Help your students explore works of art as primary documents.
Every era believes it is living in the most advanced of ages, a time flush with technology and modernity. Artists have frequently commented on this innovation, inventiveness, and inspiration, allowing us to explore the ways that technology, labor, and economic markets have transformed the history of the United States.
By Smarthistory
Rockwell's painting of Rosie the Riveter captured the power felt by the unprecedented number of women in the workforce during World War II. But how accurately did it depict the experiences of the diverse women who contributed to the war effort?
APUSH: KC-7.3.III.C.i
TEKS: 113.41.(17)(A)
Learn more
By Smarthistory
An unsettling landscape painting of California's Central Valley examines the long-term effects of human consumption on the environment.
APUSH: KC-8.2.II.D, KC-9.3.II.C
TEKS: 113.41.(14)(B)
Learn more
By Smarthistory
This sugar bowl recalls the transatlantic trade network that developed around sugar in the early American colonial era, bolstered by the growing popularity of tea, coffee, chocolate, and punch in Europe. Its expanded production depended on the labor of enslaved people, many of whom were abducted from Africa, to harvest and process sugar cane in the Caribbean.
APUSH: KC-2.1.III.A, KC-2.2.II.A
Learn more
Browse Smarthistory images for teaching & learning!