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Era Overview
You’ve landed on an unfinished section of the site. Normally in this space we’d give an overview of what students would be learning about for this particular period in Texas history. Since we aren’t done yet, here’s a quick overview of our plans and how you can help:
- This is a Unit. It will group together all of the materials we curate for a defined period in Texas History.
- Most units will include lessons, primary sources, video content, maps, and other resources to aid teachers in the classroom. Those can be filtered from the sidebar, or browsed using the buttons above.
- Typically you’ll see a Unit Plan in this space. It outlines a suggested order for teaching.
- For each lesson we provide documents and media in multiple formats, aiming to supply you with classroom-ready resources.
- Videos can typically be watched on site, on YouTube, or The Portal to Texas History, and whenever we provide images or documents from The Portal, we’ll link to the item for further review, zooming in, or download.
What Goes Into A Unit
It take many hours to post an entire unit of materials on this site. Steps include, but are not limited to:
- Author, review, edit, describe, and post the unit & lesson plans, presentations, handouts, activities, and other downloadable files.
- Identify and post primary source materials.
- Produce, caption and post video content and other rich media.
- Ensure all content is factually accurate, aligns with requirements of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, meets ADA guidelines, etc.
- Provide Spanish translated media where possible.
- Provide special education content where possible.
Finally, we’ll periodically add new (or update older) content in units as historians uncover new information or when state-based educational standards change.
Help Us
Our plans for this site are ambitious. Given time and resources we intend to expand further with additional content (more lessons, maps, timelines, etc.) In order to get this done, you can help us in one of the following ways:
Donate to the Cathy Nelson Hartman Portal to Texas History Endowment
Giving, in any amount, supports our mission to preserve Texas History. Learn more about the endowment here.
Other Units
Maps
We've assembled the following list of maps that are applicable to the Contemporary Texas Unit.
Missouri-Kansas-Texas System
"Railroad Map from Iowa through Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma to Texas including stops in many cities along the OKT route."
Texas rail system map
"Railroad Map of Texas, including Angelina & Neches River Railroad Co.; Burlington Northern, Inc.; Belton Railroad Co.; Fort Worth & Denver Railway Co., etc."
Status of freeway and expressway system: Houston-Galveston Region, January 1, 1991
"Map shows existing major roads and highways for the Houston and Galveston, Texas areas. Roads projected for construction are in color."
1980 [Arlington, Texas] land use plan
"Map shows late twentieth century land use, existing and proposed school locations, major roads, and population density in Arlington, Texas."
Population distribution, urban and rural, in the United States: 1970 : Prepared by Geography Division, Bureau of the Census, Social and Economic Statistics Administration, U.S. Dept. of Commerce
"Map shows population density across the continental United States and Hawai'i."
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson's great military map of Texas : showing significant conflicts and events between 1685 and 1916
"Map shows locations of Texas historical events and battles, military posts, cities, and notable physical features. Includes illustrations, text, and key to historic event locations."
Texas urbanization & population density
"Map shows Texas population distribution based on 1973 U.S. Bureau of the Census data."
Flood Insurance Rate Map: City of Dallas, Texas, Dallas, Denton, Collin, Rockwall and Kaufman Counties, Panel 175 of 235
"Map issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for use in administering the National Flood Insurance Program, printed in panels to show precise areas."
Dinosaur Valley State Park: Trails Map
"Map of Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glen Rose, Texas It shows the park's trails with markings for campsites, parking, and other amenities, as well as specific points of interest with GPS coordinates."
Texas Official Travel Map
"Map of Texas showing major roads, cities, and bodies of water. The back of the map has detailed views of the streets of major cities."
Vegetation Types of Texas
"Map of Texas showing the vegetation types within the state and county lines. There is a color coordinated legend that shows the location in relation within the state."
Videos
We provide videos for both continuing education and classroom use. Please see each video's descriptive page for related resources and details about accessibility and viewing options.
Great Society, Vietnam, Nixon
ASL + narration version only, covering the years of LBJ’s presidency. Covers the war on poverty, Vietnam war, and the election of Richard Nixon.
The Rise of Republican Texas
ASL + narration version only, covering the last quarter of the 20th Century in Texas. Covers the Women’s Right movement, the oil boom of the 1970s-1980s, the rise of the Republican Party and the making of modern Texas.
More Resources
The following list of resources provide additional information to help you dive deeper into the context of the unit. Books are linked to OCLC WorldCat, allowing you find a copy in your nearest local library or to make a request for it using interlibrary loan.
General
website Results for Contemporary Texas in The Portal to Texas History