Nicki Truesdell

Homeschooling and Christian Parenting

19th century world history outline using story of the world and mystery of history
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Outline of 19th Century World History with Story of the World and Mystery of History

history, homeschool, Homeschool Curriculum

Welcome to my outline of 19th century world history with Story of the World and Mystery of History. If you’re new here, check out my original post on how I create our history curriculum (both World and American), and teach it to all of my students together. And be sure to follow that up with my post on Making History Fun.  These will give you a general idea of how to use all of the information I present below. We like to document with our own version of notebooking, which I call History Smashbooks. I’ve included a printable PDF for you to download!

My goal is for history to be relevant, exciting, and memorable, and to teach it without spending a fortune. Most of my suggestions include books that you can purchase (or borrow), and lots of links to free, online resources. We do this study as a family, so all ages are involved, but I will say it is heavily geared to upper elementary, middle, and early high school, or about 5th-9th grade. There are reading suggestions for high school and adults, too.

How to Use this Guide

There is So much going on in the 19th century, especially for American students. And there’s so much to study because as you move through the centuries, more and more information about those times is available to us. There are many changes taking place around the world, and the young United States is booming. We spent about a year studying this century! Here’s a general list of resources for the century.

We use the following books throughout our study with many additions along the way:

  • Story of the World Volume 4: Early Modern Times
  • Mystery of History Volume 4
  • Draw and Write Through History: The World of the 1800’s
  • Adam’s Synchronological Chart or Map of History
  • DVD (or streaming) The History Channel’s America: The Story of Us 


                 


I use Story of the World and Mystery of History simultaneously as my chronological guide, and I highly recommend using all of the maps provided in their Activities Guides. Studying history and geography together make so much sense, so don’t skip this part.

We usually read through each section listed below in both books. But sometimes there are subjects I want to highlight further (and some subjects aren’t covered in either book) so those are listed below. I want the kids to get a broad view of world and American history together and to get to know the people who made the events happen. I always-always-always add in a biography, classic literature title, or a historical novel to read aloud to the entire crew. (See my Instagram post here.)

Literature

When we read classic literature, I choose it based on one of two things: the time of the story, or the time the author lived. Many times these two are combined. For instance, Jane Austen wrote about the times she lived in, as did Charles Dickens, so both of these authors fit perfectly in the 19th century. This list is in no way exhaustive, but I chose what fit our studies and our schedule, as well as the interest and ability of my students.

I choose both abridged and unabridged versions. For example, in this study my older students read Around the World in 80 Days in the original version, while the younger ones read the abridged. A great resource for a timeline of classic literature is IEW’s Timeline of the Classics.

This study includes Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Louis L’amour,  and Jules Verne.

Language Arts

Language Arts is not a subject to be separated from the rest. I believe that a well-educated student learns best when his “subjects” are integrated with each other. The literature, writings, and documents from history can serve as resources for improving language in multiple ways. So I use copywork from our studies, writing assignments from IEW (based on history whenever possible), and occasionally a Language study guide from Total Language Plus based on a book we will read. (I will add Easy Grammar on and off for instruction and review throughout the year.)

This study included the Total Language Plus guide to Rifles for Watie (Civil War era) and copywork on several topics and by famous authors.

How Much Time Do You Spend?

This is completely up to you. We devote about 2 hours per day, 2-3 days per week on this. And it always looks a little different. For instance, during our study of the Civil War, I read aloud a chapter each from Abraham Lincoln’s biography and the story of Harriet Tubman. We also worked on our Civil War timelines, watched relevant videos, and did various activities.

As we read through Story of the World and Mystery of History, even the sections that we don’t expand on, we’re reading a good book every day. I read aloud from at least one all the time. So we read the biography of Francis Scott Key while studying the events before and after the War of 1812. I don’t stop everything else to read through a biography; instead, I’ll read 2-3 chapters per day from the biography as we read short sections of other books and do activities.

As I said above, I’ll also assign reading to my students, based on the subject and their reading level. So during this study, they might be reading a book about Indians, or a Mark Twain or Charles Dickens novel, or a western, or a children’s book about the transcontinental railroad. It varies widely, as you can see.

The U.S. Presidents

Beginning in 1800, we covered John Adams through William McKinley.

Some great resources to use as you approach each Presidential period:

Each President gets a space on our timeline. You can stop and cover each President as he is elected, or use just one “overview” resource before you begin the century study, and then use it again at the end.

The Changing American Flag

This is a very interesting thing to pay attention to, throughout the 1800’s especially! When a new state entered the Union, a new star was added. Over the 19th century, the flag changed 22 times! On our timeline, we added each of these flags as they appeared. (I copied and pasted each flag and its date into a document and printed them myself.)

Sources: Flag Timeline at USHistory.org

The Timeline and Study Resources

  • 1799 The Rise of Napoleon Bonaparte MOH L13We began the study of the French Revolution and Napolean Bonaparte in our 18th Century study. Check out my specific post on the French Revolution. Napolean’s continued efforts to conquer the world finally backfired on him. But they had consequences around the world, and are one of the issues that led to the War of 1812. (Note: this is why it’s so important to study American history in conjunction with world history; they are soooo connected.)
    • Here’s a YouTube video showing Napoleon’s march across Europe
  • 1803-1806 Lousiana Purchase, Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike MOH L14This is a wonderful study, and there’s so much you can cover. For high school, I highly recommend the book Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose. My senior and I read listened to it on Audible, while I read The Captain’s Dog to the younger crew. How We Crossed the West is a great (accurate) kids’ book. Click the pics below for a link:

     

The Lewis and Clark expedition provides a world of scientific study, because the explorers discovered many new plant and animal species on the expedition. This would be a great time to add in a study of biology, or simply focus on the specific plants and animals they discovered.

 

  • 1807 William Wilberforce MOH L15Wilberforce was a true hero of the faith. He tirelessly worked to abolish slavery in England. His entire life was devoted to this one cause. After reading the book below, we watched the movie Amazing Grace. This is also a good time to read about John Newton, the author of the song Amazing Grace. If your children don’t know this hymn, now is a great time to learn it, and the lyrics make wonderful copy work!




  • 1808 Beethoven MOH L16
  • 1810-1821 Mexican War of Independence MOH L17
  • 1812 The War of 1812 My favorite book to read during this time is the biography of Frances Scott Key. This also includes the story behind The Star Spangled Banner. I read this book as a child, and have always been reminded of exactly what those words mean, thanks to the details in the story. You won’t regret this book!The President of the United States during the war was James Madison. U.S. military leaders included Andrew Jackson, Henry Dearborn, Winfield Scott, and William Henry Harrison. The United Kingdom was led by the Prince Regent (George IV) and Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson. British military leaders included Isaac Brock, Gordon Drummond, and Charles de Salaberry. (Read more at: https://www.ducksters.com/history/us_1800s/war_of_1812.php   This text is Copyright © Ducksters.)


  • 1815 The Fall of Napoleon at Waterloo MOH L19
  • 1820 Simon Bolivar: Liberator of South America MOH L20
  • 1775- 1820 Jane Austen and the Regency Era

I’ve written a complete post on How To Teach History with Jane Austen. My high schooler has already studied this in-depth, and my other kids are young boys and a 7 year old girl. So we just hit the highlights this time around. I went over a timeline of world events, Austen’s novels, and a bit of the culture of that day.

  • The White House– We have an old, old children’s book called The Story of the White House. We read the first part, which introduces the design and building of the original White House, the burning of it by the British, and the reconstruction. My children also drew the White House from the Draw and Write Through History book listed above.


  • 1821-1829 The Greek War of Independence MOH L21
  • 1822 Brazil MOH L22
  • 1830 The Trail of Tears MOH L23
  • 1834 George Muller MOH L24
  • 1835-1836 The Alamo and Texas Independence — I mean, we are Texans. I’m 9th generation, to be exact. Texas has a fascinating story, and I’ve devoted an entire separate post to it. I highly recommend Discover Texas History curriculum. It’s so much better than a textbook. It’s a feast for all of the senses! And it’s a rare history curriculum that I purchase, but this one is exactly what I would create if I wanted to take the time.Even if you don’t need to study Texas as your state’s history, I urge you to familiarize yourself and your children with the basics. It is a big part of American history and westward expansion.

(Note: I know public schools have a certain grade in which they teach state history. But you’re not a public school, are you? Teach it when you like and how you like. This is why I teach it as it flows through the rest of World and American history. It makes so much more sense!) Other interesting tidbits: Read Davy Crockett’s journal of his months on a riverboat on the Mississippi

I had the kids write the ten planks in the Communist Manifesto for copywork, and we discussed each one as they wrote. They were shocked that anyone could believe in such things! And that is exactly why we did it. The ideas of Marxism are going to be woven throughout the historic events that come up in the 20th century and even today.

  • Communist Manifesto 10 Planks:
    • 1. “Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.”
    • 2. “A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.”3. “Abolition of all rights of inheritance.”4. “Confiscation of the property of emigrants and rebels.”5. “Centralization of credit in the hands of the state . . . .”6. “Centralization of the means of communications and transport in the hands of the state.”7. “Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state . . . .”8. “Equal obligation to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.” .9. “Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of distinction between town and country.”10. “Free education of all children in public schools. Abolition of child factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.”
    • Video: Who is Karl Marx? by Prager U

 

 

  • The Pony Express and the Butterfield Trail

These two events were a result of Lewis and Clark’s opening of the west, and of the immediate westward migration. Summed up simply: mail needed to reach the brave pioneers out on the gold fields. The first to step in and solve the problem was the Pony Express. We read The Pony Express by Samuel Hopkins Adams, a great one in the Landmark Books series for kids. There were some soon-to-be-famous men who rode for the Pony Express! We printed a map of the route, as well as a flyer advertising for riders, and photos of those famous riders for our smashbooks (I just googled some pictures and printed them myself.)

Soon after, a system of stagecoaches traveling through the Southwestern states began carrying mail and passengers to California in record time. The Butterfield Overland Stage was a new route designed to carry mail and limited passengers from Arkansas, through Texas and the southwestern states, on to the California gold fields. I read The First Overland Mail by Robert E. Pinkerton to my kids, and and parts of 900 Miles on the Butterfield Trail by A.C. Greene. The Greene book is my absolute favorite kind because it’s firsthand history; it’s a compilation of the diary-turned-telegrams of the first passenger to ride the stage from beginning to end.

We live right on the original stage route, so we actually visited several of the stage stops for our own little impromptu field trip, took photos, and put these in our smashbooks. Interestingly for us, the nearest stage stop to our house also has ties to a local, tragic event that took place during the Civil War (in the next town over) and involved one of our ancestors! This kind of family and local history are the icing on the cake for homeschooling, because you can take time to personalize your study and bring it alive for your kids.

  • 1850 Italy’s Resurrection SOTW Ch 4
  • 1854 Hudson Taylor and the Taiping Rebellion MOH L29
  • 1854 Florence Nightingale MOH L30
  • 1854 The Eureka Rebellion MOH L31
  • 1859 Charles Darwin and Evolution MOH L32 & L33

We read the chapter on Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution in Mystery of History for a good overview of his life and work. And then we followed it up with this video comparing the theory of evolution to the biblical account of creation, including some debunked evolutionary teachings. For copy work, the kids copied Genesis 1-3. Check out my Instagram post here.

1861-1865 The War Between the States MOH L35 & L36

This is a very important study for Americans, especially in light of the culture and the politics of our modern day. It’s sometimes difficult to explore the topics involved, but I think it’s necessary. Have conversations with your children, and explore the hard subjects together.

  • Read about Abraham Lincoln – His life and his politics are imperative to this study
  • Read about slavery – We read the life of Harriet Tubman, and also included Up From Slavery
  • I had the kids create simultaneous timelines of the lives of Lincoln and Tubman. The comparison was very interesting.
  • Choose one good book or a few, depending on how much time you’d like to devote to this topic: Across Five Aprils, With Lee in Virginia, Rifles for Watie (we read this and used the Total Language Plus study guide for grammar)
  • Map of the North and the South – These are numerous online and in just about any book you have on the subject. Definitely have your children look at it, label it, and memorize it.
  • Map of the Underground Railroad (maps are part of the MOH and SOTW activities)
  • Quilts in the Underground Railroad – Quilts were said to have been used to signal runaway slaves based on the colors or patterns used.
  • Reading the stars – for us in the 21st century, navigating your direction by looking at the stars is foreign, but runaway slaves had to know which direction they were headed in the dark of night. This is a great time to locate the North Star and even learn (or review) the constellations.
  • The Transcontinental Railroad – SOTW Ch 8a This actually got built during the Civil War! It’s an interesting contrast to study the intense war going on in the east while a completely different world was existing in the west.
  • Study your family history – were your ancestors from the North or the South? Did anyone fight in the war? How were their personal lives affected? Did anyone in your family own slaves, or help to hide escaped slaves?
  • If you live anywhere in the eastern half of the U.S., there’s bound to be a museum, a monument, or a battlefield from the Civil War. Visit as many as you can. (Take photos, too, because many of them are coming down as a result of uneducated public outcry.)
  • Draw a soldier from the Draw and Write Through History book
  • We used Civil War Cursive Copywork from A Journey Through Learning
  • Watch a good, family-friendly, accurate movie – We enjoyed The Field of Lost Shoes.
  • Study the fashions! The dresses of this time are fascinating! Compare the uniforms of the North and the South.
  • Eat the food! We made johnny cakes and bacon as a sample of what soldiers might eat on their long marches.

Watch: America The Story of Us – Part 5

  • Read actual journals, like:
  • 1860 French Cambodia MOH L34
  • 1863-1867 French Rule of Mexico MOH L37
  • 1867 Dominion of Canada MOH L38
  • 1868 Emperor Meiji of Japan MOH L39
  • Helen Keller
  • Moving West SOTW Ch 16  – This is standard fare for homeschoolers, isn’t it? You could spend a year on this and never run out of great stories to read, activities to do, and sites to visit. I’m going to list a few resources we used, but you can find great books everywhere. Just remember: personal accounts are widely available and give the most real and intimate account of what life was like for these Americans. We watched America: The Story of US – Part

Mark Twain – This is the perfect time to read some of Mark Twain’s novels, especially Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. For my younger (or reluctant) readers, the abridged versions of these books were perfect. The older kids read the unabridged novels. One of the boys also read a novel about Mark Twain.

19th century world history outline story of the world mystery of history

Westward Expansion

During and after the Civil War, the western American territories were settled. This study includes settlers, wagon trains, free homesteads, adventurers, cowboys, and Indians. Follow my Westward Expansion Pinterest board for lots of great ideas.

  • The Pioneer Movement and Oregon Trail – This period in our history is so fascinating simply because of the monumental task that ordinary people took on for a better life out west. Families said goodbye to their relatives, sold everything that wouldn’t fit in a covered wagon, and took the months-long journey to a place they’d never seen, with unfriendly Indians, massive mountain ranges, wild animals, and many more unknowns. Many of them did not make it, and their trailside graves tell the story. But for those that did, they were truly some of the bravest and toughest of our ancestors.
    • 100 Oregon Trail Homeschool History Resources by Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus
    • Movie clip of Far and Away showing the Oklahoma Land Rush
    • I read snippets of these books aloud to the kids: Pioneer Women by Joanna L. Stratton, Womens’s Diaries of the Westward Journey by Lillian Schlissel, and Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart.
    • Do you live near the original trail? You might be able to see some of the wagon tracks!
    • Little House on the Prairie is the classic family tale of the Ingalls family moving west in their covered wagon
    • How the West Was Won – this old movie is a classic!
    • We used some of the notebooking pages from Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus on pioneers.
    • The Donner Party – a shocking and tragic tale of desperate pioneers
    • The Oregon Trail classic computer game – we found this online and played it. The kids thought it was hilarious!
    • I’m a quilter, so obviously the history and importance of handmade quilts was part of our study. I even have some quilts and pieces made by one of our great-great-grandmothers. Since this time around most of my students are middle-school boys, I made this brief, but my youngest daughter and one of my other students had actually made their first quilt under my instruction, so they did “show and tell” for the rest!

     


  • Little House on the Prairie- what study of pioneers would be complete without these classic stories? If you’ve already read them to your kids, now is a time for a brief review of Laura’s life, a map of their journeys, and maybe this movie version. If you have not read these books with your kids, stop what you’re doing right now and get them. Don’t tell me you’ve watched the TV show. That’s NOT what I’m talking about. Some of my favorite resources:

     


  • Indians – Really, the entire study of American history from the 1400s to the present should include an ongoing study of the native people. There are numerous tribes to study from the east coast to the west, the north to the south, and some were friendly to the white man while others were fearful or antagonistic. This has been true all over the world and all throughout history when one people moves into a territory to conquer another. I always tell my kids that it’s important to study the entire picture of history in this light, because often in the old stories, a previously powerful conquering people become the conquered later down the road. This human story is as old as time.Some lived peacefully with the white man, and others fought to save their land and preserve their way of life to the very end. Some were savage, and some were not. These different tribes affected the westward movement in countless ways. Study their history, their migration or forced settlement on reservations, their way of life, their food, the customs.

Cowboys – My boys were very excited to get to this point in our history! Our literature came from my collection Louis L’amour novels, and Little Britches by Ralph Moody. We watched a couple of westerns, including those based on L’amour’s books, and the boys looked through a bunch of my Time Life Old West books.

Since we live in Texas, we regularly take advantage of the local history through landmarks, roadside historic markers, and museums. The old west is one of my favorite topics, so that, combined with our location, means that my kids are always learning about this. We hit the highlights as part of our school. I even gave them quotes from Louis L’amour’s boos for cursive copywork.

Charles Dickens – Dickens was (and still is) a famous novelist, so take the time to learn about him and possibly introduce your kids to his works.

Jules Verne – We enjoyed two of Verne’s novels as part of our literature study of the 19th century

19th century world history outline with story of the world and mystery of history

  • Women’s Suffrage – NOTE: I am a conservative Christian that believes the feminist movement is not biblical at its core, so we do not glorify the work of the suffragettes. MOH L40 focuses on the women’s rights movements of the 19th and 20th centuries. But if you go deeper, you may be less inclined (like me) to praise the work of these women and their outcomes. If you’re curious about it, check out the Sheologians podcast episodes on Feminism is Poison. Episode 1 gives a much different look (and a biblical one) at the origins of this movement.
  • 1871 Two Empires, Three Republics, and One Kingdom SOTW Ch 7 – This is very important as it leads up to the events of World Wars 1 and 2
  • 1878 Two More Empires, Two Rebellions SOTW Ch 9
  • 1874 The Imppressionists MOH L41

After reading the section in MOH, we watched a couple of YouTube videos on the Impressionists and attempted to pain our own versions of this type of art, using thick art paper and acrylic paints. You can see my Instagram post about it here.

 

  • 1876-1877 Charles Eastman and Chief Joseph MOH L42
  • 1879 The War of the Pacific  SOTW Ch 10a
  • 1869 The Suez Canal SOTW Ch 10b
  • Austrailia SOTW Ch 11a
  • Africa – Carving Up Africa SOTW Ch 11b, The Boers and the British 12b, Ethiopia and Italy Ch 14b
  • The Ottoman Empire (the future “middle east”) SOTW Ch 13b Abdulhamid the Red
  • Irish Potato Famine SOTW Ch 12a
  • Brazil’s Republic SOTW Ch 13a
  • Russia, Koria SOTW Ch 14a & 15a
  • The Statue of Liberty   The Statue of Liberty was a gift to the Americans from the French, and it’s design, building, and transport process was fascinating. We watched this video about it on YouTube, and the kids did both the drawing and cursive lessons on it from Draw and Write Through History.
  • 1898 The Spanish-American War SOTW Ch 15b

Watch America The Story of Us: Parts 7 and 8

For even more ideas, follow my World History: 19th Century Pinterest board here.

Our Timeline

Since we tackle history one century at a time, we always have a notebook, or a History Smashbook, as I like to call it. Each kid in the house makes one, and I usually do, too. I also strongly believe in the applicability of timelines. They just have a way of putting world events, people, and movements on paper in a clear way for kids to see. We don’t usually do the same kind of timeline over and over.

For this study, we made a huge, old-fashioned posterboard timeline and hung it in the hallway of our home. The top half was for American history, and the bottom half was for world history. It included rulers, events, famous people, literature, art, and inventions.

When the study ended, I took photos of each section and printed them. Each child got a copy of the complete timeline to put in the front of their completed notebooks. They all helped to create it as the months went by, and now they call get to keep a copy! (See this Instagram post for the timelines.) See some examples from our history smashbooks on Instagram here.

PDF Download

If you’d like to use this study, I’ve included a printable PDF to download and use as your guide. Click here to download:

19th Century World History Outline (209 downloads)

 

If you have any questions about something on this list, I’d love to help! Comment below or contact me at the “Contact” page above.

Nicki Truesdell is a 2nd-generation homeschooler and mother to 5. She is a homemaker at heart, and loves books, freedom, history and quilts, and blogs about all of these at nickitruesdell.com. She believes that homeschooling can be relaxed and that history is fun, and both can be done with minimal cost or stress, no matter your family’s circumstances. Nicki is a member of the Texas Home Educators Board of Directors. You can follow her on  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.  



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