This collection uses primary sources to explore the Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

This site titled, "From Revolution to Reconstruction," provides excerpts from the text of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, part of the Compromise of 1850.

A learning module that begins with "Margaret Garner: Defying the Fugitive Slave Act" by Levi Coffin, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...

This collection uses primary sources to explore the Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Set includes an overview, primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide.

Fifth graders will understand the Fugitive Slave Act and its significance, especially as it relates to the Underground Railroad.

What would your life be like if you had to always be running from people who wanted to capture you and make you their slave? The following documents tell the story of William and Ellen Craft who fled from slavery in 1848. View the...

See why the Fugitive Slave Act was such a contentious, divisive law that exacerbated tensions between North and South.

A learning module that begins with "Fugitive Slave Act of 1793" by The United States Congress, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...

This activity includes primary sources from the official records of the U.S. District Court at Boston that tell the story of William and Ellen Craft, a young couple from Macon, GA, who escaped to freedom in Boston in 1848. Students will...

From a chapter on " Troubled Times: the Tumultuous 1850s," this section explains the contested issues that led to the Compromise of 1850 and describes and analyzes the reactions to the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.

Discover interesting facts about the 1793 and 1850 Fugitive Slave Acts that guaranteed the right of an owner to recover an escaped slave.

Describes the events leading up to the start of the American Civil War. Looks at clashes between pro- and anti-slavery groups, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the fight over California, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act,...

A digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves in the period before the American Civil War. In addition, there are historical documents related to slavery. Gives the option of browsing or doing a detailed search....

The extradition of Anthony Burns as a fugitive slave was the most memorable case of the kind that has occurred since the adoption of the Federal Constitution. It was memorable for the place and for the time of its occurrence; the place...

Read about the essential repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which had established which states could be slave and which would be free for thirty years, with the rancorous passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. See who supported it and why,...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Players take on the role of Lucy, a 14-year-old slave in Kentucky. As they navigate her escape and journey to Ohio, they discover that life in the "free" North is dangerous and difficult. In 1850, the...

[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart contains information about the renewed debate over the spread of slavery after the Mexican War. It describes the Wilmot Proviso, popular sovereignty, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive...

The Compromise of 1850 attempted to settle sectional disagreements about slavery in the volatile pre-Civil War period. The compromise, actually a series of bills, had an enormous impact on the nation's slow march to civil war. See...

Using primary source documents as evidence, students will create an annotated illustration depicting the situation among textile merchants in New York City while deciding in what ways do personal values influence business decisions.

Descriptions of fugitive slave communities in Canada and comments from those who escaped to these locations as well as welcoming statements to fugitive slaves in the mid-nineteenth century.

Students will examine several documents related to the life of Solomon Northup, whose life story is told in his autobiography Twelve Years a Slave: Narrative of Solomon Northup, a Citizen of New-York, Kidnapped in Washington City in 1841...

Slave narratives were an effective tool to spread information about what slavery was really like. Perhaps the most widely read literature about slavery happened to be written by a white woman, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Read about the impact...

Examine the causes of the Civil War using primary source documents. This lesson plan gives background on the Civil War, includes a timeline, and a bibliography for further reading. Primary source documents include music, newspapers,...

Selected (11) reading passages (grades 7-11) to pair with the autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass. Frederick Douglass recounts his experiences as a slave in Maryland, and his treatment at the...