The History Place
The History Place: Abraham Lincoln
This site provides an extensive timeline of the life and work of Abraham Lincoln. Throughout the timeline there are photos that can be enlarged and many, many links to speeches, papers, letters of Lincoln's. The site is very easy to...
PBS
Pbs: Dred Scott's Fight for Freedom (1846 1857)
Provides information on Dred Scott and his fight for freedom, and the events leading up to the Supreme Court trial in 1857.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Lincoln Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 exemplified the rift in the nation concerning the issue of slavery and who should be able to determine whether states were free or slave. Read about this war of ideas that moved from the stage in...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Southern Argument for Slavery
In order to convince oneself that owning another was defensible, Southerners aruged that there were economic, religious, historical, and legal reaons that slavery was a good thing. Read about some of these justifications in more detail,...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Dred Scott Decision
Read the terms of the Dred Scott decision which determined that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. See why this decision was so controversial and completely unacceptable to the northerners, thus driving an additional wedge...
University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: James Buchanan: A Life in Brief
A brief look at James Buchanan as president and the controversies he faced. From the Miller Center.
Curated OER
National Park Service: The Significance of the Dred Scott Trial
In this article from "The Old Courthouse" by Donald Dosch the facts of the Dred Scott decision are laid out. Read why the outcome of the case fanned the embers of the coming Civil War.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: From Uneasy Peace to Bitter Conflict
A brief overview of what was in store for the United States after the controversial Dred Scott decision.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Political Divisions
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart details the growing political divisions in the United States in the decade before the Civil War. It includes information on the election of 1856, the Dred Scott Decision, the Lincoln...
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Dred Scott Decision
Comprehensive summary provides a list of interesting facts and information about the Dred Scott decision that ruled slaves were property.