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Organizer
Student Handouts

The Formation of the U.S. Constitution #3

For Students 8th - 12th
Finish up your study of the United States Constitution with the third resource in a three-part series. Class members respond to three questions that focus on the relationship between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution and...
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Worksheet
Digital History

Slavery and the Slave Trade

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What would it have been like to have heard the debate on the issue of slavery at the Constitutional Convention of 1787? With this resource, you are given the opportunity to read through a reconstruction of speeches on the topic with your...
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Lesson Plan
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K12 Reader

Slavery in the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 11th Standards
Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students determine how President Lincoln promoted emancipation. For this slavery lesson, students examine primary documents, including the U.S. Constitution, to reconstruct Lincoln's attempts to end slavery and deliver the Emancipation...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Constitutional Amendments And Gay Marriage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Upper graders critically examine the history and process of amending the U.S. Constitution in light of the current issue facing the courts on legalizing gay marriage. They read a variety of articles, watch news clips, and develop a...
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Lesson Plan
Heritage Foundation

Slavery and the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It's hard to believe the abolition movement was once seen as scandalous. Help learners understand how the US Constitution changed everything. A variety of activities such as corresponding reading activities, group work ideas, and...
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Lesson Plan
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Constitutional Rights Foundation

Slavery and the Electoral College

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
How did slavery mold the creation of the US Constitution? The final activity in the series focuses on how slavery impacted the creation of the Electoral College. Academics learn how the Electoral College was created because Southern...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Analyzing a Petition about Slavery

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Practice analyzing primary sources in a thought-provoking lesson on the impact of slavery. Young historians read a petition regarding the Fugitive Slave Law and answer a series of questions to understand the importance of the document....
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Lesson Plan
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation

Those "Other Rights:" The Constitution and Slavery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to or...
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Unit Plan
Southern Poverty Law Center

Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
Pupils investigate American slavery from colonial times through the Civil War. They incorporate primary sources, video clips, and firsthand accounts to understand how the slavery issue gripped the nation. Essays, presentations, and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Popular Sovereignty and the Lecompton Constitution

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students explore the purpose of the Lecompton Constitution.  For this United States History lesson, students read several articles then complete several activities to reinforce their reading, such as a cause and effect worksheet,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Presidents and the Constitution: Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students consider the impact of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation In this U.S. Constitution instructional activity, students read a narrative regarding the move by Lincoln to officially end slavery. Students take notes on the case and...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Creating the Constitution

For Students 8th - 11th
Useful as a review assignment or as a quiz, these ten questions on the U.S. Constitution address its creation. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin are the main topics of the questions, as well as The Three-Fifths Compromise.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln, the 1860 Election, and the Future of the American Union and Slavery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the political alternatives regarding the spread of slavery and the preservation of the American union facing the American people in the decade leading up to the 1860 presidential election.
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Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

A House Divided: Slavery and the Civil War

For Teachers 8th Standards
What efforts were made by Abraham Lincoln to preserve the Union, and how did the Emancipation Proclamation signal a shift in the aims of the Northern states? Young historians answer these questions by analyzing primary sources and...
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Lesson Plan
Center for Instruction, Technology, & Innovation

Did African American Lives Improve After Slavery?

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Reparations for Slavery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students analyze slavery reparations. In this American history lesson, students examine the pros and cons of paying reparations for slavery and participate in a discussion.
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Slavery and the American Founding: The "Inconsistency Not to Be Excused"

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
High schoolers examine slavery in the revolutionary and colonial eras of the United States. In this slavery lesson, students investigate the presence of slavery in early America, the language of the Constitution, and the intent of the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Abraham Lincoln, the 1860 Election, and the Future of the American Union and Slavery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine Abraham Lincoln's political views about slavery. In this American Civil War lesson, students determine how Lincoln's beliefs led to the restriction of slavery in American territories. Student also analyze the party...
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Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

Slavery in the Constitution

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Young historians may be surprised to learn that the Constitution of the United States includes provisions that protect the institution of slavery. Groups examine four clauses of the Constitution, as well as other primary sources, and...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Freedom for All? The Contradictions of Slavery and Freedom in the Maryland Constitution

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Freedom for the few! An interesting lesson focuses on the Maryland Constitution and its lack of freedom for African Americans. Scholars examine the premise of freedom for all—which only extended to a limited few.  Academics complete...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Constitutional Amendments and Gay Marriage

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers study the legal battles involving same-sex marriage. They examine primary sources and a video regarding the 14th amendment and its implications for gay marriage. They analyze a report of a California case that was sent to...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Slavery in the U.S. Constitution

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students examine five sections of the U.S. Constitution to see what the Federal Government has said about slavery, past and present. Then, class members research individuals and interest groups who directly impacted slavery compromises.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Running for Freedom: The FUgitive Slave law and the Coming of the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...