Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Civil War, a Nation Divided
A wonderful resource using primary and secondary source materials to explore many facets of the Civil War from the war itself to its impact on the home front. Includes video and text downloads.
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...
Other
Civil War Artillery Projectiles: Field Artillery Projectiles
A wealth of information about the projectiles used in artillery in both the North and the South. Included are pictures, cross-sections, and descriptions of the various types of projectiles.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South
A very good compilation of the advantages and disadvantages of both the North and South at the beginning of the Civil War. The South had the trained officers, but the North had the factories to make rifles. Read about the major...
University of Michigan
Making of America: The Spirit of the South Towards Northern Freemen and Soldiers
The full text of a William Lloyd Garrison's compilation of newspaper articles and letters of Southerners railing against the North in the Civil War. There is no commentary, only the primary source documents.
Siteseen
Siteseen: Civil Conflict: Civil War Statistics
Presents a collection of 25 interesting facts, statistics, and information about the Civil War between the North and the South that raged from April 12, 1861 - May 10, 1865 including the population of the nation, some of the battles that...
University of North Carolina
Documenting the South: George E. Pickett: The Heart of a Soldier
At this site from the University of North Carolina, you can read letters written by George E. Pickett (1825-1875), a Confederate soldier. Originally published in 1913, this book provides George E. Pickett's correspondence with his wife,...
University of North Carolina
Documenting the South: John H. Worsham
At this site from the University of North Carolina there is a firsthand account from a foot soldier who fought under the command of "Stonewall," Jackson during the Civil War. Download the full text of John H. Worsham's text, which was...
University of North Carolina
Documenting the South: The Southern Homefront
Diaries and Personal Correspondence from Southerners during the Civil War provided by the University of North Carolina. An excellent collection of primary source documents for your study of everyday Southern life during the Civil War era.
![Digital History: Why Do People Fight? The Causes of the Civil War [Pdf] Website](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Digital History: Why Do People Fight? The Causes of the Civil War [Pdf] Website")
Digital History
Digital History: Why Do People Fight? The Causes of the Civil War [Pdf]
Throughout the years since the end of the Civil War, historians have been weighing in on the causes of that terrible time in the history of the United States. Interpretations have changed over the generations. Read the questions that...
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: The Civil War: A War of Resources
The North won the Civil War in large part due to its superior resources. For this lesson students will learn the difference between capital resources, human capital, and natural resources. They will investigate and compare the resources...
Siteseen
Siteseen: Civil Conflict: Cost of the Civil War
Discussion of the cost of the Civil War which is estimated at 15.5 billion dollars. Provides a chart detailing the cost to the North and the South with statistics and facts about the population, the number of soldiers, and the number of...
University of North Carolina
Documenting the South: Robert Stiles, 1836 1905: Four Years Under Marse Robert
This site from the University of North Carolina contains the actual text of "Four Years Under Marse Robert" from the memoirs of a Confederate soldier.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Before Brother Fought Brother
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...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The War Behind the Lines
The battlegrounds were not the only places affected by the Civil War. Read about how both the North and South carried out foreign diplomacy, the effect of the war on the economies of the two sides, and how the role of women in both the...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Under the Rebel Flag: Dissent: Those Who Disagreed
As part of a larger site about life in Texas during the Civil War is this article about those who disagreed with Texas' joining the Confederacy. Read about the price paid by the estimated 30 per cent who dissented.
University of North Carolina
Documenting the American South: A Soldier's Recollections
This 'Documenting the American South' site from the University of North Carolina provides the full 326 page text (HTML file) of Randolph McKim's "A Soldier's Recollections" that describe his experiences and observations during his...
University of North Carolina
Unc: First Person Narratives of the American South
A unique collection of first-person accounts, this concentrates on all the populations of the South, such as ex-slaves, enlisted men, middle-class women, displaced plantation owners. The works are sorted by the author's name. To search...
University of Virginia
Virginia Center for Digital History: The Valley of the Shadow
This is a must-have site for the study of the Civil War. Students will have access to primary documents from many sources, including: census and veteran records, letters and diaries, newspapers, and church records. This Project explores...
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: Civil War, 1861 1865
A series of maps showing important campaigns and regions of the American Civil War (1861-1865). The maps show important cities and towns, railroads and campaign routes, terrain and coastal features, and rivers. The maps include (1)...
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...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Dred Scott Decision
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...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Richard Wright, a black boy living in the Jim Crow South, travels north in hopes of escaping the violence and prejudice that rules his childhood. Selected (8) reading passages (grades7-12) to pair with "Black Boy" by Richard Wright....
Siteseen
Siteseen: Civil Conflict: Union Blockade
Explains what the Union Blockade was, also known as the Anaconda Plan. Describes its purpose, how it began, its location, how the North built up its navy, how the Confederacy fought back against the Union Blockade, the positions taken by...