Curated OER
John Brown, Then and Now
Eleventh graders study one of the selected images of John Brown and read an excerpt online that describes his role in the Civil War. They identify significant information about John Brown. They think about how this applies to current...
Curated OER
Lesson Plan: The 1856 Election
Students identify the key issue in the election of 1856, they also identify some of the key people invovled in the election. Students discuss the role of propaganda in politics. Also, students discuss the significance of the election of...
Curated OER
Mastering the Document-Based Essay Question
Students use a primary source document from the Civil War period of history in order to derive meaning for an essay question. The essay is based completely on the document with no other research to support the content.
Curated OER
This Guilty Land
Middle schoolers examine the time period just before the start of the Civil War. They focus on John Brown, an activist of the day. After a lecture/demo, students use a worksheet imbedded in this plan to further their understanding of the...
Curated OER
Effects of African-American Emigration From the Late 1700s-Early 1900s
High schoolers explore the pros and cons of the emigration movement and research major groups and people involved in it. They view a multi-media narrative imbedded in this plan, then compose an essay stating their point of view.
Curated OER
John Brown, Then and Now
Eleventh graders identify some of the ways that the raid at Harper's Ferry influenced the Civil War. They articulate the different ways that people though about John Brown in the 1800's and how his persona may or may not have changed...
Teaching American History
Teaching American History: Manifesto: American Anti Slavery Society
Find the goals of the American Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833 by abolitionists in Philadelphia. The object of the group was the immediate abolition of slavery.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Photo Gallery: Significant Abolitionists
Learn about the countless people who made important contributions to the abolitionist movement to end slavery. In this photo gallery from American Experience, explore some of these leaders and their vocations.
Other
Abolitionists, Free Blacks, and Runaway Slaves: Surviving Slavery in Maryland
Read about the groups of people who lived on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the mid-1800s and fought against slavery: the Quakers, former slaves, and fugitive slaves. This article describes the efforts of both whites and blacks, who...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Abolitionist Map of America
Through an interactive map, tours, documents, images, and videos, explore the account of the abolitionist movement in America.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History by Era: Slavery and Anti Slavery
[Free Registration/Login Required] An excellent essay explaining the roots of the anit-slavery movement in the United States in the early 1830s and its evolution over the next twenty-five years. Read about the abolitionists, both white...
Other
Geni: American Abolitionist Movement
Looks at the history of the abolitionist movement in the United States, the key people involved, and important events.
Other
New York Historical Society: New York Divided Slavery and the Civil War
Visit this virtual museum exhibit to learn about New York City's divided opinions about slavery before and during the Civil War. There are three themes covered: Pro-Southern City, Fighting Slavery, and Civil War. Students use a...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: The American Abolitionist Movement
A collection that uses primary sources to explore the American Abolitionist Movement.
Digital Public Library of America
Dpla: The American Abolitionist Movement
The resources in this set highlight the people and political acts that were central to the abolitionist movement.
Other
Wwhp: American Anti Slavery Society
A good review of the evolution of the support for the abolition of slavery from the first anti-slavery organization formed by the Quakers to the support for Abraham Lincoln as president. Focus is on the American Anti-Slavery Society and...
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Mosaic: Influence of Prominent Abolitionists
See documents and pictures of those actively involved in the anti-slavery movement. From the Library of Congress.
Other
American Abolitionism Project: A Brief History of American Abolitionist Movement
Provides a short history of the American abolitionist movement, and breaks the movement down into different categories of abolitionists and some key people involved in each group. Includes links to additional information.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Library: Samuel May Anti Slavery Collection
An extensive online digital collection of the pamphlets and leaflets that document the anti-slavery struggle at the local, regional, and national levels.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Slavery and Freedom: Frederick Douglass
This concise biography presents author/journalist Frederick Douglass, who was groundbreaking in his slave narratives and establishing "The North Star" abolitionist periodical in mid-nineteenth-century America. See "Frederick Douglass...
The Newberry Library
Newberry Library: The Anti Slavery Movement in Chicago and Illinois
Lesson on the actions of the anti-slavery movement in Chicago and Illinois examines how abolitionists tried to transform public opinion and how they responded to events of the 1850s. Primary source material and questions for...
OpenStax
Open Stax: Addressing Slavery
In this section from a chapter on "Antebellum Idealism and Reform Impulses," students will learn about the different approaches to reforming the institution of slavery and be able to describe the abolitionist movement in the early to...
Cornell University
Cornell University: Library: I Will Be Heard: Prominent Abolitionists
Find the impetus behind the anti-slavery movement and the philosophy that united all abolitionists even though they followed different routes. Included are links to individual biographies of prominent abolitionists.
Other
Accessible Archives: National Anti Slavery Standard
The National Anti-Slavery Standard was a weekly newspaper published by the abolitionist group, the American Anti-Slavery Society. How it was established and its history are described.