Other
U Mass: The Bluestocking Archive
Well-organized archive of primary texts on 18th-century English high culture, including the "cult of sensibility." Almost exclusively women authors, with the notable exception of Byron.
US Capitol Visitor Center
U.s. Capitol Visitor Center: 1820 1861: Holding the Union Together
American history from 1820-1861 is interwoven with the history of the Capitol as it was expanded to accommodate a growing government body. A timeline of significant events in the debates over slavery, the addition of free and slave...
CPALMS
Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: What Caused the Civil War?
A tutorial that looks at the main causes of the American Civil War. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: A Nation Conceived in Liberty [Pdf]
In this lesson, 11th graders examine the events and political philosophy that laid the foundations of the American government, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. They also look at what role religion played in shaping American...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854
An exploration of how the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 impacted the debate between free and slave states, and the precarious political equilibrium. It looks at how Stephen Douglas tried to avoid a national conflict in the debate over...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Politics and Sectionalism: Compromise of 1850
Summarizes the events that took place to develop the Compromise of 1850.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Politics and Sectionalism: Kansas Nebraska Act
Discusses what led up to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and the role Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas played in developing it.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Politics and Sectionalism: The Bleeding of Kansas
Discusses the tension in Kansas over the issue of slavery after Nebraska voted to be a free state.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Politics and Sectionalism: Scott Versus Sandford
Outlines what happened with the Dred Scott case as it was passed on from the local state court all the way up to the federal Supreme Court, with a final decision being reached in 1857.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: Beginning Scott v Sandford
Explains the background for the Dred Scott case and its journey through the court system, finally reaching the US Supreme Court.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: In Federal Judicial System
Describes how the Dred Scott became increasingly significant politically as it progressed through the court system, finally reaching the US Supreme Court.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: The Decision
Describes the difficult process the US Supreme Court judges went through in preparing their final decision in the Dred Scott case.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Dred Scott: Dissenting Opinions and Reactions
Describes the fallout after the Dred Scott decision by the US Supreme Court, where two judges released their dissenting opinions, newspaper articles both reviled and supported the decision, and public debate raged.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: The Road to Civil War
After the Dred Scott decision by the US Supreme Court, the friction between the North and South over slavery escalated, and the North began to fear that they might not be able to prevent slavery from spreading into their states. The Dred...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Kansas Nebraska Act
Wikipedia offers excellent information on the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Teaching History: Ask a Historian: Senatorial Division
A discussion of how the political balance kept shifting as free and slave states were admitted to the Union prior to the Civil War.
Library of Congress
Loc: Today in History: March 7: Daniel Webster & First March From Selma
From the Library of Congress, find a discussion of Daniel Webster and the slavery debate and a summary of the Selma March with historical pictures. LOC also includes links for further study.
American Battlefield Trust
American Battlefield Trust: Civil War: Trigger Events of the Civil War
A list with descriptions of the major events that led up to the outbreak of the Civil War.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Countdown to Civil War
Describes the events leading up to the start of the American Civil War. Looks at clashes between pro- and anti-slavery groups, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the fight over California, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act,...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: Boundless: u.s. History: The Compromise of 1850
Presents the events leading up to the passing of the Compromise of 1850, followed by a description of those events, the content of the Compromise, and its impact.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Popular Sovereignty and Slavery
Comprehensive resource explores the use of Popular Sovereignty in debates about the slavery extension issue in new territories.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Lincoln Douglas Debates
Discussion of the Lincoln Douglas Debates, a series of seven public debates held in 1858 between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas as they contested the Illinois Senate seat.