Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Harriet Beecher Stowe Sends Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Victoria and Albert, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe's plea for abolition is not only laid plain in her acclaimed novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, but in her written correspondence as well. High schoolers read a letter written by Stowe to Prince Albert and Queen Victoria to...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery
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...
Curated OER
The Antebellum South
Your history students will be on the edges of their seats during this fascinating presentation, which details the abolition movement and slave life during the Antebellum period in the American South. Students will be left agape at the...
C3 Teachers
Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Can Words Lead to War?
"Words, words, words." Despite Hamlet's opinion, words can be significant. In this inquiry lesson, middle schoolers learn how the words in Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, in the view of many, lead to the American Civil War. To...
Digital Public Library of America
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin has generated controversy since its publication in 1852. Here is a set of 12 primary sources that capture the controversies of the times while adding dimension and depth to any study of...
Curated OER
Step into the Painting: Social Studies, Literature, and Art
Travel back in American history to the era of slavery and abolition. After reading about the Underground Railroad, young historians examine a painting depicting the event, and write a narrative from the point of view of a person in the...
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
Those "Other Rights:" The Constitution and Slavery
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...
Curated OER
Fugitive from Labor Cases:
Students examine the cases of Henry Garnett and Moses Honner, both of the 1850s. Students analyze the political climate building up to the Civil War through the lens of these similar cases with different outcomes.
Livaudais-Baker English Classroom
Kindred Unit Project
To conclude a unit study of Octavia E. Butler's Kindred, groups use MovieMaker or the class website to publish an original story about slavery in America. The detailed project assignment sheet includes a list of possible topics,...
Curated OER
The Civil War: A Nation Divided
Discuss the differences between the North and the South and how those differences led to the Civil War. Middle schoolers examine and analyze a famous speech or writing by President Lincoln in order to better understand the speaker's...
Curated OER
Underground Railroad Newspaper
Third graders write an Underground Railroad Newspaper. In this writing lesson students collaborate with their classmates to create an Underground Newspaper. Students each write a different portion of the paper: ads, feature articles,...
Curated OER
The Underground Railroad
Students explore the Underground Railroad routes. In this map skills and Civil War lesson, students use map and globe reading vocabulary and skills to track the routes the slaves followed from the Bahamas to the United States and from...
Civil War Trust
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Through a careful reading and examination of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, scholars take part in grand conversations about the novel's contents, slavery, and the impact the book had on it. Furthermore,...
Scholastic
Harriet Tubman: Moses of Her People
Who was Harriet Tubman, and what was her place on the Underground Railroad? Recall the bravery and achievements of this extraordinary figure with a short, engaging informational text and crossword puzzle.
Curated OER
Levi Coffin on Trial
Students are introduced to Quaker beliefs about slavery and actual statements of conviction about slavery by Levi Coffin. They explore the federal laws about returning escaped slaves, specifically the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Curated OER
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Students read the novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and explain public attitudes towards slavery in 19th century America.
Curated OER
The Underground Railroad as an Act of Civil Disobedience
Students write an essay from rough draft to final copy about the Underground Railroad. Civil disobedience is researched from a variety of sources. There is a prewriting exercise that is included in the lesson. The whole writing process...
Curated OER
Timeline of Compromises over Slavery
In this primary source analysis worksheet, students read excerpts of the Preamble, the Constitution, and the Fugitive Slave Act, the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Crittenden Compromise....
US National Archives
Documented Rights Educational Lesson Plan
How have groups struggled to have their unalienable rights recognized in the United States? Acting as a research team for the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, your young historians will break into groups to research...
Curated OER
The Underground Railroad
Students discuss how slaves fought against their situation and how did they escape. They discover what the Underground Railroad was and how it slaves used it to reach freedom. They then play a game focusing on the Underground Railroad in...
Curated OER
The Civil War 1850–1865
In this online interactive history worksheet, students respond to 10 short answer questions about the American Civil War. Students may check some of their answers on the interactive worksheet.
Curated OER
1856-1865: Abolitionists and the Civil War
Students explore the concept of philanthropy. In this abolition lesson, students watch "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and discuss the philanthropic acts they witnessed in the film. Students also complete an activity that requires them to determine...
Curated OER
History of the Americas: Causes of the Civil War
In this American Civil War activity, students read assigned textbook pages about the causes of the war and then respond to 35 short answer questions about how the war began.
Curated OER
Who Got Away? 18th Century Runaway Slaves
Students read runaway slave advertisements while completing a chart to determine whether slaves successfully escaped. In this US history lesson plan, students must research the Virginia Runaways Digital Project and use the given links to...