This 3rd grade unit introduces children to the history of segregation, from the end of the Civil War in 1865 through the 1940s. Its content bridges the period between slavery and the peak of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and...

Article reviews several conditions of American society that sowed the seeds of civil war, particularly slavery and sectional conflict.

A map of slavery's end during the American Civil War. It finds patterns in the collapse of southern slavery, mapping the interactions between federal policies, armies in the field, and the actions of enslaved men and women on countless...

A document on Reconstruction written by Fredrick Douglass. He argues particularly for voting rights for blacks as the most necessary step to avoid the kinds of state's rights conflicts that brought about the Civil War.

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.

PBS offers a four-part series on the plight of African Americans from slave days to the end of the Civil War. Resources such as interactive maps, a Resource Bank, and Teacher's Guide are available.

This autobiography of an African-American man relates his experiences as a free laborer in Georgia after the Civil War. You will see that he felt his conditions were not unlike the slavery that existed before the Civil War. From the...

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...

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...

This website was created by faculty, students, and staff to publicly present information about Columbia's historical connections to the institution of slavery. In the decades before the Civil War, Columbia produced only two graduates who...

Online exhibit of primary source documents related to the 13th Amendment after the Civil War and the end to slavery.

A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that examines the factors that led John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Lincoln. Also involves comparing and contrasting Lincoln's and Andrew...

A sobering look at the life of the plantation slave in the decades before the Civil War. Read about the malnutrition, severe treatment, and inadequate living conditions.

This website was created by faculty, students, and staff to publicly present information about Columbia's historical connections to the institution of slavery. Like most northern colleges, Columbia admitted no black students before the...

Biographical profile of Frederick Douglass is shared on this site. Links provide related lesson plans, connected texts, and content about other abolitionists.

Eastman Johnson focused his art on the status of race in the United States right about the time of the American Civil War. View his picture "A Ride for Liberty-The Fugitive Slaves" that depicts slaves crossing battlefields from the...

When the war began, many African Americans - North and South - volunteered to serve as soldiers. The vast majority were former slaves who sought to strike at slavery and improve their position in society. Desperate to avert defeat, the...

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 discusses the connection between Columbia's faculty to slavery....

Interactive and animated maps and timelines of historical events and time periods in American history from pre-European times until post-World War II.

A good look at the views of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania just prior to and during the Civil War. Read about Democratic president from Pennsylvania, James Buchanan, and his views about the importance of slavery in the national...

Use this interactive lesson to practice evaluating evidence from primary sources in order to draw conclusions about a historical event. In this particular case, the event is the Civil War. The challenge is to decide for yourself which of...

This lesson traces the rise of Abraham Lincoln from his humble beginnings to the presidency of the United States. You will examine Lincoln's ideas and decisions regarding slavery and the use of the presidential power to preserve the...

A very brief overview of the Civil War, the casualties, and the horrific social and economic effects across the nation. Included is a map that shows when each Southern state seceded from the Uniion.

This page from Afgen.com contains the address delivered to the colored people at Galesburg, Illinois, 1867 by Robert G. Ingersoll. It emphasizes the rights of blacks as a result of the Civil War and Ingersoll encourages African-Americans...