Library of Congress
Loc: Thomas Jefferson: Establishing a Federal Republic
This Library of Congress article states that Jefferson, although serving as U.S. minister in France while the U.S. Constitution was being written, still influenced its outcome and wording through correspondence. Read this brief overview...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery & the Making of America
Using primary documents, oral histories, and other historical resources, discover how the arts of Africa, Europe, and pre-Civil War America influenced the culture of enslaved African Americans.
PBS
Pbs: Cet: Africans in America: The Growth of Slavery in North America
Discusses the economics of slavery in South Carolina and its importance to the profitable growing of rice. It continues with ways the slaves were controlled and punished in South Carolina and Georgia. Click on Teacher's Guide for teacher...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Politics and Sectionalism: Kansas Nebraska Act
Discusses what led up to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, and the role Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas played in developing it.
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Politics and Sectionalism: The Bleeding of Kansas
Discusses the tension in Kansas over the issue of slavery after Nebraska voted to be a free state.
Siteseen
Siteseen: Civil Conflict: Causes of the Civil War
Presents a list of 38 causes of the Civil War. This is broken up into timelines for 1793-1846 and 1846-1861, with some links to more information. Includes a 3-minute video about the life of Abraham Lincoln.
Library of Congress
Loc: Learning Page: Pre Civil War African American Slavery
Get an overview of slavery in the South, but also see physical evidence in photographs and historical narratives from slaves of the time.