American Battlefield Trust
Preserving the Memory
Civil War battlefields themselves are under siege by development and other forces. Using materials from the Battlefield Trust, individuals explore local areas that face threat and write letters to support their preservation. An...
Curated OER
Letters, Telegrams, and Photographs Illustrating
Students research the factors that are important in winning a battle in the Civil War. In a second activity they are assigned the role of a specific type of person during the Civil War and asked to describe what it's like being that person.
Curated OER
Chancellorsville 360
Experience a Civil War battlefield up close. Chancellorsville 360 allows scholars to explore the battlefield in an interactive format. The site demonstrates the layout of the battlefield, strategies, and key events. Created for high...
Curated OER
Preserving the Memory
Young historians explore ways to help preserve historic battlefields and artifacts. Designed for secondary scholars, the resource focuses on Civil War battlefields and the National Registrar of Historic Places Application. Pupils also...
National Constitution Center
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott v. Sanford was a watershed moment for the country—and a key moment leading up to the Civil War. Using videos and analytical worksheets, scholars consider the facts of the case and then develop their own arguments before the...
American Battlefield Trust
Experiencing the Battle of Franklin
Scholars watch videos, study an animated map, and read a firsthand written account to explore the impact of the Battle of Franklin during the Civil War. Academics analyze images, complete worksheets, and create journal entries to...
American Battlefield Trust
1862: Antietam and Emancipation
Was the Emancipation Proclamation a revolutionary document or just a military strategy? It proclaimed that all those enslaved in Confederate states would be "forever free." Logistically, though, it did little. The order, however,...
Curated OER
Election of 1864
An interesting lesson plan uses a hands-on-activity and group discussion to explore the 1864 presidential election and Lincoln's plans for ending the Civil War. Designed for high school, the resource also requires historians to...
Center for History Education
Speaking Up and Speaking Out: Exploring the Lives of Black Women During the 19th Century
Young historians investigate the often-hidden history of free and enslaved African American women before the Civil War. Using a collection of primary and secondary sources, including speeches, diaries, and poems, they evaluate the often...
Curated OER
Abolitionists and Their Impact on Sectionalism
Eleventh graders examine the impact of Abolitionist leaders on sectionalism. In small groups, they conduct research on a famous abolitionist, and develop and write a newspaper cover page based on their assigned abolitionist.
Alabama Department of Archives and History
What Would the Ladies Think? An Alabama Secession Story
Alabama voted to secede from the Union preceding the Civil War. What did women think of the decision? The lesson uses letters and newspaper articles to explain women's views on the secession and how they participated in the celebration...
Crafting Freedom
Thomas Day's Letter to His Daughter, Mary Ann
Why is a letter a better way to learn about a person than a different primary source? Explore Thomas Day's ideas and advice to his daughter in a letter from 1851, which details the struggles of the American South before the Civil War....
American Institute of Physics
African American Physicists in the 1960s
Physicists Herman Branson and Tannie Stovall provide young scholars with two very different perceptions of the status of African American physicists in the 1960s. After reading and comparing the bios of these two men, class members read...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
While many have heard of Harriet Tubman, few are aware of the many ways this remarkable woman was involved in the United States Civil War, the abolitionist movement, and the Underground Railroad. Young historians examine primary source...
Curated OER
A House Divided: Reliving the Civil War
Students create an exhibit for the American Studies Living History Museum base on their research of issues relating to the causes and consequences of the Civil War.
Curated OER
Was There an Industial Revolution? Americans at Work Before the Civil War
Students tabulate the First Industrial Revolution where a significant number of inventions and innovations appeared transforming American life. Cite examples of change (ex. telegraph) in the lives of Americans during the era of question....
Civil War Trust
Genealogy
The Civil War is undoubtedly a part of America's history, but could it be part of your pupils' history as well? Middle schoolers conduct research to discover a connection between their ancestors and the American Civil War. Whether...
Facing History and Ourselves
After Charlottesville: Contested History and the Fight against Bigotry
History doesn't always reflect all sides. Academics discover how the remembered history of the Civil War differs for White and African Americans. The lesson explores how Civil War monuments and celebrations have racist connotations for...
US House of Representatives
Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970
The third lesson in a unit that traces the history of African Americans serving in the US Congress examines the period from 1929 through 1970. After reading a contextual essay that details the few African Americans elected to Congress...
Center for History and New Media
The Impact of the Jim Crow Era on Education, 1877–1930s
Even though American slaves were officially emancipated in 1865, the effects of slavery perpetuated throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Middle and high schoolers learn about the ways that discrimination and the Jim Crow laws...
Curated OER
Need for Reconstruction: Devasation and Liberation in the South
Eighth graders examine the amount of destruction in the South following the Civil War. They explore the reasons why Reconstruction was needed.
Curated OER
Memorials and Meaning
Young scholars explore the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students collaborate to research the war. They examine Matthew Brady photographs that inspire them to create a memorial to honor those who served in the Civil War.
Curated OER
How We Got to Kansas-Nebraska
Students explore the causes of the Civil War. In this lesson on slavery students use primary sources to examine the evolution of the issue of slavery and in the American political system. Students will then write a follow-up essay...
Curated OER
Atlanta and Sherman's March to the Sea
Students explore the impact of William Tecumseh Sherman's actions during the Civil War.
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