National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Factory vs. Plantation in the North and South
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...
American Battlefield Trust
American Battlefield Trust: Civil War: North and South: Different Cultures, Same Country
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,...
Lone Star Junction
Lone Star Junction: Notable Texans Before 1900
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...
Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society: Lee and Grant
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.
Other
Eng 223: American Literature Before 1865
Online syllabus for a college Pre-Civil War American Literature class with links to information about each class activity. These lessons contain some good teaching ideas and background information about a number of famous authors, much...
War Times Journal
War Times Journal: Memoirs: William T. Sherman
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.
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: General William T. Sherman on War, 1864
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.
Ohio History Central
Ohio History Central: Radical Republicans
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...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Segregation
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...
New York Public Library
African American Migration Experience: The Northern Migration
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.
Smithsonian Institution
National Portrait Gallery: Mathew Brady's Portraits
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...
Other
Stratford Hall Plantation: General Robert E. Lee
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...
Curated OER
Etc: Maps Etc: United States at the Outbreak of the Civil War, 1861
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...
Curated OER
Etc: First Defenses of the South During the American Civil War, 1860 1865
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...
Civil War Home
Home of the American Civil War: Secession of the Southern States
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...
Museum of the City of San Francisco
Virtual Museum of San Francisco: African American Rights Gold Rush Era
Provides information concerning African American rights in the California gold country before the Civil War.
National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art: The First African American Regiment
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...
Blackdog Media
Classic Reader: "Love Before Breakfast" by Frank Stockton
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.)
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Leon Trotsky
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.
University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant
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.
Scholastic
Scholastic: Our America: Western Expansion
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.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: West Virginia
Before the Civil War, West Virginia was part of Virginia. What happened? Find historical facts and other lore from the Library of Congress.
Other
American Antiquarian Society: Exhibitions: A Woman's Work Is Never Done
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...