How historically accurate was the film The Birth of a Nation? Using a video that features clips from the film and analysis from historians, young scholars explore the connection between art and history. Additional activities...

When Ida B. Wells was kicked off the whites-only ladies railway car, it ignited a ferocious warrior for civil rights. Wells and others worked to preserve the hard-won freedoms of Reconstruction, which were tenuous at best during...

To escape to freedom, Robert Smalls had to steal a Confederate ship and sail to Union lines. He continued that fight for freedom as one of the first African American representatives in Congress during the Reconstruction era. Learners...

The Civil War ended slavery, but what was the status of the newly freed people? Renowned historian Eric Foner explains how the Fourteenth Amendment—written to answer this question—created a foundation for the rights of all citizens. The...

What does equal protection under the law mean? This right is given to Americans thanks to the Fourteenth Amendment, although historical events and Supreme Court cases have led to its refinement over the years. A video resource traces the...

While the end of the Civil War marked the end of slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment, the questions of the Reconstruction remain unanswered today. Slavery first became a matter of debate at the Constitutional Convention. Today, we...

The relationships between civil rights and the Supreme Court is a long, complicated chapter from American history. Pupils view a video, engage in discussion, and read background information to learn about the steps the highest court in...

Did you know the Emancipation Proclamation didn't free all of the slaves? What other facts are you cloudy on regarding the Civil War? Watch this teacher's quick, ten-minute account on the Civil War. While no visual aids, graphs, or maps...

The History Channel offers a comprehensive look at the struggle for Civil Rights beginning with the earliest black immigrants in the 1400s to African American gains in the late 20th century. Links to related video clips are included. [2:33]

BackStory radio segment featuring the History Guys and their guests with a rich discussion of an era fraught with uncertainty for America following Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House. "1865: United States of Uncertainty" is...

A good outline covering the developments leading up to Reconstruction, the events as it progressed, and how this period of history ended. Accompanied by a video entitled 'The Failure of Reconstruction'. [2:35]

Today we discuss the political landscape of the United States during Reconstruction.

Video illustrating the significant economic, technological, and hence, social change that occurred after the Civil War. John Green brings a fresh and lively style to teaching about the impact and reaction to an emerging industrial...

Discusses the sharecropping system that emerged during Reconstruction after the Civil War. With sharecropping, black families would rent small plots of land in return for a portion of their crop, to be given to the landowner at the end...

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, NPR discusses past natural disasters in U.S. history, the challenges and the rebuilding. From the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 to Hurricane Andrew in 1992, read about the events that changed peoples lives.

Series of videos arranged chronologically on a timeline tells a comprehensive story of the Civil War from its inception in 1861 to the abolition of slavery and the period of Reconstruction.

Explains how the South responded to the end of slavery by enacting the Black Code laws that prevented African Americans from exercising the rights they had been given, e.g., voting. To combat this, Congress passed the Fourteenth...

In this video, the Berea Festival Dancers perform two sets of The Lancers Quadrille, a social dance that was popular in Civil War-era America. Included are teaching tips and additional background information. [5:53]

This video discusses how the analysis of food remains and personal items provides insight into the lives of the soldiers and the families of the black enlistees who trained during the Civil War at Camp Nelson in Jessamine County,...