Lesson Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: History of Us: Fatal Contradiction: Missouri Compromise [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that examines the goal of the Missouri Compromise. A good lesson for comparing and contrasting life in the North and South in the run-up to the...
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Kansas Nebraska Act

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the essential repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which had established which states could be slave and which would be free for thirty years, with the rancorous passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. See who supported it and why,...
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore Louisa May Alcott's novel, Little Women.
Website
PBS

Pbs News Hour Extra: 150th Anniversary of the Civil War Fraught With Emotion

For Students 9th - 10th
Article examines the emotions brought to light due to the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and the deep cultural divisions that continue across the U.S. to this day. A classroom activity and student worksheet can provide good...
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: The First Battle of Bull Run

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains what happened at the initial Battle of Bull Run, the first significant battle of the Civil War. This battle was an eye-opener for both sides, as rifles were now replacing the less accurate muskets, causing more casualties and...
Handout
Nebraska Studies

Nebraska Studies: Kansas Nebraska Act Signed

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a narrative detailing the signing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 and the controversy that grew from it.
Primary
Yale University

Avalon Project: Declaration of the Secession of South Carolina

For Students 9th - 10th
Full text of the declaration adopted by South Carolina as justification for its secession from the Union.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source: Underground Railroad Fugitive Slave Act 1850

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore the Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
Article
A&E Television

History.com: What Caused the Korean War and Why Did the Us Get Involved?

For Students 9th - 10th
The Korean War (1950-1953) was the first military action of the Cold War. It was sparked by the June 25, 1950 invasion of South Korea by 75,000 members of the North Korean People's Army. The line they crossed, the 38th parallel, was...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Sack of Lawrence

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about how the destruction of Lawrence, Kansas, seat of the Free-Soiler government by border ruffians inflamed attitudes in the North toward the actions of the slave-holders.
Article
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: The Black Lost Cause: Examples of Colored Service

For Students 9th - 10th
African American slaves are known to have fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, which many people may not realize. Why they would fight on the side of slavery, and the evidence that they did, are discussed in this section of...
Website
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: The Dakota Conflict Trials of 1862

For Students 9th - 10th
This site offers an in-depth study of the 1862 Sioux uprising. The framed web pages offer a chronology of the uprising , a cartoon history, pages of maps, biographies of key figures, accounts of the trials and the execution, an...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Northern Homefront

For Students 5th - 8th
The military-industrial complex thrived in the North during the Civil War, but read about how inflation affected the ordinary worker. See how the role of women expanded to fill in for men who were away fighting. Women also had an impact...
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Dred Scott Decision

For Students 5th - 7th
Read the terms of the Dred Scott decision which determined that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. See why this decision was so controversial and completely unacceptable to the northerners, thus driving an additional wedge...
Handout
PBS

Pbs: Africans in America: Slavery and the Origins of the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 10th
An article by Columbia University historian Eric Foner that discusses how long-standing views of the role of slavery in America began to be challenged during the civil rights era of the 1960s by a new generation of historians, whose work...
Unit Plan
C3 Teachers

C3 Teachers: Inquiries: Uncle Tom's Cabin

For Teachers 7th
A comprehensive learning module based on the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It includes three supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and primary source materials, followed by a summative performance task....
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre

For Students 5th - 8th
John Brown, seeking revenge for the sack of Lawrence, Kansas, made Kansas even more bloody. Read about the Pottawatomie Massacre and its reverberations throughout Kansas.
Lesson Plan
White House Historical Association

White House Historical Association: Thence Forward, and Forever Free

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Informational text and lesson plan for grades 9-12 tracing Abraham Lincoln's battle against slavery from the time he was in the Illinois State Legislature through his presidency and writing of the Emancipation Proclamation.
PPT
Tom Richey

Tom richey.net: The Crisis of the Union (1850 1860) [Ppt]

For Students 9th - 10th
Presents key ideas for examining the events and issues that led to the American Civil War.
Unit Plan
Curated OER

National Park Service: The Significance of the Dred Scott Trial

For Students 9th - 10th
In this article from "The Old Courthouse" by Donald Dosch the facts of the Dred Scott decision are laid out. Read why the outcome of the case fanned the embers of the coming Civil War.
Unit Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Life in North & South 1847 1861: Before Brother Fought Brother

For Teachers 6th - 8th
The five lessons in this unit are designed to help students develop a foundation on which to understand the basic disagreements between North and South through the investigation of primary source documents, photographs, and census...
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Beloved by Toni Morrison

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore Toni Morrison's Beloved.
Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.