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Lesson Plan
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Civil War and Reconstruction [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 8th
An activity guide where students refer to the Texas Almanac, which is free to download, for information needed to complete assigned tasks. In this lesson, students examine the Secession, the Civil War, and Reconstruction to learn how...
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Website
Harp Week

The End of Slavery: The Creation of the 13th Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
What a wonderful resource for researching the attempts to solve the issue of slavery prior to the Civil War, and the eventual ratification of the 13th Amendment. Find a timeline of legislation limiting the spread of slavery from 1787...
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Handout
US Department of State

Bureau of International Information Programs: History Outline: Sectionalism

For Students 9th - 10th
Article reviews several conditions of American society that sowed the seeds of civil war, particularly slavery and sectional conflict.
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Primary
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: Secession of the Southern States

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection uses primary sources to explore the secession of southern states from the United States prior to the Civil War.
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Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: Secession of the Southern States

For Students 9th - 10th
Scroll through this article to "Secession in the Upper South" to find out what was happening in southern states that had not yet seceded before April, 1861, and what convinced these states to secede. From an article by William L. Barney...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Lincoln Goes to War

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan that includes six activities focusing on "the decision-making process that precipitated the Civil War". Activities have young scholars reviewing the decision Lincoln made to secure Fort Sumter, the secession crisis of 1861,...
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Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: The War Begins

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a detailed description of the attack on Fort Sumter during the Civil War from Confederate Military History, Vol. 5, Chapter I, a series published in 1899.
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Handout
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: States' Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
Gives a history of states' rights from the beginning of the U.S. Constitution. Scroll down to "Secession and the Confederate Constitution" to read about the South's interpretation of states' rights just prior to the Civil War. From...
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Primary
Civil War Home

Home of the American Civil War: Secession, the Union View

For Students 9th - 10th
This excerpt from a work by John Nicolay, personal secretary to Lincoln, discusses the secession of the Southern states from the perspective of Northerners.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Explorations: Why Did the South Secede?

For Students 9th - 10th
Resource explores the states that withdrew from the Union at the beginning of the Civil War and why.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Civil War Begins [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The election of 1860 showed the deep divisions that split the country. With four candidates representing four very different approaches to the issue of slavery, the outcome resulted in the secession of South Carolina, followed eventually...
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Secession and Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of a unit on the Civil War and Reconstruction, this section provides an overview of the formation of the Confederacy and subsequent secession of states in the South.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Harper's Ferry

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the infamous raid on Harper's Ferry by John Brown and his band in 1859. His first plan had a chance of success thought Frederick Douglass, but the plan that was carried out was doomed from the start. See what John Brown was...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in Antebellum America

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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...
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Lesson Plan
National Endowment for the Humanities

Neh: Edsit Ement: Civil War: A "Terrible Swift Sword"

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this Curriculum Unit, students will consider "Civil War: A"Terrible Swift Sword"" in 3 Lessons. The unit also includes worksheets and other student materials that can be found under the resource tab.
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Primary
Texas A&M University

Sons of De Witt Colony Texas: Bustamante's Decree of 1830

For Students 9th - 10th
As part of the Law of April 6, 1830, read this reprinting of the Bustamante's Decree, which explicitly banned any further immigration from the United States to Texas.
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Handout
Georgia Humanities Council and the University of Georgia Press.

New Georgia Encyclopedia: Secession

For Students 9th - 10th
Article that discusses the reasons behind Georgia's secession from the Union in 1861 and how it came to be.
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Website
Other

Crisis at Fort Sumter

For Students 9th - 10th
Detailed background information is provided to assist users in solving the dilemmas facing President Lincoln in the events surrounding the fall of Fort Sumter.
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Website
Other

Radford University: The Civil War for Fifth Graders

For Students 5th - 6th
Covers many aspects of the Civil War, without too much text for Grade 5 students. Includes links to additional information and a few learning activities. (Note: Some links may no longer be working.)
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Handout
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Early Statehood

For Students 9th - 10th
From annexation in 1845 to secession from the Union in 1861, early Texas statehood was marked by several major issues. Learn about four of these issues: annexation, slavery, the 1850 Boundary Act, and secession.
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Article
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Fredonian Rebellion

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the Fredonian Rebellion of 1826, the first attempt by Anglo settlers in Texas to secede from Mexico.
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Article
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Turtle Bayou Resolutions

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief overview of the Turtle Bayou Resolutions, which played a role in the secession of Texas from Mexico and the creation of the Republic of Texas.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: An Uneasy Peace

For Students 5th - 8th
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....
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Website
Siteseen

Siteseen: Civil Conflict: The Crittenden Compromise of 1860

For Students 9th - 10th
Web page on the Crittenden Compromise of 1860 which assured the continuation of slavery where it already existed in an attempt to appease Southerners and halt secession of Southern states from the Union.