Unit Plan
Scholastic

Scholastic: Fugitive Slave Harriet Jacobs: Coming Up for Air

For Students 9th - 10th
Harriet Jacobs escaped from slavery and wrote a book about her life experience. Her autobiography was written in 1861 with the help of an abolitionist.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: John Brown at Harper's Ferry [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the influences in John Brown's life that led him to think inciting a slave insurrection would be the way to get rid of slavery. Read about his actions in Kansas, and the raid he planned at Harper's Ferry. [pdf]
Handout
Other

Alton, Illinois: Elijah Parish Lovejoy

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography on minister, journalist, and anti-slavery spokesperson Elijah Lovejoy, who was killed by a mob when he was 34. This well written bio focuses on the events on the night of his death.
Website
Curated OER

National Park Service: Boston African American National Historic Site

For Students 9th - 10th
A tour and commentary about the many sites in Boston where abolitionists lived and worked. Click on the links to find out about these brave souls, both black and white, who fought against slavery.
Primary
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Reading Guide: David Walker, From "Appeal"

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Brief biographical information about David Walker and a link to the complete text of his famous writing, "Appeal," written in 1830.
Handout
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: Amistad: Lewis Tappan

For Students 9th - 10th
A short essay on the life of abolitionist Lewis Tappan and his involvement with the Amistad case.
Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin

For Students 5th - 8th
Harriet Beecher Stowe threw gas on the fire of the slavery issue with the publication of her novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Read about her background as an abolitionist, and find out the influence her book had in the North and even in Great...
Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Douglass, Frederick

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief overview of the inspirational life of Fredrick Douglass, abolitionist, essayist, and promoter of rights for everyone. There are references to several of his stirring essays.
Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit:letter From Frederick Douglass to Harriet Tubman by Frederick Douglass

For Students 7th - 8th
A learning module that begins with "Letter from Frederick Douglass to Harriet Tubman" by Frederick Douglass, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or...
Handout
National Women's Hall of Fame

National Women's Hall of Fame: Sara Grimke

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the life and accomplishments of abolitionists Angelina Grimke and Sarah Grimke, important political figures in the anti-slavery movement.
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Famous African Americans Frederick Douglass

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage contains biographical information about the famous African American abolitionist and former slave, Frederick Douglass. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces...
Article
PBS

Pbs: Africans in America: Harriet Tubman (1820 1913)

For Students 9th - 10th
Here is a brief article from PBS on the life and accomplishments of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who risked her life on several occasions to ensure the freedom of others. Links to a teacher's guide and primary sources are provided.
Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Abolition

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, which is provided for by the Library of Congress, is part of the African American Mosaic. It describes abolition and gives references to books about the topic.
Handout
Other

Personal Site: William Wilberforce

For Students 9th - 10th
A nice biography of the famous British abolitionist who served in Parliament during the late 18th and early 19th century.
Activity
Washington State University

Washington State University: Frederick Douglass: Life & Works

For Students 9th - 10th
A clickable list of student resources for researching the life and work of this 19th century African American civil rights leader and abolitionist.
Handout
National Women's Hall of Fame

National Women's Hall of Fame: Harriet Beecher Stowe

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Women's Hall of Fame provides a good biography of the famous female author and abolitionist, Harriet Beecher Stowe. A photo is also included.
Website
Other

Republican Party: Our History

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the first few paragraphs of this article to find out about the formation of the Republican Party in 1854 and how it affected the political scene in the last part of the 1850s.
Primary
Read Works

Read Works: Sojourner Truth, 1864: A Primary Source

For Teachers 5th - 7th
[Free Registration/Login Required] ReadWorks features a primary source from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The primary source features the emancipated slave named Sojourner Truth who worked as an abolitionist and...
Handout
Other

Personal Site: Thomas Clarkson

For Students 9th - 10th
A nicely done biography of the famous British anti-slavery campaigner in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Handout
Ohio History Central

Ohio History Central: Free Soil Party

For Students 9th - 10th
A description of the platform and beliefs of the Free Soil Party which opposed expansion of slavery into US territories.
Unit Plan
C-SPAN

C Span American Writers: Narrative of Frederick Douglass

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief summary of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Also includes an on-line text of the work as well as links to other informational websites.
Unknown Type
Penguin Publishing

Penguin Random House: "Frederick Douglass American Slave" [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Teacher guide for Douglass's biography features 24 pages of chapter-by-chapter study questions, quotations, and activities. Valuable post-reading activities as well as methods for eliciting student responses also included. This is a .pdf...
Graphic
Curated OER

Early Copy of the Liberator

For Students 9th - 10th
From historical documents trace how the abolitionists virulently decried slavery and denounced those who supported it. From the Library of Congress.
Graphic
Curated OER

Wikipedia: Natl Historic Landmarks in Ma: Nathan and Mary Johnson Properties

For Students 9th - 10th
These buildings, now housing the New Bedford Historical Society, belonged to a free African-American couple active in the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad. They notably took in activist Frederick Douglass after his...