Read Works
Read Works: Sojourner Truth, 1864: A Primary Source
[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...
University of Virginia
Virginia Center for Digital History: United States Expansion, 1800 1860
An essay that looks at issues affecting Americans leading up to the Civil War. These included economic changes that led to new ideological, social, cultural, and political issues that further divided the nation along moral and regional...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: America in 1850: Daniel Webster: Speech to the u.s. Senate, March 7, 1850
Links to Senator Daniel Webster's famous plea, amidst the turmoil of sectional conflict, for national unity and his support of the Compromise of 1850.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Sojourner Truth
Learn of Sojourner Truth's eventful life from runaway slave to advocate for freedom and fairness. She was the first African American woman to speak out against slavery in public. She continued her quest for fairness by being a...
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: Sojourner Truth
Learn about Sojouner Truth's eventful life from runaway slave to advocate for freedom and fairness. The first African American woman to speak out against slavery in public. (In Spanish)
Black Past
Black Past: Whipper, William
A brief encyclopedia article about William Whipper, businessman and abolitionist.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Poets, Making of African American Identity: V. 1
The writings of four African Americans poets from the late-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries that examine slavery, abolition, and emancipation. These authors include Phillis Wheatley, George Moses Horton, James Whitfield, and...
Read Works
Read Works: Frederick Douglass: From Slavery to Freedom
[Free Registration/Login Required] This ReadWorks passage provides a brief biography of the abolitionist writer and speaker, Frederick Douglass. A paired passage, a vocabulary support sheet, a questions sheet, and an answers sheets are...
E Reading Worksheets
E Reading Worksheets: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
In this learning module, students will engage in a deep study of Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Worksheets, that assess reading comprehension and inferencing skills, and map projects are provided to reinforce Fredick...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Olaudah Equiano Recalls the Middle Passage
A learning module that begins with "Olaudah Equiano Recalls the Middle Passage" by Olaudah Equiano, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...
The History Cat
The History Cat: Reconstruction Era
Describes what the South was like after the Civil War ended. Many places were in ruins and people were desperately poor with many being homeless. Social structures had collapsed now that slaves had been freed. The Reconstruction era...
C-SPAN
C Span American Writers: Narrative of Frederick Douglass
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.
The History Cat
The History Cat: The Abolitionists
Describes the abolitionist movement and the people who pushed for the abolition of slavery, especially William Lloyd Garrison who founded the Liberator newspaper and the New England Anti-Slavery Society. Arguments for slavery were put...
National Geographic
National Geographic: The Underground Railroad: Routes to Freedom
Map with Underground Railroad routes and text.
My Hero Project
My Hero: Susan B. Anthony
Use this resource to learn about an advocate of women's rights and slave's freedom, Susan B. Anthony, whose efforts gave all U.S. citizens regardless of race and sex the right to vote. This website includes related links and resources...
Curated OER
Unesco: Gambia: Kunta Kinteh Island and Related Sites
James Island and Related Sites present a testimony to the main periods and facets of the encounter between Africa and Europe along the River Gambia, a continuum stretching from pre-colonial and pre-slavery times to independence. The site...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1844 1877: The Civil War: Emancipation Proclamation
Discusses the background to the Emancipation Proclamation and how Abraham Lincoln came to support the abolition of slavery and the difficulties that were encountered around this issue. Explains that it did not apply to all slaves as...
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: United States, 1821
A map of the United States and territories in 1821 after the Missouri Compromise, showing the Free States and territories, the Slave States and territories, and the transitional territories at the time. The map is color-coded to show the...
Curated OER
Abolitionist Song
This site provides several maps which depict the slave states and the free states. There are links that will connect you with an abolitionist song and information on John Brown.
Curated OER
Educational Technology Clearinghouse: Maps Etc: The United States, 1821
A map of the United States in 1821 showing the states and territories which either accepted or abolished slavery after the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The map is color-coded to show absolutely free states, states undergoing gradual...