PBS
Pbs: Slave to Sharecropper
This collection of resources examines the life and work of freed slaves after the Civil War. Includes questions and answers on sharecropping in the American South, as well as a personal account from a former slave who became a sharecropper.
Henry J. Sage
Sage American History: Reconstruction & Civil Rights
Following the Civil War in the United States came an era of reconstruction. The men and women who were freed from slavery were suddenly stuck trying to sort out all of the freedoms as well as new responsibilities they were facing. The...
Other
Student Historical Journal 1984 1985: Women's Rights Before the Civil War [Pdf]
Read an overview of the pre-Civil War women's rights movement in a student essay in an historical journal from Loyola University. Find out about specific activists prominent during this time period and learn about their attempts to...
Columbia University
Columbia University: Columbia University & Slavery the Civil War Era
This website was created by faculty, students, and staff to publicly present information about Columbia's historical connections to the institution of slavery. This article centers on Columbia University during the Civil War. Not all...
Department of Defense
Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 4: A House Divided
This extensive learning module examines how the United States became more connected with the world as it pursued an expansionist foreign policy, became the destination for many new immigrants, and encouraged migration to the Pacific...
Digital History
Digital History: Pre Civil War South
A comprehensive look at the economy of the South and the changes brought by the cotton gin. Read through five pages that discuss the economy, the tradition of the plantation, and the sectionalism that arises in this time period.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: The 1860s: The Civil War and the End of Slavery
What is the origin of the Texas holiday Juneteenth? Here is a brief article on how this day is connected to the Emancipation Proclamation and the freeing of slaves in the South.
Columbia University
Columbia University: Columbia University & Slavery Post 1865: Faculty and Admin
After the Civil War concluded in 1865 and the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery, Columbia University's faculty members shaped historical interpretations of slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, as well as scientific theories...
Other
Chickasaw History
Learn about the history of the Chickasaw from pre-contact time up to the 20th century. Describes in detail their interactions with Europeans throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, including their role in supporting the Confederacy...
Other
Alabama.gov: Reconstruction
Learn facts about life in the state of Alabama after the Civil War.
US Department of State
Bureau of International Information Programs: History Outline: Sectionalism
Article reviews several conditions of American society that sowed the seeds of civil war, particularly slavery and sectional conflict.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery and the Making of America: Slave Responses to Enslavement
Using primary documents, oral histories, and other historical resources, learn how African Americans responded to enslavement prior to the Civil War. Includes interactive exercise.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: Harriet Tubman
This article overviews Harriet Tubman's involvement with the Underground Railroad, her service in the military during the Civil War, and her fight as an activist for African-American and women's rights.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Landmark Decisions
This site details the controversial issues regarding slavery and the effects they had on the Civil War amendments as well as on the fifth amendment. The site discusses events such as the Dred Scott case, the addition of the Civil War...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Reconstruction
This wonderful unit from Annenberg Media examines Reconstruction through three themes: reintegrating the former Confederate states in to the Union; the freedom of blacks and what that entailed socially and economically; and the economic...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: History of Us: Fatal Contradiction: Missouri Compromise [Pdf]
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that examines the goal of the Missouri Compromise. A good lesson for comparing and contrasting life in the North and South in the run-up to the...
US National Archives
Nara: Charters of Freedom: End of Slavery in the United States: 13th Amendment
Online exhibit of primary source documents related to the 13th Amendment after the Civil War and the end to slavery.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Abolishing Slavery: Efforts of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln
A learning module that begins with "Abolishing Slavery: The Efforts of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln" by Mike Kubic, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be...
Library of Congress
Loc: African American Odyssey: Reconstruction and Its Aftermath
From the Library of Congress, this resource documents the course of post-Civil War, post-slavery life for black Americans. Topics include education, constitutional amendments, voting rights and the many challenges African Americans faced...
University of Virginia
Virginia Center for Digital History: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia
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....
Other
American Anthropological Association: 1800 1850s: Expansion of Slavery in the Us
Outlines the political events prior to the Civil War as the United States expanded its territories to include new states and conflicts arose over the issue of slavery.
Other
Understanding Race: Society: 1800 1850s: Resisting Slavery
An overview of slave revolts and abolitionist efforts during the first half of the nineteenth century, leading up until the Civil War. Read about the Underground Railroad, the colonization movement, and various anti-slavery books.
National Women’s History Museum
National Women's History Museum: Harriet Tubman
Learn about Harriet Tubman, the first African American woman to serve in the military who escaped enslavement and helped others reach freedom During the Civil War.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: Ap Us History Study Guide, Period Five: 1844 1877
[Free Registration/Login Required] Advanced Placement U.S. History learning module on Civil War era America and the transformation of society, 1844-1877. Comprehensive study tools include videos, essays, primary source documents, and...