Discusses what life was like for African Americans who were freed from slavery after the Civil War. Includes questions for students.

This website contains an interactive timeline about the history of voting rights in the United States.

Original text of the the 1963 Supreme Court decision that mandated legal representation for the poor.

This resource provides a timeline of the Reconstruction era in the South.

A look at how Andrew Johnson tried to carry out Lincoln's plan for reconstruction. Read onto the second page to find out how the congressional plan thwarted Johnson and was much more punitive.

A great chart comparing Lincoln's and Johnson's reconstruction plans with the plans offered by the Radical Republicans.

Check out this interactive timeline of the history of freedom from slavery in the United States.

A four-page discussion of Reconstruction from the plans Lincoln made while the Civil War was still raging to the end of Reconstruction with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes.

Provides a brief summary and the text of Chief Justice Brennan's opinion of the Supreme Court in this case involving libel.

Read all about this Supreme Court case involving Negro voting rights in 1935. Features text of the majority opinion of the court.

This website contains an interactive timeline about the history of freedom of discrimination in the United States.

A very thorough explanation of the famous Supreme Court decision about Plessy v. Ferguson. It upheld the idea of "separate but equal," which was in effect until Brown v Board of Education in 1954. See who opposed the decision, and read...

Learn about the Dred Scott decision and why it changed the course of American history even though many now consider it the worst opinion ever rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Includes full-page scans of the decision, a transcription,...

This website contains an interactive timeline about the history of immigration in the United States.

This page provides the background of the case and the Supreme Court's decision.

This mini-lesson covers the basics of the Supreme Court's decision that overturned "separate but equal" in public schools. Students learn about segregation and "equality under the law," and they use what they learned to craft compound...

A good description of the beginnings of the Republican Party before the Civil War, and the transformation to Radical Republicanism during Reconstruction as they attempted to guarantee equal rights for African Americans. Information is...

A brief article outlining reasons for the anger and frustration of many whites in the Memphis area after the Civil War which resulted in the Memphis Race Riot.

No love was lost between the Congress' trying to pass Reconstruction plans and President Andrew Johnson's attempts to thwart those plans. Read a short biography of Andrew Johnson to get an idea of the man. Follow the timeline of...

The Republican actions during Reconstruction are summarized in this site from the Center for History and New Media.

The U.S. Supreme Court case that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and dealt with the issues of equal protection and racial discrimination. This resource provides an abstract containing a concise summary, a link to the full text of the...

Our Documents is home to one hundred milestone documents that influenced that course of American history and American democracy. Includes full-page scans of each document, transcriptions, background information on their significance, and...