Read reconstructions of debates by delegates to the Constitutional Convention as they attempted to come to terms with slavery, the slave trade, and how to address the issue in the Constitution so all states would be willing to ratify it....

What a wonderful resource for researching the attempts to solve the issue of slavery prior to the Civil War, and the eventual ratification of the 13th Amendment. Find a timeline of legislation limiting the spread of slavery from 1787...

This lesson looks at the issue of slavery and the role it played in the American Revolution and the founding of the new Republic. Includes background information for the teacher. Students participate in performing a reader's theater...

Article describes the sectional issues present in America between 1815 and 1860, including tariffs, banking, and the divisive issue of slavery.

Article outlines the issues of debate over slavery and the compromises made while writing the Constitution.

The Licoln-Douglas debates pitted two great speakers who were espousing different courses for the country in regard to the issue of slavery. Read a snopsis of their seven debates and see what four major issues they debated. [pdf]

Read the arguments for and against giving reparations to today's African Americans to atone for the slavery their ancestors endured in 18th and 19th century America. Also included are results from a poll conducted by the magazine, Black...

The Compromise of 1850 did not solve all the slavery issues in the territories, which was not surprising. Read about the Kansas-Nebraska Act, put forth by Sen. Stephan Douglas, who proposed that the issue be decided by popular...

A brief look at the declaration of independence from Mexico by Texas in 1836, the removal of restrictions on slavery, and how this dramatically increased the population and led to a much greater reliance on the cotton industry in the...

Harriet Beecher Stowe threw gas on the fire of the slavery issue with the publication of her novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Read about her background as an abolitionist, and find out the influence her book had in the North and even in Great...

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...

Presents key ideas for examining the events and issues that led to the American Civil War.

Examines the circumstances surrounding Texas's entry into the Union in 1845 as a slave state. It was an uneasy union, with ongoing controversy around the issue of slavery. This lasted through the Mexican-American War and helped to...

A good look at the issues debated about the admission of new states, particularly those that would be made from the Louisiana Purchase. Read about why the issue of allowing slavery in the new states was such a hard decision for Congress....

A sample lesson plan covering the sectionalism and problems facing the nation in its debate on slavery in the 1850s.

This site is from a unit called 'Writing the US Constitution.' It looks at the documents that preceded the Constitution, and the major issues that were debated while the Constitution was being created.

For nineteen-year-old Celia, a slave on a Missouri farm, five years of being repeatedly raped by her middle-aged owner was enough. On the night of June 23, 1855, she would later tell a reporter, "the Devil got into me" and Celia fatally...

The initial source for links to all aspects of the Buchanan presidency, including information on his cabinet, domestic policy and foreign policy. From the Miller Center.

Here is the beginning point of all information about Zachary Taylor's presidency. From University of Virginia.

View authentic certificates of freedom for John and Mary Jones issued in 1844.

This site presents audio and video clips of an interview with Dr. Stephen B. Oates conducted at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park on June 30, 1994. Dr. Oates comments on John Brown's impact upon the nation with regard to the slavery...

A map of the United States and territories at the time of the slavery prohibition issue in 1850, after the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The map is color-coded to show the areas where slavery was prohibited by State Law, slavery was...

A map of California, the Utah Territory, and the New Mexico Territory in 1850 showing the effect of the Compromise of 1850, a series of bills intending to settle the issue of slavery and abolition raised in the territories after the...

Read about the concept of popular sovereignty in relation to issue of expansion of slavery in the territories. It was not as simple as it seemed. Find out about how the issue of slavery was addressed in the election of 1848. Included is...