The Newberry Library
Newberry Library and Chicago History Museum: Lincoln at 200
This is resource provides information which allows users to examine key aspects of Lincoln's life and legacy, such as the circumstances of his birth, his views on slavery, and his assassination.
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...
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.
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...
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
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source: Underground Railroad Fugitive Slave Act 1850
This collection uses primary sources to explore the Underground Railroad and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: The Kansas Nebraska Act and Party Realignment
Learn about the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Passed in 1854, it reopened the debate over the expansion of slavery in the United States.
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...
Other
Genealogy Trails History Group: Delaware and Slavery
A brief look at slavery in Delaware and the state's decision to remain in the Union during the Civil War.
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...
Other
After Slavery Project: Race, Labor and Politics in Post Emancipation Carolinas
This site is a collaborative work-in-progress involving a team of four scholars based in the US, Ireland and the UK. It consists of ten learning units on topics revolving around the emancipation of slaves in the American South following...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: A War to End Slavery: Gettysburg, Vicksburg and Children at War [Pdf]
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that takes students through an investigation of two key battles of the Civil War--Vicksburg and Gettysburg. Students determine why these battles...
University of Oregon
Mapping History Project: Slavery in the American South: 1790 1860
Watch this interactive map to see the spread and concentration of slavery in the South from 1790 to the eve of the Civil War Click on the map to begin. The timeline at the bottom indicates the year. Be sure to access the key. Shockwave...
Other
American Girl: Addy, a Courageous Girl
Meet Addy, a character in the American Girl series, and learn about her courageous struggle over slavery during the Civil War through this collection of stories, games, and activities. Also, includes teacher guide and worksheets.
Virginia Historical Society
Virginia Historical Society: Waging War: The Battlefront: Men of Color to Arms?
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...
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: William H. Holland
Read a brief bio on William H. Holland, a man born into slavery who not only fought in the Civil War but also involved in politics and working to advance African Americans during the Reconstruction. Read about some of his work as a Texas...
American Battlefield Trust
American Battlefield Trust: Civil War Biography: Frederick Douglass
Biographical profile of Frederick Douglass is shared on this site. Links provide related lesson plans, connected texts, and content about other abolitionists.
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
Binghamton University: Lincoln, Labor and Liberation
The free labor ideology of the nineteenth century was grounded in the beliefs that Northern free labor was superior to Southern slave labor. It was this free labor ideology and not the republicanism of the Revolutionary War era that...