A learning module that begins with "Life of a Slave on A Southern Plantation" by BirdBrain History, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...

This resource lets you explore the workings of southern plantations.

On this webpage, the primary text contains selected entries from letters and journals. It also describes slaves delivering rice to Savannah, slave numbers, their condition on a plantation, how slaves were used, and a map and a drawing of...

Various retrospective oral accounts from the early-twentieth century and two narratives from the mid-nineteenth century that examine the work, interrelationships, dangers, and lives of slaves on southern plantations.

The Southern way of life fostered a social code of chivalry and genteelism. Read about what was considered honorable and proper for both aristocratic men and women.

A chapter from a history text that looks at the development of the Southern Colonies. It discusses the Southern agricultural economy that relied on slave labor, tobacco as a cash crop, Southern society, indentured servitude, Bacon's...

Brief description of coastal rice plantations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries from the National Park Service.

Read about the founding of the Carolina colony as a place of plantations and aristocrats. See how the farmers in the northern part of Carolina chafed at the control of the rich in the south and split off into North and South Carolina in...

William Byrd built Westover, his plantation home. Here you can view photographs of it and learn of some details of interest.

In-depth site includes videos and interactive learning activities to help you learn more about Maryland as it was being founded. Play the game that lets you build your own plantation and find out all the problems colonists faced in...

A series of songs, narratives, and memoirs that examine the spiritual beliefs of and experiences with religion among slaves in southern plantation communities.

A short essay about William Byrd from the colonial period of American history who detailed life in the Southern colonies.

Slaves resisted their bondage in many ways. Read about the revolts planned and executed by Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner, the southern reactions to those revolts, and the ways slaves individually resisted their enslavement.

A chapter from a history text that looks at the plantation economy of the Southern colonies, which relied on slave labor. It discusses the role of women as second class citizens, the cash crops that were grown, indentured servitude, the...

A comprehensive look at the economy of the South and the changes brought by the cotton gin. Read through five pages that discuss the economy, the tradition of the plantation, and the sectionalism that arises in this time period.

The most difficult task confronting many Southerners during Reconstruction was devising a new system of labor to replace the shattered world of slavery. Learn how plantation owners and freed slaves adapted to this massive shift in the...

With this lesson, a collection of primary texts, including diaries, letters, and photographs help students understand how women were affected by the Civil War. Students will explore, through reading a collection of documents, the...

A short story that explores the influence of the Southern plantation past on African American efforts to create new urban identities and the predicaments of post-emancipation life.

First read the plantation legend about life in the South. The remainder of the article refutes the legend, explains the differences in many facets of the South, and emphasizes the importance of the Southern agricultural output to the...

A unique collection of first-person accounts, this concentrates on all the populations of the South, such as ex-slaves, enlisted men, middle-class women, displaced plantation owners. The works are sorted by the author's name. To search...

Whatever early colonial prosperity there was resulted from trapping and trading in furs. In addition, the fishing industry was a primary source of wealth in Massachusetts. But throughout the colonies, people relied primarily on small...

At the beginning of the Civil War people in both the North and the South held firm beliefs about the reasons for the war. Some wanted to preserve the Union, others to end slavery. In the South the question was about states' rights and...

This page from Carol Hurst's Children's Literature offers book reviews and planning help for an upper elementary unit on the Civil War. Includes information on books for teachers, books for students, easy-purchase links, and links to...

[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart aims to help students understand how Frederick Douglass's writing painted a powerfully negative portrait of life on southern plantations. It uses video as well as text to inform students.