OpenStax
Open Stax: Wealth and Culture in the South
Read this section of a chapter on "The Antebellum South" to assess the distribution of wealth and learn about the southern culture of honor.
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Constitutional Convention and Federal Constitution
After reading this section of the chapter on "Creating Republican Governments", students will be able to identify the central issues of the 1787 Constitutional Convention and their solutions and also describe the conflicts over the...
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Impact of Colonization
By reading this section of a chapter on "Colonial Societies," students will be able to explain the reasons for the rise of slavery in the American colonies, describe changes in Indian life, including warfare and hunting, contrast...
Other
Missouri Secretary of State: Conservation of the Dred Scott Papers
Offers a description of the conservation of papers from the famous 1846 Supreme Court case in which a slave named Dred Scott asked the court for his freedom and was denied.
Other
Anti Slavery International
The world's oldest international human rights organization that works exclusively to end slavery and related abuses. Find information on slavery, pictures, video, and more.
Library of Congress
Loc: Slaves and the Courts
Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860 contains just over a hundred pamphlets and books (published between 1772 and 1889) concerning the difficult and troubling experiences of African and African-American slaves in the American colonies and...
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Olaudah Equiano
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read information about and an excerpt from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa as well as "African Migration to Colonial America" and answer paired text...
CPALMS
Cpalms: Close Reading Exemplar: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will learn about the life of Frederick Douglass, his personal experience of the slave system, and the discrimination and prejudice he faced from those around him. This intensive lesson exemplar...
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Reconstruction Sac
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students use primary source documents to investigate central historical questions. In this structured academic controversy, students examine constitutional amendments, a Black Code, a personal account...
Yale University
Yale University: Open Yale Courses: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1845 77
Twenty-seven university-level lectures on the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. Available in audio, video, or text format.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: African Immigration to Colonial America
An interesting essay on the forced migration of Africans to America by way of the Middle Passage. Read where the slaves were off-loaded, how the population of slaves increased, and the inhumanities inflicted on the slaves both on the...
Crayola
Crayola: Freedom Train (Lesson Plan)
Students will enjoy creating their own Underground Railroad, "freeing" the slaves, and writing about their journeys.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Primary Sources: Concerning Emancipation
An hour-long professional development workshop on teaching of emancipation with primary sources. Features experienced classroom teachers. Materials and a complete lesson plan are also provided
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: The Religious Roots of Abolition
A lesson that looks at the role of Christianity in the fight to abolish slavery in the United States.
Google Cultural Institute
Google Cultural Institute: A Slave Pen Journey
Take an online journey through a Kentucky slave pen in the 1830s.
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum
Rutherford B. Hayes Center: Who Is James K. Polk?
This page features an analysis of the Democratic Party's decision to nominate the relatively unknown James Polk for their presidential candidate in 1844. This article gives insight into the political atmosphere of the time.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Slave Experience: Living Conditions
This PBS series site reveals the diverse circumstances and living conditions experienced by slaves and indentured servants in America by reading documents dating to the Colonial, Antebellum, and Reconstruction periods.
Kansas Historical Society
Willing to Die for Freedom: Look Back at Kansas Territory
This online exhibit teaches you about "Bleeding Kansas." Follow the hyperlinks to obtain a wealth of information.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery & the Making of America
Using primary documents, oral histories, and other historical resources, discover how the arts of Africa, Europe, and pre-Civil War America influenced the culture of enslaved African Americans.
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: Brief Timeline of American Literature
This Washington State University site provides a decade-by-decade timeline of American literature with historical events going on at the same time. Most topics on the timeline are links to additional information about the author, work,...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: Enslaved African Americans and Expressions of Freedom
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will examine African American slave spirituals, a painting, and a personal narrative to analyze the underlying messages of these materials.
Washington State University
Washington State University: American Authors: Lecture Note on Uncle Tom's Cabin
This site provides some good lecture notes on Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Easy to read and understand. Includes some biographical information on Harriet Beecher Stowe as well.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Landmark Decisions
This site details the controversial issues regarding slavery and the effects they had on the Civil War amendments as well as on the fifth amendment. The site discusses events such as the Dred Scott case, the addition of the Civil War...
University of North Carolina
Documenting the American South: The Confessions of Nat Turner
From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries, this site provides the complete "Confessions of Nat Turner" complete with images of the original pages published of the confession.