Describes the events leading up to the start of the American Civil War. Looks at clashes between pro- and anti-slavery groups, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the fight over California, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act,...

Using primary source documents as evidence, young scholars will create an annotated illustration depicting the situation among textile merchants in New York City while deciding in what ways do personal values influence business decisions.

Read the U.S. Congressional resolution approving the annexation of the Republic of Texas to the United States. Links are provided to additional sites.

Outlines the political events prior to the Civil War as the United States expanded its territories to include new states and conflicts arose over the issue of slavery.

American history from 1820-1861 is interwoven with the history of the Capitol as it was expanded to accommodate a growing government body. A timeline of significant events in the debates over slavery, the addition of free and slave...

Article reviews several conditions of American society that sowed the seeds of civil war, particularly slavery and sectional conflict.

A map of the United States showing the effects of the Compromise of 1850. The map is keyed to show the free states and slave states, and notes California admitted to the Union as a free state; the Nebraska Territory as free by the...

A map of California and the western territories at the time of the Compromise of 1850. The compromise was a series of bills dealing with the slavery issue, and under its provisions California was admitted to the Union as a free state,...

A list with descriptions of the major events that led up to the outbreak of the Civil War.

In this lesson, young scholars learn about the balance between slave states and free states and their geography, including the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850.

This page from the American Revolution Project of the University of Groningen discusses how the 1850s were a time of conflicting ideas between North and South regarding the expansion of slavery. Scroll down to the third paragraph and...

A map of California, the Utah Territory, and the New Mexico Territory in 1850 showing the effect of the Compromise of 1850, a series of bills intending to settle the issue of slavery and abolition raised in the territories after the...

A map of the United States showing the results of a test vote of the Compromise of 1850 in the House of Representatives. The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills attempting to resolve the territorial slavery controversy following the...

A collection of forty-four primary resources including historical documents, literary texts, visual images, and maps, illuminated and contextualized by notes, thematic questions, and text-specific discussion questions for classroom...

Presents key ideas for examining the events and issues that led to the American Civil War.

Short bio on John Calhoun, former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, Secretary of War and Vice President, who served as Secretary of State for less than one year before returning to his position in the U.S. Senate.

Brief biography on William Henry Seward who was appointed Secretary of State by Abraham Lincoln on March 5, 1861, and served until March 4, 1869. Seward carefully managed international affairs during the Civil War and also negotiated the...

[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart contains information about the renewed debate over the spread of slavery after the Mexican War. It describes the Wilmot Proviso, popular sovereignty, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive...

A good look at the views of the Democratic Party in Pennsylvania just prior to and during the Civil War. Read about Democratic president from Pennsylvania, James Buchanan, and his views about the importance of slavery in the national...

Collection of primary resource material includes Henry Clay's, "A General Review of the Debate on the Compromise Bills," U.S. Senate, July 22, 1850. With questions for discussion.

The National Humanities Center present a reading guide that links to a speech in the Senate by William Seward, one that expresses moral outrage over the compromises allowing the expansion of slavery.

A concise review of the ways the issue of slavery split the country from the Missouri Compromise to eventual secession of the southern states.

A fictional depiction of the turmoil over the existence of slavery-and its human impact.

See what turmoil resulted from the acquisition of new territory after the Mexican-American War. There was great disagreement between those who wanted to abolish slavery and those who wanted to be able to carry slavery into the new lands....