PBS
Pbs: Continental Harmony
PBS presents several activities and lesson plans that cover the concepts of identifying different forms of music, learning about musical imagery, writing in response to music, and creating lyrics. The Sound Lounge has many interactive...
US National Archives
Our Documents: The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 attempted to settle sectional disagreements about slavery in the volatile pre-Civil War period. The compromise, actually a series of bills, had an enormous impact on the nation's slow march to civil war. See...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Life in North & South 1847 1861: Before Brother Fought Brother
The five lessons in this unit are designed to help students develop a foundation on which to understand the basic disagreements between North and South through the investigation of primary source documents, photographs, and census...
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 In addition, there are historical documents related to slavery.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....
![Tom richey.net: The Crisis of the Union (1850 1860) [Ppt] PPT](https://static.lp.lexp.cloud/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Tom richey.net: The Crisis of the Union (1850 1860) [Ppt] PPT")
Tom Richey
Tom richey.net: The Crisis of the Union (1850 1860) [Ppt]
Presents key ideas for examining the events and issues that led to the American Civil War.
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...
CommonLit
Common Lit: "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass
Selected (11) reading passages (grades 7-11) to pair with the autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass" by Fredrick Douglass. Frederick Douglass recounts his experiences as a slave in Maryland, and his treatment at the...
Other
Freedom on the Move: Traveling Back
In this lesson, students will read and analyze ads written from 1850 to 1860 and make a timeline of the ads. They will consider important historical events, people, and literature from those years and build a timeline in their classroom...
US National Archives
Our Documents: Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
Image of handwritten copy of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, accompanied by an explanation of the speech's purpose, impact, and role in American history.
Louisiana Department of Education
Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Grade 7 Social Studies: Slavery Compromise
Students develop and express claims through discussions and writing which compare and contrast how the early compromises over slavery, including their effectiveness and impact on different regions of the United States.
The History Cat
The History Cat: African Americans After the War
Provides a discussion of what life was like for African Americans after slavery ended, focusing on the Freedman's Bureau, Freedman schools, and the Ku Klux Klan.
A&E Television
History.com: Black History Milestones
A detailed account of the history of African Americans is presented in this article. Divided by main topics or periods of time, the coming of slavery to America is the first focus. Followed by plantation life and escapes to freedom and...
US National Archives
Our Documents: The Kansas Nebraska Act
An outstanding, interactive copy of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the legislation that repealed the Missouri Compromise. Historical context included, as well as links to larger images, a typed transcript, and a downloadable PDF file.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: South Carolina
Explore how South Carolina moved from a "plantation culture" in 1670 to a "growing research center and banking state" today. South Carolina played a major role in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in Antebellum America
In this Curriculum Unit, students will consider "The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in Antebellum America: A House Dividing" in 4 Lessons. The unit also includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource...
Constitutional Rights Foundation
Constitutional Rights Foundation: Moving Toward Equality Under Law
As new free and slave states were admitted to the Union prior to the Civil War, political divisions kept growing, despite attempts to balance the numbers of each. The South pushed for slavery to expand westward, while anti-slavery...
Siteseen
Siteseen: Civil Conflict: The Corwin Amendment
Web page on the proposed Corwin Amendment which, if ratified, would have forbade Congress from interfering with states' right to make decision to slavery. Site contains textual information, video [3:28], and fun facts for students.
Other
Presentations From the Life of Frederick Douglass
The actor Fred Morsell, a Frederick Douglass reenactor, provides plays about the 19th century civil rights leader as well as other resources about Douglass's life and work.
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media
Teaching History: Ask a Historian: Senatorial Division
A discussion of how the political balance kept shifting as free and slave states were admitted to the Union prior to the Civil War.
Other
Chickasaw History
Learn about the history of the Chickasaw from pre-contact time up to the 20th century. Describes in detail their interactions with Europeans throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, including their role in supporting the Confederacy...
Other
Karpeles: Emancipation Proclamation Amendment to the Constitution
A copy and transcription of the 13th Amendment which ended slavery. The sidebar gives a brief overview of emancipation and what led to this amendment.
University of California
History Project: The Trial and Execution of John Brown
Using primary source documents, high school lesson plan focuses on John Brown, the events at Harper's Ferry, and his trial and execution. Included are excerpts from 16 primary source documents to aid in the research of writing this paper.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: The 13th Amendment
An original 13th amendment restricting lawyers from serving in government that was supposedly ratified in 1819 and removed from the U.S. Constitution during the Civil War.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Uncle Tom's Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe
This collection uses primary sources to explore Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.