Digital History
Slavery and the Slave Trade
What would it have been like to have heard the debate on the issue of slavery at the Constitutional Convention of 1787? With this resource, you are given the opportunity to read through a reconstruction of speeches on the topic with your...
Heritage Foundation
Slavery and the Constitution
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...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Slavery and the Electoral College
How did slavery mold the creation of the US Constitution? The final lesson in the series focuses on how slavery impacted the creation of the Electoral College. Academics learn how the Electoral College was created because Southern states...
Student Handouts
The Formation of the U.S. Constitution #3
Finish up your study of the United States Constitution with the third resource in a three-part series. Class members respond to three questions that focus on the relationship between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution and...
Curated OER
Lincoln, Emancipation, and the Constitution
Students determine how President Lincoln promoted emancipation. In this slavery lesson, students examine primary documents, including the U.S. Constitution, to reconstruct Lincoln's attempts to end slavery and deliver the Emancipation...
K20 LEARN
Slavery in the Constitution
Young historians may be surprised to learn that the Constitution of the United States includes provisions that protect the institution of slavery. Groups examine four clauses of the Constitution, as well as other primary sources, and...
Southern Poverty Law Center
Teaching Hard History: A Framework for Teaching American Slavery
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...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Slavery and the American Founding: The "Inconsistency Not to Be Excused"
High schoolers examine slavery in the revolutionary and colonial eras of the United States. In this slavery lesson, high schoolers investigate the presence of slavery in early America, the language of the Constitution, and the intent of...
Judicial Learning Center
Civil Rights and Equal Protection
Almost every American is familiar with the Supreme Court case of Brown vs. Board of Education. Far fewer understand the constitutional reasoning or the wide-ranging consequences of the ruling in the field of criminology. The interesting...
DocsTeach
Analyzing a Petition about Slavery
Practice analyzing primary sources in a thought-provoking lesson on the impact of slavery. Young historians read a petition regarding the Fugitive Slave Law and answer a series of questions to understand the importance of the document....
Curated OER
Abraham Lincoln, the 1860 Election, and the Future of the American Union and Slavery
Students examine the political alternatives regarding the spread of slavery and the preservation of the American union facing the American people in the decade leading up to the 1860 presidential election.
Center for History Education
Freedom for All? The Contradictions of Slavery and Freedom in the Maryland Constitution
Freedom for the few! An interesting lesson plan focuses on the Maryland Constitution and its lack of freedom for African Americans. Scholars examine the premise of freedom for all—which only extended to a limited few. Academics...
James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation
Those "Other Rights:" The Constitution and Slavery
Did the United States Constitution uphold the institution of slavery, or did it help to destroy it? Young historians study Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution and evaluate the rights of slaveowners as they compared to...
K12 Reader
Slavery in the Constitution
Your young historians will read excerpts from three parts of the United States Constitution—Article One, the Thirteenth Amendment, and the Fourteenth Amendment—and discuss how they each address the issue of slavery.
Curated OER
Running for Freedom: The FUgitive Slave law and the Coming of the Civil War
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...
Curated OER
Civil War and Reconstruction
Factual statements relevant to the Civil War, Reconstruction, slavery, and the 13th, 14th or 15th Amendments are started on each slide, prompting students to complete the sentence with an important term . There are 32 questions phrased...
Curated OER
Constitutional Amendments And Gay Marriage
Upper graders critically examine the history and process of amending the U.S. Constitution in light of the current issue facing the courts on legalizing gay marriage. They read a variety of articles, watch news clips, and develop a...
Curated OER
Constitutional Amendments and Gay Marriage
High schoolers study the legal battles involving same-sex marriage. They examine primary sources and a video regarding the 14th amendment and its implications for gay marriage. They analyze a report of a California case that was sent to...
Curated OER
Abolitionists and Their Impact on Sectionalism
Eleventh graders examine the impact of Abolitionist leaders on sectionalism. In small groups, they conduct research on a famous abolitionist, and develop and write a newspaper cover page based on their assigned abolitionist.
Curated OER
Reparations for Slavery
Students analyze slavery reparations. In this American history lesson, students examine the pros and cons of paying reparations for slavery and participate in a discussion.
Library of Congress
The Emancipation Proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment
How did the Emancipation Proclamation lead to the Thirteenth Amendment? Middle schoolers analyze primary source documents including the text of the Emancipation Proclamation, political cartoons, photographs, and prints to understand...
Center for Instruction, Technology, & Innovation
Did African American Lives Improve After Slavery?
The Civil War made slavery illegal, but all ex-slaves were not totally free. Scholars visit eight different classroom stations to uncover life during the Reconstruction Era in America. Groups discover items such as Black Codes, 13th,...
Federal Judicial Center
Amistad and Dred Scott—a Comparative Activity
What do slaves fighting for their freedom on board a ship and a slave fighting for his freedom in a courtroom have in common? Budding historians investigate the two different cases of the Amistad slave revolt and the Dred Scott argument....
Curated OER
Abraham Lincoln's Position on the Question of Slavery and Its Extension
Students read excerpts from Abraham Lincoln's speeches and letters between 1854 and 1861 and look for information relative to Lincoln's thoughts on the legal and Constitutional aspects of slavery.