Teaching American History
Teaching American History: Manifesto: American Anti Slavery Society
Find the goals of the American Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833 by abolitionists in Philadelphia. The object of the group was the immediate abolition of slavery.
NPR: National Public Radio
Npr: Kids' Book Has Charges of Whitewashing Slavery
Article presents a critical analysis of the depiction of slavery in the children's book, A Fine Dessert.
PBS
Pbs: African American Migration Story: Many Rivers to Cross
A detailed presentation illustrating the history of Africans migrating to the Americas from as early as 1500 through the late 1860's. Review the distribution of Africans in North and South America, the initial settlements, escaped and...
National Geographic Kids
National Geographic Kids: Harriet Tubman
An overview of the life of Harriet Tubman. This brave African American woman is most recognized for her vital role as a conductor for the Underground Railroad.
Teaching American History
Teaching American History: The Future of the Colored Race
Full text to Frederick Douglass's essay "The Future of the Colored Race."
OpenStax
Open Stax: How Much Revolutionary Change?
This section of a chapter on "Creating Republican Governments" describes the status of women and nonwhites in the new republic.
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Filibuster and the Quest for New Slave States
This section of a chapter on "The Antebellum South" explains the expansionist goals of advocates of slavery and describes the filibuster expeditions undertaken during the antebellum era.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Wealth and Culture in the South
Read this section of a chapter on "The Antebellum South" to assess the distribution of wealth and learn about the southern culture of honor.
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Constitutional Convention and Federal Constitution
After reading this section of the chapter on "Creating Republican Governments", students will be able to identify the central issues of the 1787 Constitutional Convention and their solutions and also describe the conflicts over the...
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Impact of Colonization
By reading this section of a chapter on "Colonial Societies," students will be able to explain the reasons for the rise of slavery in the American colonies, describe changes in Indian life, including warfare and hunting, contrast...
Other
Missouri Secretary of State: Conservation of the Dred Scott Papers
Offers a description of the conservation of papers from the famous 1846 Supreme Court case in which a slave named Dred Scott asked the court for his freedom and was denied.
Other
Anti Slavery International
The world's oldest international human rights organization that works exclusively to end slavery and related abuses. Find information on slavery, pictures, video, and more.
Library of Congress
Loc: Slaves and the Courts
Slaves and the Courts, 1740-1860 contains just over a hundred pamphlets and books (published between 1772 and 1889) concerning the difficult and troubling experiences of African and African-American slaves in the American colonies and...
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Olaudah Equiano
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read information about and an excerpt from The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa as well as "African Migration to Colonial America" and answer paired text...
CPALMS
Cpalms: Close Reading Exemplar: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students will learn about the life of Frederick Douglass, his personal experience of the slave system, and the discrimination and prejudice he faced from those around him. This intensive lesson exemplar...
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Reconstruction Sac
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students use primary source documents to investigate central historical questions. In this structured academic controversy, students examine constitutional amendments, a Black Code, a personal account...
Yale University
Yale University: Open Yale Courses: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1845 77
Twenty-seven university-level lectures on the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. Available in audio, video, or text format.
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: African Immigration to Colonial America
An interesting essay on the forced migration of Africans to America by way of the Middle Passage. Read where the slaves were off-loaded, how the population of slaves increased, and the inhumanities inflicted on the slaves both on the...
Crayola
Crayola: Freedom Train (Lesson Plan)
Students will enjoy creating their own Underground Railroad, "freeing" the slaves, and writing about their journeys.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Primary Sources: Concerning Emancipation
An hour-long professional development workshop on teaching of emancipation with primary sources. Features experienced classroom teachers. Materials and a complete lesson plan are also provided
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: America in Class: The Religious Roots of Abolition
A lesson that looks at the role of Christianity in the fight to abolish slavery in the United States.
Google Cultural Institute
Google Cultural Institute: A Slave Pen Journey
Take an online journey through a Kentucky slave pen in the 1830s.
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museum
Rutherford B. Hayes Center: Who Is James K. Polk?
This page features an analysis of the Democratic Party's decision to nominate the relatively unknown James Polk for their presidential candidate in 1844. This article gives insight into the political atmosphere of the time.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: The Slave Experience: Living Conditions
This PBS series site reveals the diverse circumstances and living conditions experienced by slaves and indentured servants in America by reading documents dating to the Colonial, Antebellum, and Reconstruction periods.