Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Colonial Williamsburg: Colonial African American Life
Provides a few statistics on slaves in Maryland and Virginia and then contrasts the lives of field hand vs household or urban slaves.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1491 1607: African Societies and Atlantic Slave Trade
The beginning of the Atlantic slave trade uprooted previously established societal norms in West Africa.
A&E Television
History.com: How Black Women Fought for Civil War Pensions and Benefits
In a time when military pensions were a large part of the federal budget, Black women faced unique challenges in securing compensation. Widows of Civil War soldiers could begin applying to the Bureau of Pensions during the war, and one...
Other
World Socialist Web Site: A Journey Through Africa's Civilizations
From the World Socialist Web Site, this is a review of Harvard professor Henry Gates' book, "Wonders of the African World." It includes interesting details of Gates' attempts to piece together a view of precolonial African history. (4...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1844 1877: Reconstruction: Black Codes
Discusses the Black Codes that white Southerners imposed on African Americans after the Civil War and the efforts by Republican politicians to protect their rights.
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Settlers, Slaves and Servants
This resource provides a brief overview of how many settlers in the colonies were indentured servants and how the system of indentured servitude tied to slavery.
Black Past
Black Past: Louisiana Purchase and African Americans
In this brief encyclopedia article, you find the effect the Louisiana Purchase had on African-Americans because of the new land added to the United States. There is a link to a website that gives additional information about the...
Other
Accord Freedom Trail: Freedom Trail St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement
The city of St. Augustine, Florida played a part in The Civil Rights Movement. The early background of African Americans and slavery issues is documented, followed by noted people, events, and battles in the St. Augustine area during the...
PBS
Pbs: New Perspectives on the West
This in-depth resource presents a history of the American West from pre-Columbian times until World War I with profiles, documents, and images. It encourages visitors to link these into patterns of historical meaning for themselves....
ClassFlow
Class Flow: African Heritage: Fighting for Freedom
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart aims to help students understand the role the Underground Railroad played in leading people out of slavery in the United States, particularly before the Civil War.
Digital History
Digital History: Slave Culture
Find out about the contributions African slaves and African American slaves made to not only their culture, but American culture in general. See what words have African roots, how African culture influenced food and music, and how there...
Digital History
Digital History: Slavery Takes Root in Colonial Virginia
Read about how the decrease in the availability of indentured servants led to a vast increase in the importation of African slaves into the southern colonies. Bacon's Rebellion even had an effect on the replacement of indentured servants...
Digital History
Digital History: Slavery and Spanish Colonization
Read about the slave trade and use of slaves in agriculture and mining in Spanish America in the New World. Find out why it was expedient to use African slaves.
Digital History
Digital History: The Origins of New World Slavery
Read about the initial slow introduction of slave labor into the colonies, which accelerated because of the slaves' knowledge of growing crops, and the decline in the institution of indentured servitude.
Digital History
Digital History: The American Revolution and Slavery
Read about the plans for using slaves in both the British and Continental armies during the Revolutionary War. See why some of the plans were scuttled and how the end of the war affected blacks who fought and those who remained in the...
Yale University
Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Black Emancipators of the 19th Century
A lesson plan unit on the people and movements that fought to abolish slavery. Looks at the Triangular Trade, and at the Underground Railroad and famous abolitionists. Includes a play about emancipation, a black history rap and a trivia...
Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society: Waging War: The Battlefront: Men of Color to Arms?
When the war began, many African Americans - North and South - volunteered to serve as soldiers. The vast majority were former slaves who sought to strike at slavery and improve their position in society. Desperate to avert defeat, the...
Other
Black History Biographies: James Forten
A brief yet informative biography of James Forten, an ultimately successful African-American businessman living in Philadelphia, who used his wealth to support abolitionist causes and equality.
Black Past
Black Past: Toussaint L'overture
This encyclopedia article gives an accounting of Toussaint L'Overture, freed Haitian slave who was the leader of the revolt against France.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Inventor of the Week: Elijah Mc Coy
According to this article, Elijah McCoy (1844-1929 CE) is one of the most prolific inventors in American history. Read about his parents who escaped slavery by traveling on the Underground Railroad and about his invention, the automatic...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington was an African-American visionary. Read about his embrace of education as a way to lift up blacks in the racist South, but see how some of his views found opposition in the black community.
C3 Teachers
C3 Teachers: Inquiries: Emancipation
A learning module on the emancipation of African American slaves after the Civil War. It includes several supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and source materials, followed by a summative performance task. Students will...
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: The Slave Narrative
In addition to defining "Slave Narrative," this website includes information on the styles and influences associated with slave narratives. Also provided, are links to several examples of nineteenth- and twentieth-century slave narratives.