In this interactive lesson plan, 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.

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...

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.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An article that discusses the 13-15th amendments and their impact on social history.

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...

This mini-lesson 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. Young scholars learn about the impact of the Court's decision, and how...

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...

The Dred Scott case decided that African Americans were not citizens of the United States. However, 18 years later they would have citizenship and many other rights. Students will examine the following documents to understand how and why...

In this tutorial, students look at how the Civil War ended and the impact on the North and the South and on the future of the United States. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution are also examined for how they came...

A look at how Andrew Johnson tried to carry out Lincoln's plan for reconstruction. Read onto the second page to find out how the congressional plan thwarted Johnson and was much more punitive.

A great chart comparing Lincoln's and Johnson's reconstruction plans with the plans offered by the Radical Republicans.

Describes what the South was like after the Civil War ended. Many places were in ruins and people were desperately poor with many being homeless. Social structures had collapsed now that slaves had been freed. The Reconstruction era...

Learn about the Dred Scott decision and why it changed the course of American history even though many now consider it the worst opinion ever rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Includes full-page scans of the decision, a transcription,...

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...

Discusses what life was like for African Americans who were freed from slavery after the Civil War. Includes questions for students.

Check out this interactive timeline of the history of freedom from slavery in the United States.