Other
Understanding Race: Society: 1800 1850s: Resisting Slavery
An overview of slave revolts and abolitionist efforts during the first half of the nineteenth century, leading up until the Civil War. Read about the Underground Railroad, the colonization movement, and various anti-slavery books.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Library: I Will Be Heard: Black Resistance
Free blacks in the North did what they could to support resistance to slavery, but see how the slaves themselves resisted in their own ways.
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Toolbox Library: Resistance, Making of African American Identity: V. 1
Recollections of slave resistance by observers like Frederick Douglass, narratives of slave resistance collected during the Depression, and mid-nineteenth century accounts by former slaves calling for resistance to and overthrow of the...
Library of Congress
Loc: The Peculiar Institution
This exhibit explores the methods used by Africans and their American-born descendants to resist enslavement, as well as to demand emancipation and full participation in American society. Strategies varied, but the goal remained...
![Digital History: Responses to Slavery: Nat Turner's Rebellion [Pdf] Website](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "Digital History: Responses to Slavery: Nat Turner's Rebellion [Pdf] Website")
Digital History
Digital History: Responses to Slavery: Nat Turner's Rebellion [Pdf]
Read about two major slave rebellions, one involving thousands and one just a few men. Denmark Vesey planned his rebellion in 1822, and nine years later, Nat Turned executed his. Find out the results of each. [PDF]
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: Slave Resistance
Essay explores the beginnings of slave resistance and its various forms. Includes ideas for guiding a student discussion.
New York Public Library
Aame: Runaway Journeys: Maroon Communities and Major Slave Revolts
A map showing the major slave rebellions in the United States in the 17th-19th centuries.
Library of Virginia
Death or Liberty: Gabriel, Nat Turner and John Brown
Online exhibit with primary documents about slavery revolts in Virginia.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Nat Turner's Rebellion
Information about the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner and the impact it had.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Rebellions on and Off the Plantation
Slaves resisted their bondage in many ways. Read about the revolts planned and executed by Denmark Vesey and Nat Turner, the southern reactions to those revolts, and the ways slaves individually resisted their enslavement.
University of Richmond
History Engine: Escape Through Death: The Story of Fugitive Margaret Garner
Retells the story of fugitive slave, Margaret Garner, who cut the throat of her three year old child in order to save her from a life of slavery.
Other
African American Registry: The Moving Sacrifice of Margaret Garner
Read the tale of Margaret Garner, a runaway slave who took the life of her own child rather than see her returned to slavery. Click on Learn More to get the complete story.
Black Past
Black Past: Andry's Rebelliion (1811)
This brief encyclopedia entry tells about Andry's Rebellion, a large rebellion in New Orleans in 1811.
Black Past
Black Past: Margaret Garner Incident (1856)
Brief encyclopedia entry explores the Margaret Garner Incident, one of the most famous fugitive slave trials and the inspiration for Toni Morrison's book and film Beloved.
Other
Freedom on the Move: Who Is a Historian?
In this lesson, students will properly utilize a primary source to answer a research question using a database of runaway slave ads. They will play the role of a historian and learn more about the lives and culture surrounding both...
Other
Freedom on the Move: Traveling Back
In this lesson, students will read and analyze ads written from 1850 to 1860 and make a timeline of the ads. They will consider important historical events, people, and literature from those years and build a timeline in their classroom...
Other
Freedom on the Move: Telling Their Stories
The "Telling Their Stories" lesson plan guides students through the era of enslavement through the lens of those who chose to flee as a form of resistance. Using the Freedom on the Move database of runaway ads, this lesson centers on the...
Other
Freedom on the Move: The Lion's Side: Creating a Resistance Newspaper
Students will use the Freedom on the Move database of runaway slave ads to re-envision runaway ads to reflect the bravery of the enslaved who liberated themselves. They will construct narratives from the perspective of formerly enslaved...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1800 1848: African Americans in the Early Republic
A quick comprehension check over African Americans in the early republic of the United States.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1800 1848: African Americans in the Early Republic
Learn about African Americans in the early republic.
Other
National Underground Railroad Freedom Center: Margaret Garner
Brief biographical note on the story of Margaret Garner, a fugitive slave woman who chose to kill her own daughter rather than permit her be returned to slavery.
Black Past
Black Past: Jordan Hatcher Case (1852)
Learn about the slave Jordan Hatcher who was charged with killing and assaulting a white man and how his trail affected others.