Category: History and Civics

  • What If the United States Had Sent Troops to Cuba — With Longstreet in Command?

    Cuban independence, the Ten Years’ War, and the consequences of one general’s absence from New Orleans Historical Grounding In October 1868, a sugar planter named Carlos Manuel de Céspedes walked to the slave quarters of his estate in eastern Cuba, called his enslaved workers together, and told them they were free. Then he rang the…

  • What If Longstreet Had Been Delayed — and the Battle of Liberty Place Became a Massacre?

    In September 1874, the White League’s coup in New Orleans threatened Reconstruction, highlighting Rodolphe Desdunes’ pivotal role in civil rights, especially in the historic Plessy v. Ferguson case.

  • Introducing The American Crisis: Teaching the Civil War Era

    A five-part series on the Civil War era built for educators — thematic, primary-source-driven, and focused on the questions that connect 1861 to the present. Start here.

  • What If: The Red Summer That Lasted

    The post-World War I labor unrest in America, if effectively coordinated, could have led to a revolutionary movement, fundamentally changing society and politics.

  • Japanese classroom with empty desks, blackboard, and sunset through windows

    What Kind of Nation Are We at 250?

    On America’s 250th birthday, we still hold these truths to be self-evident. Launching a year-long US History series for educators at BFWClassroom.com. Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish. #America250 #eduhistory