Curated OER
Etc: Slavery and Slave Trade, 1830 1850
A map of the United States during the period of 1850 to 1850 showing the effects of slavery, the slave trade, and the abolition movement on territorial development. The map uses colored patterns to indicate the areas and phases of...
Curated OER
Etc: Slavery and the Slave Trade, 1830 1850
A map of the United States during the period of 1850 to 1850 showing the effects of slavery, the slave trade, and the abolition movement on territorial development. The map uses colored patterns to indicate the areas and phases of...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: James Forten
Learn about the life of James Forten, who was a successful inventor, businessman, abolitionist and social activist in the early years of the United States.
Emory University
Lewis H. Beck Center: Child, Lydia: How a Kentucky Girl Emancipated Her Slaves
Download the full text to Lydia Maria Child's "How a Kentucky Girl Emancipated Her Slaves." This account of a woman who freed her slaves was originally written by Lydia Child in 1862 and published in The New York Tribune.
Other
Alton, Illinois: Elijah Parish Lovejoy
Biography on minister, journalist, and anti-slavery spokesperson Elijah Lovejoy, who was killed by a mob when he was 34. This well written bio focuses on the events on the night of his death.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Letter to President Abraham Lincoln From Annie Davis
Students 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...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Literature: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
This is the text and audio of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an anti-slavery novel published in 1852, that was said to "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War." It was the best-selling novel of the 19th...
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Dred Scott v. Sandford
This site from the Encyclopedia Wikipedia provides information on the Dred Scott case, as it progressed through the Missouri state court, the Federal court system, and the appeal that went to the Supreme Court.
British Library
British Library: Abolitionist Campaigners
A collection of short biographies of individuals who were involved in the anti-slave trade movement in England during the late 18th and 19th centuries.
Other
Ithaca High School Social Studies Department: Plans for Reconstruction
A great chart comparing Lincoln's and Johnson's reconstruction plans with the plans offered by the Radical Republicans.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Library: Abolitionism in America: Introduction
The introduction of an extensive website from the Cornell University Library, which includes text, documents, and other primary sources in an examination of the anti-slavery movement known as abolitionism.
Penguin Publishing
Penguin Random House: "Frederick Douglass American Slave" [Pdf]
Teacher guide for Douglass's biography features 24 pages of chapter-by-chapter study questions, quotations, and activities. Valuable post-reading activities as well as methods for eliciting student responses also included. This is a .pdf...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Beginnings of the Movement: Abolition and Early Women's Rights Movement
How was the anti-slavery movement tightly connected with women's right to vote? Explore the efforts of women abolitionists, who realized that "the injustice they wanted to remedy for blacks also applied to women." Primary texts at this...
National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame: Lucretia Mott
The National Women's Hall of Fame offers a brief biography on the life of Quaker abolitionist and women's rights advocate, Lucretia Mott.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Library: I Will Be Heard: Spreading the Word
See how the use of posters and other sensational graphics spread the anti-slavery message.
National Women's Hall of Fame
National Women's Hall of Fame: Sara Grimke
Read about the life and accomplishments of abolitionists Angelina Grimke and Sarah Grimke, important political figures in the anti-slavery movement.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Underground Railroad
This PBS site provides a general history of the Underground Railroad, including a focus on notable participants or "conductors." Click on Teacher's Guide for teacher resources.
Digital History
Digital History: Radical Reform and Antislavery
Find a comprehensive history of the anti-slavery movement and how it fit into the larger reform movements of the first half of the 19th century.
Curated OER
Etc: Maps Etc: The Slavery Prohibition Compromise of 1850, 1850
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...
Yale University
Yale University: Open Yale Courses: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1845 77
Twenty-seven university-level lectures on the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. Available in audio, video, or text format.
Kansas Historical Society
Willing to Die for Freedom: Look Back at Kansas Territory
This online exhibit teaches you about "Bleeding Kansas." Follow the hyperlinks to obtain a wealth of information.
National Geographic
National Geographic: The Underground Railroad: Routes to Freedom
Map with Underground Railroad routes and text.
Stephen Byrne
History for Kids: North American History
History reference page for elementary students provides an overview of early American history from the age of Columbus through the Civil War and abolition of slavery. Includes links to teacher resources.