Lesson Plan
Middle Tennessee State University

Fights, Freedom, and Fraud: Voting Rights in the Reconstruction Era

For Teachers 8th - 12th Standards
As part of a study of post Civil War era, young historians investigate the changes in voting rights during the Reconstruction Era (1863-1876), the fraud involved in the Hayes-Tilden presidential election of 1876, and efforts by Pap...
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Soldiers in the Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes what life was like for soldiers during the Civil War.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: After the Civil War: The New South

For Students 9th - 10th
After the Civil War, there was some impetus to modernize the South's economy to make it more industrialized and less agrarian. It never gained traction while sharecropping and tenant farming did, ensuring the persistence of rural...
Handout
US Department of State

Office of the Historian: The Trent Affair, 1861

For Students 9th - 10th
Find out about the diplomatic crisis between the United States and Great Britain at the beginning of the Civil War, why it was important to the North and South, and how it was resolved.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1890 1945: Us in Wwi: Presidency of Woodrow Wilson

For Students 9th - 10th
Looks at Woodrow Wilson's actions and accomplishments as president from 1913-1921. Discusses his efforts to regulate the economy, fight corruption in business, and improve societal conditions. He also supported segregationist policies in...
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: The Compromise of 1877

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains how the Compromise of 1877 settled the contested 1876 presidential election, declaring Rutherford B. Hayes the winner while agreeing to withdraw federal troops from the South. This paved the way for the South to enact Jim Crow...
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Lincoln's High Tech War

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes the weaponry used during the Civil War, and some of the innovative technology that the Union's military forces employed. These included the minie ball, rifles, underwater torpedoes, the use of hot air balloons, and improved...
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Us History: Election of 1860: Lincoln Elected

For Students 9th - 10th
Looks at the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, and the divisions between North and South that resulted. Shortly after the election, a group of Southern states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. The animosity between...
Handout
Digital History

Digital History: September 11, 2001

For Students 9th - 10th
This site has a comprehensive overview of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., including information on Osama bin Laden's background, the formation of Al Qaeda, the attacks themselves, the US response, civil liberties and national...
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: The South After the Civil War: Jim Crow

For Students 9th - 10th
Explains how Jim Crow laws came to be created in the South and what it meant for African Americans. Discusses the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case, how its decision was eventually overturned, and the events that brought an end to...
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: The American West: Reservation System

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the Indian reservation system, the impact it had on Native Americans, violent clashes between whites and Indians, and how it was destroyed by the Dawes Act of 1887 and resurrected in the 1930s. Includes questions for students...
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Winning the Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
Looks at the resources available to the Union and Confederate military forces, the Anaconda Plan undertaken by the North to squeeze the economy of the South, and the delaying tactics of General George McClellan who hesitated to attack...
Handout
Other

City History of Wilmington, Delaware

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the history of Wilmington, Delaware, and the growth of industry in that city.
Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: The Jim Crow Era: The Life and Death of Jim Crow

For Students 9th - 10th
Looks at how Southerners continued to discriminate against blacks after the Civil War through Black Codes, or Jim Crow laws, which permitted practices such as segregation in public places and requiring literacy tests in order to vote.
Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: African American Veterans and the Civil Rights Movement

For Students 9th - 10th
Many African American veterans joined the Civil Rights Movement after World War II when they found themselves facing continued discrimination at home. Learn about some of the veterans who were prominent activists.
Handout
PBS

Pbs the West: William Tecumsah Sherman

For Students 3rd - 8th
Read about Sherman's history during the Civil War and afterwards as general commander of the U.S. Army.
Handout
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Wartime Diplomacy

For Students 5th - 8th
Both the North and South wanted the British and French to support their cause. Read about cotton diplomacy, which the South used to court both Britain and France. See how the North was tied to Great Britain. Find out why both European...
Handout
US Navy

Naval Historical Center: H. L. Hunley, Confederate Submarine

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides a short article on the history of the first submarine to engage and sink a warship. Many links to information about its history, preservation and excavation. Includes original US and Confederate Navy documents.
Handout
Country Studies US

Country Studies: Technology and Change

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief historical description of the technology introduced in the U.S. after the Civil War and the changes new technology and inventions brought about.
Handout
Country Studies US

Country Studies: The Divided South

For Students 9th - 10th
This site describes how after the Civil War, the South struggled to survive. By in large, efforts to attract industry failed and soon a strictly enforced social segregation system appeared and would last until well into the 20th century.