Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Thirteenth Amendment
Annenberg Classroom resource provides text of the 13th Amendment with an explanation of what it means. Links to related resources.
Other
Karpeles: Emancipation Proclamation Amendment to the Constitution
A copy and transcription of the 13th Amendment which ended slavery. The sidebar gives a brief overview of emancipation and what led to this amendment.
South Carolina Educational Television
Know It All: Reconstruction Amendments
Fifth graders will complete research on one of the Reconstruction amendments then create a project demonstrating their knowledge of that particular amendment as if they are supporting that amendment during the era it was created. Their...
US Government Publishing Office
U.s. Government Publishing Office: Thirteenth Amendment [Pdf]
Complete text of the thirteenth amendment of the United States Constitution.
US National Archives
National Archives: Letter to President Abraham Lincoln From Annie Davis
"Will you please let me know if I am free?" wrote Annie Davis. Annie Davis was a slave who wrote this letter to President Lincoln 20 months after the Emancipation Proclamation. To understand her confusion, examine the following documents...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: The Reconstruction Amendments
[Free Registration/Login Required] An article that discusses the 13-15th amendments and their impact on social history.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Reconstruction Amendments
In this interactive lesson, students will understand and explain the key provisions of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, commonly referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: u.s. Constitution: Thirteenth Amendment
Presents the Thirteenth Amendment - Slavery and Involuntary Servitude, which abolished slavery and forced servitude in the United States. Includes four annotations to the Amendment.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: u.s. Constitution: Thirteenth Amendment
This source provides the Thirteenth Amendment as it is worded in the U.S. Constitution. At the bottom of the page are annotations with links to information about the abolition of slavery, origin and purpose of the amendment, peonage, and...
Curated OER
Passge of the 13th Amendment
Passge of the 13th amendment. Scene in the House on the passage of the proposition to amend the Constitution, January 31, 1865.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: A House Divided: Slavery and the Civil War [Pdf]
In this lesson plan, 8th graders look at how slavery contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War, at Abraham Lincoln's efforts to save the Union, and at what impact the Emancipation Proclamation had on the North's view of the war....
iCivics
I Civics: Games: Do I Have a Right?
Play this game from iCivics that requires an understanding and application of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and a few other amendments to argue and win cases the clients bring into the law firm. There...
Ducksters
Ducksters: Holidays for Kids: National Freedom Day
Kids learn about National Freedom Day. This site discusses the history and facts about this holiday which commemorates the 13th amendment.
iCivics
I Civics: Civil War & Reconstruction
The Civil War and Reconstruction Era brought about the end of slavery and the expansion of civil rights to African Americans through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Compare the Northern and Southern states, discover the concepts of...
iCivics
I Civics: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
This mini-instructional activity covers the basics of the Supreme Court decision that determined that Dred Scott, having lived in a free territory, was not entitled to his freedom. Students learn about the impact of the Court's decision,...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Letter to President Abraham Lincoln From Annie Davis
Learners will study a letter from Annie Davis, a woman who was enslaved in Maryland and wrote a letter to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War to find out if 'we are free.' The students will decide if she received her freedom...
Other
Basd: Reconstruction [Pdf]
A very clear document outlining the various reconstruction plans, the problems for both whites and blacks during Reconstruction, and the amendments added concerning the abolition of slavery, civil rights, and suffrage. Requires Adobe...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Citizens: African American Identity: 1865 1917
Discusses the efforts of African Americans to be recognized as equal citizens after the Civil War, and the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Includes links to supplemental information.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The 1860s: Reconstruction
Here is an article on the Reconstruction, which touches briefly on several issues that arose during this period, specifically in Texas: President Johnson's Reconstruction plan, assimilation and rights of freed slaves, the 13th and 14th...
Other
Historical Boys' Clothing: The American Civil War: Reconstruction
Outlines the major programs of the Reconstruction period after the Civil War, and the discrimination that African Americans faced, such as from the Black Codes and the Ku Klux Klan. Also discusses the amendments made to the Constitution...
US National Archives
Our Documents: A National Initiative on American History, Civics, and Service
Our Documents is home to one hundred milestone documents that influenced that course of American history and American democracy. Includes full-page scans of each document, transcriptions, background information on their significance, and...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery and the Making of America: Freedom & Emancipation
Using primary documents, oral histories and other historical resources, learn about the African American reaction to emancipation and to events from the Reconstruction period following the Civil War.
Mount Holyoke College
Mt. Holyoke: Reconstruction Timeline
Here's a concise timeline that highlights the important facets of reconstruction from the announcement of Abraham Lincoln's reconstruction plans to the end of reconstruction at the election of Rutherford B. Hayes.
Other
University of Delaware: Abraham Lincoln: A Bicentennial Celebration
Commemorating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, this exhibition provides several documents and photographs remembering the President's life. Resources cover his political career, slavery, the civil war and his assassination.