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PPT
Tom Richey

Tom richey.net: The Crisis of the Union (1850 1860) [Ppt]

For Students 9th - 10th
Presents key ideas for examining the events and issues that led to the American Civil War.
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Website
Other

Republican Party: Our History

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the first few paragraphs of this article to find out about the formation of the Republican Party in 1854 and how it affected the political scene in the last part of the 1850s.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Sacred Beliefs

For Students 5th - 8th
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...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Canefight! Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner

For Students 5th - 8th
Violence associated with strong feelings about slavery entered the halls of the Senate. Read what happened to Senator Charles Sumner after a two-day tirade he gave in the Senate after the sack of Lawrence, Kansas.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre

For Students 5th - 8th
John Brown, seeking revenge for the sack of Lawrence, Kansas, made Kansas even more bloody. Read about the Pottawatomie Massacre and its reverberations throughout Kansas.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Sack of Lawrence

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about how the destruction of Lawrence, Kansas, seat of the Free-Soiler government by border ruffians inflamed attitudes in the North toward the actions of the slave-holders.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: An Uneasy Peace

For Students 5th - 8th
See what turmoil resulted from the acquisition of new territory after the Mexican-American War. There was great disagreement between those who wanted to abolish slavery and those who wanted to be able to carry slavery into the new lands....
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Free (?) African Americans

For Students 5th - 8th
Not all African-Americans were slaves in the South. Some were freed by their owners, others escaped, but none had the same rights as free whites. Read about their restrictions that were put into law. Find out about the church...
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Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Fort Scott National Historic Site: Bleeding Kansas

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the effects of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In particular, the site details incidents from the period known as "Bleeding Kansas."
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Study Guide
Ohio Test Prep

Ohio Test Prep: Module 5. Sectionalism and Antislavery

For Students 9th - 10th
Ohio Social Studies test preparatory module informs about the anti-slavery movement, the Underground Railroad and the key role Ohio played during this era. Site includes video tutorial, interactive practice material, and assessment.
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Handout
Ohio History Central

Ohio History Central: Free Soil Party

For Students 9th - 10th
A description of the platform and beliefs of the Free Soil Party which opposed expansion of slavery into US territories.
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Lesson Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic Instructor: The Path to Freedom

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Here is a great list of ideas for teachers to utilize in the classroom for lessons about the Underground Railroad. This site provides historical information, facts, reproductibles and more.
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Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: James Buchanan: A Life in Brief

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief look at James Buchanan as president and the controversies he faced. From the Miller Center.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: The Amistad Case:

For Students 9th - 10th
Pictures and text from the Smithsonian Institute about the 1839 slave rebellion on the slave ship, The Amistad and the ensuing trial of the 36 Africans involved in the rebellion.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Mexican American War

For Students 5th - 8th
The Mexican-American War fulfilled James Polk's desire to acquire the territory of New Mexico and California from Mexico. See how the fight was provoked, and read about Stephen Kearny's actions in New Mexico and John Fremont's in...
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Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Countdown to Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
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,...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

National Park Service: The Significance of the Dred Scott Trial

For Students 9th - 10th
In this article from "The Old Courthouse" by Donald Dosch the facts of the Dred Scott decision are laid out. Read why the outcome of the case fanned the embers of the coming Civil War.
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Article
Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia Britannica: 300 Women Who Changed History:sarah and Angelina Grimke

For Students 9th - 10th
Encyclopaedia Britannica provides a biography about the Grimke sisters, both Quakers and avid social reformers. They spoke out about women's rights and slavery.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: John Brown's Raid

For Students 5th - 8th
John Brown was considered a madman by many and a martyr by others. Read about his ill-fated raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Why did this raid cause such a reaction in the Southern states?
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Unit Plan
Other

Presentations From the Life of Frederick Douglass

For Students 9th - 10th
The actor Fred Morsell, a Frederick Douglass reenactor, provides plays about the 19th century civil rights leader as well as other resources about Douglass's life and work.
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Website
Columbia University

Columbia University: Columbia University & Slavery 11. Columbians

For Students 9th - 10th
This website was created by faculty, students, and staff to publicly present information about Columbia's historical connections to the institution of slavery. This article looks at the different approaches among Columbians to the...
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Website
British Library

British Library: Discovering Literature: Britain's Involvement With New World Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

For Students 9th - 10th
With a focus on the 17th and 18th centuries, this article traces the history of Britain's large-scale involvement in the enslavement of Africans and the transatlantic slave trade.
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Primary
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: The Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore the Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Set includes an overview, primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.
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Website
Black Past

Black Past: Ain't I a Woman?

For Students 9th - 10th
Contains parts of the stirring speech, "Ain't I a Woman," given by Sojourner Truth at the Women's Rights convention in Akron, Ohio.

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