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...

How the Kansas-Nebraska Act created Bleeding Kansas is complicated—until scholars research and examine documents from the time. After completing activities that include mapping, photo, document analysis, and discussion, learners...

Students determine how states were identified as slave states or free states. In this Kansas-Nebraska Act lesson, students explore the work of Eli Thayer as well as the work of Thayer's supporters in Massachusetts.

Students read selections from the Declaration of Independence, Northwest Ordinance of 1787, and the Wilmot Proviso of 1846. They contrast the maps of 1820 and 1854 to analyze developments in the national debate over slavery. They...

Students explore the causes of the Civil War. In this instructional activity on slavery students use primary sources to examine the evolution of the issue of  slavery and in the American political system. Students will then write a...

Students examine sectionalism. In this sectionalism lesson, students explore reasons sectionalism developed. Students realize the conflicts that led to the Civil War and how sectionalism affected citizens on the border of Kansas and...

Fourth graders examine both perspectives of the Civil War as related to the differing economies. In this nation divided instructional activity, 4th graders view primary sources, examine paper money and a political chart, and review...