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This short story—an important piece in early American feminist literature—sheds light on 19th century attitudes toward women with physical and mental illness. In this excerpt, the speaker details her bedroom, a place where her husband and doctors come to encourage her to health. Her ailment is vague; the emphasis is on what others—all men—think and say.

This short story—acclaimed as one of the earliest examples of American realism—paints a bleak picture of industrial workers' lives in the mid-1800s.

Margaret Batchelder writes to President Theodore Roosevelt to tell him how women inspectors welcome immigrants—with smiles and encouragement. Although not allowed to question the immigrants, the women make a difference in the immigrants' first experiences on shore.

Suzanne Bilyeu details how Jackie Robinson's gift for playing ball eventually united a team of 30 men and gave hope to hundreds of thousands of African Americans. These feats came at a great cost to Robinson physically, mentally and emotionally as he endured hate and hardships on and off the field

Carl Carter recalls two snapshots from 1960s Birmingham, Alabama, that changed him in ways he “wouldn't understand for years."

Sojourner Truth delivered this speech at the 1851 Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. Born into slavery, Truth is widely known for her abolition and women’s rights work. Two versions of this speech are included.

Helen Tsuchiya, born a U.S. citizen, tells what it was like to move from her home to an internment camp surrounded by barbed wire after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Connected to Everything” is a story written by Jennifer Greene and published in the Fall 2009 issue of Teaching Tolerance. This story is adapted from a traditional tale of the Bitterroot Salish, a Native American tribe in Montana.

Tamera Bryant relays the story of Jerrie Mock and her dream to fly an airplane around the world. In spite of naysayers, including her family, who tried to remind her that girls grow up to be wives and mothers, Jerrie followed her dream and became the first woman to fly an airplane around the world.

"Rough on Rats" is a late 19th-century advertisement for a pesticide. The image depicts a stereotypical Chinese man eating a rat.