[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the Congressional disagreements about slavery in the territories before the Civil War. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

This site from the Indiana University offers an illustrated history of political cartoons before and during the Civil War including pictures of Abraham Lincoln and the elections of 1860 and 1864.

This lesson helps students study life in the United States in the years before the Civil War. Students will gain a better understanding of why people grew willing to fight to defend their way of life. Many of the documents students will...

A lesson plan that addresses the "complex series of events" leading to the Civil War. Through this lesson, students will "gain an appreciation of everyday life in the North and South, changes occurring, and some of the major social and...

Read an overview of the pre-Civil War women's rights movement in a student essay in an historical journal from Loyola University. Find out about specific activists prominent during this time period and learn about their attempts to...

An extensive resource covering many aspects of the Spanish Civil War. First read an overview of the conflict before looking at the many primary sources related to the war.

Traces the life of the richest black man in New Orleans before the Civil War and after.

Before the American Civil War, the majority of hospital nurses or "stewards" were men. But the war created a medical crisis that demanded more volunteers, and a lot of the people who took up the call were women. Amid this desperate need...

Read the text of the 13th Amendment, adopted in January, 1865, even before the end of the Civil War, which ended slavery in the United States. Click on the image to see a larger picture of the document itself.

This autobiography of an African-American man relates his experiences as a free laborer in Georgia after the Civil War. You will see that he felt his conditions were not unlike the slavery that existed before the Civil War. From the...

Presents population maps of enslaved and free African Americans before the Civil War based on census population.

A very brief look at the "Peculiar Institution" of slavery in the South before the Civil War. Read about how slavery became so entrenced and why it drove a wedge between the North and South.

A map of the United States and territories in 1861 at the outbreak of the Civil War. The map is color-coded to show the Union Free States, the Confederate States seceded before April 15, 1861, the Confederate States seceded after April...

Steven Lawson, Professor of History at Rutgers, explores how racial segreagation changed from before the Civil War up to the 1950s and the differences in segregation between the North and the South. Students should understand the legacy...

A comprehensive learning module on Abraham Lincoln that includes three supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and primary source materials, followed by a summative performance task. Students examine the evolution of...

People enslaved Africans for their enforced labor from before America's founding until the end of the Civil War. Learn about the history of slavery, its effects on a budding nation, and the fight to abolish it. This collection includes...

Lone Star Junction identifies an extensive list of high-profile Texans prior to 1900. A chart informs readers what general role in Texas history each person was involved in from Texas Revolution, Indian Wars, Civil War, and the...

Primary source full text of letter written by General William T. Sherman and sent to Atlanta mayor, James M. Calhoun, with a directive to evacuate all civilians from the city before Sherman's troops moved in.

Reviews of children's literature, student activities, and interactive games from Scholastic that enrich a student's understanding and appreciation of western expansion before the Civil War.

Exhibition of photographic portraits taken by Civil War-era photographer Mathew Brady, who made portraits of many illustrious Americans on both sides of the conflict before, during, and after the war. Includes an animated explanation of...

This biography of Robert E. Lee is part of a larger site about the Lee family plantation, Stratford Hall. Read about his personal life before and after the war. Included are links to his farewell address and information about the horses...

Read and study the sources about the economy of Louisiana during the antebellum period.

Selected (11) reading passages (grades 7-11) to pair with the autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass. Frederick Douglass recounts his experiences as a slave in Maryland, and his treatment at the...

Before the Civil War, West Virginia was part of Virginia. What happened? Find historical facts and other lore from the Library of Congress.