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Activity
Library of Congress

Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Fugitive Slave Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
From the time of its publication, Uncle Tom's Cabin has been controversial. To better understand the debate, class members first examine a broadside decrying the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and then two newspaper reviews of the novel...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Oh Freedom! Sought Under the Fugitive Slave Act

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
Using the harrowing story of the Crafts, a couple enslaved in the South who escaped to freedom, young historians trace the story of the Fugitive Slave Act. After examining documents, including affidavits and arrest warrants for the...
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Worksheet
Reading Through History

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
Why was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 so important? The reading in the resource discusses how the act affected Southerners, Northerners, and the slaves themselves. Scholars complete the reading as a form of direct instruction while...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Underground Railroad (Fugitive Slave Act of 1850)

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read and discuss the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. They listen to the story of Reverend John Rankin, a reverend who openly broke the law to help free escape. They evaluate and debate the morality or immorality of breaking the...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

The Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Escaping Enslaved people attempting to escape didn't need a ticket to ride on the Underground Railroad. Here is a packet of primary sources that reveal the kind of courage and determination they did need to face the challenges to gain...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Running for Freedom: The FUgitive Slave law and the Coming of the Civil War

For Teachers 8th - 10th
In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

Fugitive Slave Act and Western Expansion

For Students 8th - 12th
In this U.S. history worksheet, students read articles about the Fugitive Slave Act and Western expansion. Students then respond to 14 short answer questions regarding the articles.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students take a closer look at the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. In this slavery lesson, students examine an image and read excerpts from Uncle Tom's Cabin as well as the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Students discuss their analysis of the...
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Lesson Plan
Alabama Department of Archives and History

Runaway Slaves in Alabama: Individual Freedom Fighters in the 1800s

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Class pairs examine eight runaway slave advertisements from the mid-1800s to develop an understanding of the conditions slaves faced and of race relations.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular Sovereignty and the Political Polarization over Slavery

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Why did Stephen Douglas support the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854? Why did Abraham Lincoln oppose it? Young historians examine how the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 affected the political balance between free and slave states and explore how...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Landmarks of the Underground Railroad

For Teachers 9th
Ninth graders explore the impact of the Underground Railroad. In this slavery lesson, 9th graders read about the Shadrach Minkins case and discuss the details of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Students consider how the Underground...
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Interactive
DocsTeach

Twelve Years a Slave

For Teachers 8th - 12th
It's difficult to truly grasp the effects of slavery. Young historians use historical analysis to understand the struggle of slavery on African Americans. The resource provides text from the autobiography Twelve Years a Slave to help...
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Activity
Digital Public Library of America

Beloved by Toni Morrison

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Any classroom study of Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Beloved requires careful planning and scaffolding. A primary source set that includes a video, illustrations, photos of artifacts, and a broadside of the Fugitive Slave...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Underground Railroad Before and After the Fugitive Slave Law

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students consider the impact of the Fugitive Slave Law on the activity of the Underground Railroad. In this slavery lesson, students examine primary documents that describe the role of the Underground Railroad during the fight for...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

Slavery and Civil Disobedience: Christiana Riot of 1851

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
When is it a moral obligation to disobey the law or to fight back? Using primary sources that document the "Christiana Riot" of 1851, learners consider these questions. The firsthand accounts tell the story of the riot, which happened...
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Lesson Plan
American Evolution

Virginia Runaway Slave Ads

For Students 11th - 12th Standards
What does an ad reveal about a culture, or about the values of its intended audience? Class members examine a series of runaway slave ads—one of which was written by Thomas Jefferson—and consider what these primary source documents...
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Lesson Plan
Center for History Education

The Untold Story: The Black Struggle for Freedom during the Revolutionary War in Maryland

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The American Revolution brought freedom to select groups and ignored others. An enlightening resource highlights the struggle of African Americans during the American Revolution and their efforts to escape slavery. Scholars analyze...
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PPT
Curated OER

The Antebellum South

For Teachers 8th - 11th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fugitive from Labor Cases:

For Teachers 9th - 12th
High schoolers 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.
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Activity
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Harriet Beecher Stowe Sends Uncle Tom’s Cabin to Victoria and Albert, 1852

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Levi Coffin on Trial

For Teachers 4th - 6th
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
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Unit Plan
Southern Poverty Law Center

Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Underground Railroad Newspaper

For Teachers 3rd
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,...
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Lesson Plan
Heritage Foundation

Slavery and the Constitution

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
It's hard to believe the abolition movement was once seen as scandalous. Help learners understand how the US Constitution changed everything. A variety of activities such as corresponding reading activities, group work ideas, and...

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