Part of a unit on the Civil War and Reconstruction, this section provides an overview of the formation of the Confederacy and subsequent secession of states in the South.

Twenty-seven university-level lectures on the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. Available in audio, video, or text format.

Propaganda was practiced by both the Union and Confederacy. Read the many ways propaganda was used both officially and unofficially. From "The Civil War and Reconstruction" by Randall and Donald.

A collection of primary sources that explore women in the Civil War.

An overview of how Texas fared in the Civil War and during Reconstruction. Includes links to related videos and lesson plans.

[Free Registration/Login Required] In the Civil War and Reconstruction unit, students engage in contentious historiographic debates about the period: Was Lincoln a racist? Was Reconstruction a success or failure? Was John Brown a...

A comprehensive 36-page history of the Civil War in Texas. Includes numerous images, maps, primary documents, profiles of leading figures, a timeline, and information about battles. Specific topics are addressed, such as the cotton...

This collection of primary sources explore northern draft riots that occurred during the Civil War.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about four Civil War generals: Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson, and William Tecumseh Sherman. A question sheet is available to help students build skills...

This is a collection of 29 Grade-Leveled texts (6-12)on the topic The Civil War. The American Civil War lasted for only 5 years but divided the country along bitter lines as the North fought to keep southern states from seceding from the...

Overview of the new political patterns which developed as a result of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

CommonLit.org is a wonderful resource to use in a Language Arts classroom. Each text is accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. In addition, students can click on words to see the...

An activity guide where students refer to the Texas Almanac, which is free to download, for information needed to complete assigned tasks. In this lesson, students examine the Secession, the Civil War, and Reconstruction to learn how...

A teacher guide designed to support a visit to the Bullock Museum, but can be used on its own using available resources. Includes information, discussion questions, activities, and worksheets. This module looks at Texas from the time of...

Encyclopedia entries of the significant people, places, and events that occurred in Alabama during the Civil War and the period immediately following, including the Battle of Mobile Bay and Confederate naval operations in the state.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the Battle of Gettysburg and President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

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...

Select any US state to learn about how the Civil War affected the agriculture and economy of that state.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about Fort Sumter and the beginning of the Civil War. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

After the Civil War, there was some impetus to modernize the South's economy to make it more industrialized and less agrarian. It never gained traction while sharecropping and tenant farming did, ensuring the persistence of rural...

This is a brief summary of how the Civil War affected the Northern states. It has just a small mention of the North's industrial nature, but you can link to first-person accounts of what it was like to live in the North during Southern...

An overview of Reconstruction provided by the University of Houston. Provides images and the political climate that occurred during this part of American History.

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...

This collection uses primary sources to compare and explore the relationships between Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln.