Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This instructional activity helps learners 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...
Handout
American Battlefield Trust

American Battlefield Trust: Civil War: North and South: Different Cultures, Same Country

For Students 9th - 10th
The Civil War that raged across the nation from 1861 to 1865 was the violent conclusion to decades of diversification. Gradually, throughout the beginning of the nineteenth century, the North and South followed different paths,...
Activity
Lone Star Junction

Lone Star Junction: Notable Texans Before 1900

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Article
Virginia Historical Society

Virginia Historical Society: Lee and Grant

For Students 9th - 10th
A retrospective of the two greatest generals of the Civil War, Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. A side-by-side comparison of the two icons before, during, and after the war.
Lesson Plan
Other

Eng 223: American Literature Before 1865

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Online syllabus for a college Pre-Civil War American Literature class with links to information about each class lesson. These lessons contain some good teaching ideas and background information about a number of famous authors, much of...
Primary
War Times Journal

War Times Journal: Memoirs: William T. Sherman

For Students 9th - 10th
Several chapters taken from General Sherman's memoirs covering the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862. He provides a leadership view of the actions of General Ulysses S. Grant before, during and after the battle.
Primary
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: General William T. Sherman on War, 1864

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
Handout
Ohio History Central

Ohio History Central: Radical Republicans

For Students 9th - 10th
A good description of the beginnings of the Republican Party before the Civil War, and the transformation to Radical Republicanism during Reconstruction as they attempted to guarantee equal rights for African Americans. Information is...
Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Segregation

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Article
New York Public Library

African American Migration Experience: The Northern Migration

For Students 9th - 10th
This article explores the reasons African Americans left the South and migrated north both before and after the Civil War, and many aspects of what their lives were like.
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Mathew Brady's Portraits

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Handout
Other

Stratford Hall Plantation: General Robert E. Lee

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: Maps Etc: United States at the Outbreak of the Civil War, 1861

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Graphic
Curated OER

Etc: First Defenses of the South During the American Civil War, 1860 1865

For Students 9th - 10th
A map from 1920 of the Southeastern States showing the South's first line of defenses during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The map is color-coded to show the eastern Confederate States (indicating the States seceding before and...
Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: Secession of the Southern States

For Students 9th - 10th
Scroll through this article to "Secession in the Upper South" to find out what was happening in southern states that had not yet seceded before April, 1861, and what convinced these states to secede. From an article by William L. Barney...
Handout
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of San Francisco: African American Rights Gold Rush Era

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides information concerning African American rights in the California gold country before the Civil War.
Lesson Plan
National Gallery of Art

National Gallery of Art: The First African American Regiment

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students will be introduced to the first African American Regiment that fought in the Civil War through a memorial sculpture by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. They will compare and contrast the experiences of these soldiers through their...
eBook
Blackdog Media

Classic Reader: "Love Before Breakfast" by Frank Stockton

For Students 9th - 10th
Text of the short story "Love Before Breakfast" by American author Frank Stockton. (Free site registration offers some additional features, e.g., the ability to insert annotations.)
Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Leon Trotsky

For Students 9th - 10th
A detailed biography of the life of Leon Trotsky. Discusses his life before the Russian Revolution, his political accomplishments afterwards, his opposition to Stalinism, his exile and his assassination.
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive biography of Ulysses S. Grant including information about his life before his presidency, detailed essays on various aspects of presidency, brief biographies of members of his cabinet, and copies of his presidential papers.
Website
Scholastic

Scholastic: Our America: Western Expansion

For Students 3rd - 8th
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.
Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: West Virginia

For Students 3rd - 5th
Before the Civil War, West Virginia was part of Virginia. What happened? Find historical facts and other lore from the Library of Congress.
Graphic
Curated OER

Pre Civil War Log Cabin

For Students Pre-K - 1st
log cabin
Website
Other

American Antiquarian Society: Exhibitions: A Woman's Work Is Never Done

For Students 9th - 10th
Images with accompanying narration on women's work from before the American Revolution through the Industrial Revolution. Exhibit describes the domestic work that women did and continue to perform and also provides information on women...

Other popular searches