The publication provides guidelines for local school personnel to use in the development of programs of study. In the preparation of this resource, the objectives were: 1) to detect and correct historic distortions, fallacies, commissions and omissions in the teaching of the history of the United States and the State of Illinois; 2) to examine racial prejudice and discrimination in their historic content with respect to consequences for American society; and, 3) to encourage better understanding of cultural and social change through a framework of historical references. It is advocated that in the teaching-learning processes, schools incorporate approaches in inquiry, discussion, problem solving, concept teaching, and critical and creative thinking. Three guidelines are presented and carefully documented by case studies and narrations. The themes represented within them are: 1) the Civil War, slavery; 2) prejudice and discrimination in education, religion, and employment; and, 3) cultural and social change including discussion of Black power, humanism in culture and society, and cultural progress. Included are: suggested general content outline and chronology, a guide for curriculum implementation, and a 25 page bibliography of resources and instructional materials. Guidelines for inservice training programs are appended. (SBE)