/images/merlot.gif http://www.merlot.org:80/merlot/ 44 34 http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=79032 "Crisis at Fort Sumter" is an interactive historical simulation and decision making program. Using text, images, and sound, it reconstructs the dilemmas of policy formation and decision making in the period between Abraham Lincoln's election in November 1860 and the battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861. The program primarily focuses on Lincoln, both as President-elect and as President. Viewers place themselves in Lincoln's position, consider the events that transpire, and choose a course of action at five critical junctures, called "problems." At each of these five junctures, Lincoln made a decision that helped determine the outcome of the crisis at Fort Sumter. In order to assess each problem and make a decision, advice is available from official advisors, such as cabinet members, and from various informal channels, such as newspapers, friends, and public spokesmen. The program divides the information about the Sumter crisis into nine chronological sections. The text within the sections also contains hotword links that permit viewers to explore information in a topical rather than a chronological manner and commentary links that provide additional information including material about debates among historians about events, action, or people. The site also contains an extensive bibliography on the civil war. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=91375 An interactive site that has students browse reproductions of records and documents pertaining to two similar towns in Pennsylvania and Virginia just before and during the Civil War to determine for themselves how the issues of the day and events of everyday life. affected ordinary people http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=87784 This website has been produced by the Smithsonian Institution to highlight a major new exhibit on Viking exploration of the North Atlantic prepared for the millenary commemoration of Lief Eriksson’s Vinland landing. But it provides a broad overview of the Vikings and their great expansion across northen Europe and the Atlantic during the 9th and 10th centuries with an eye toward revising the common perception of Vikings as barbarian despoilers. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=87799 This site includes a complete collection of historical documents and images related to a famous murder case in British Columbia. When three Black men are murdered in the space of 18 months around 1868 on bucolic Salt Spring Island, alarm bells go off. Who is killing the Blacks of Salt Spring? A year later an aboriginal man was charged, tried and hanged in short order for one of the murders, that of William Robinson. But did he really do it? Visitors can look at the collection of archival materials and develop their critical thinking skills by analyzing the evidence provided. Students are encouraged to come up with their own interpretations of primary documents, rather than relying on other peoples analyses. Educators have access to a Teachers' Guide and experts interpretations of the mystery. The site is available in English and French. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=91376 Based on a case of a tragic assassination of character in an 18th century New England town, this interactive site seeks to teach students how historians must piece fragmentray evidence together to reconstruct past events. It has them browse diaries, newspapers, and town records to decide for themselves what happened and with what justification. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=80777 This site provides an analysis of the French Canadian/Indian raid on Deerfield in 1704 and its causes and impact on the participants and victims. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=77298 Liberty, Equality, Fraternity: Exploring the French Revolution provides an accessible and lively introduction to the French Revolution as well as an extraordinary archive of some of the most important documentary evidence from the Revolution, including 338 texts, 245 images, and a number of maps and songs.You can now view a one hour webinar by the authors as part of the MERLOT Classics Series on Elluminate at the following site: " target=״_blank״>https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2010-04-29.1726.M.9E9FE58134BE68C3B413F24B3586CF.vcr http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=81107 Begins with the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917 & ends with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It includes the Kronstadt uprising (1921), the death of Lenin (1924), the liquidation of the Kulaks as a class (1929), the year of the Stakhanovite (1936), the end of rationing (1947), the virgin lands campaign (1954), Khrushchev's secret speech (1956), the first cosmonaut (1961), the intervention in Czechoslovakia (1968), & Chernobyl (1986). (NEH) http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=80044 An on-line curriculum guide that explains the development of maritime technologies and the principal voyages from ancient times to Captain Cook's 1768 voyage to the South Pacific. Though attention is given to some early non-Western accomplishments, the main focus is on European voyages from the Viking era through the 18th century. The site includes a list of activities for teachers and studentsto supplement the explanatory texts. http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=81812 This site includes a collection of nine historical mysteries which draw students into Canadian history, critical thinking and archival research through the enticement of solving historical cold crimes. Each of the mystery archives includes an average of 100,000 words in English (and in French), as well as up to several hundred images plus maps. Some of the mystery websites also include 3-D recreations, videos and oral history interviews. Site users can look at the collections of archival materials and analyze the evidence provided. Students are encouraged to come up with their own interpretations of primary documents. Educators have access to a Teachers' Guide and experts interpretations for each of the mysteries. To view a video of the award winning author, go to Great Unsolved Mysteries in Canadian History - the History Award Winner 2008 video