Library of Congress
Loc: Learning Page: The Freedmen
This resource provides information about the Freedmen, who were free after the Emancipation of Slaves.
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia Library: Reconstruction, by Fredrick Douglass
A document on Reconstruction written by Fredrick Douglass. He argues particularly for voting rights for blacks as the most necessary step to avoid the kinds of state's rights conflicts that brought about the Civil War.
Other
Smithsonian Institution: Remembering Slavery
Gain access to radio and TV broadcasts featuring first-person narratives about being a slave. Learning guides are included online for teacher use.
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Sharecropping
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students solve a problem surrounding a historical question by reading primary source documents. This historical inquiry lesson plan allows students to critically evaluate their classroom textbook's...
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
Library of Congress
Loc: American Memory: Reconstruction and Rights
Historical documents give evidence to the question of rights in the South following the Civil War. Historical narratives and government reports tell of giving the male slaves the right to vote and hold office while denying these rights...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: The Freedmen's Bureau
This collection uses primary sources to explore the history, successes, and failures of the Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction.
Library of Congress
Loc: Prints & Photograph: Photographs of African Americans During the Civil War
A Library of Congress collection of digitized photos of African Americans during the Civil War, including photos of soldiers and freedmen. From the Library of Congress.
Digital History
Digital History: The Problem of Reconstruction [Pdf]
How does a country put itself back together after a civil war? Read about the problems with the destruction of the Southern economy and land, the recognition of former slaves as freedmen, and the ways to bring the Southern states back...
Digital History
Digital History: The 14th Amendment and the Jim Crow Laws [Pdf]
Read about the background of the passage of the 14th Amendment which resulted in the famous case before the Supreme Court, Plessy v Ferguson, almost thirty years later. Suggested student exercises ask students to assess the issue of...
Civil War Home
Home of the American Civil War: Black Codes in the Former Confederate States
Read about the black codes in various states enacted as a result of Johnson's lenient Reconstruction plans. From "Trial by Fire, A People's History of the Civil War and Reconstruction" by Paige Smith.
Other
Wither Liberia? Civil War Emancipation and Freedmen Resettlement in West Africa
An informative article on efforts during Abraham Lincoln's administration to resettle freedmen to West Africa. (Published: 11/11/2012)
Tennessee Historical Society
Tennessee Encyclopedia: Memphis Race Riot of 1866
A brief article outlining reasons for the anger and frustration of many whites in the Memphis area after the Civil War which resulted in the Memphis Race Riot.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1870s: Education
Read about the development of free education for African Americans following the emancipation of this enslaved population. This article focuses on schools in Texas, including what is now known as Texas A&M University. Includes a...
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Enforcement Acts
The purpose of the Enforcement Acts was to implement and extend the fundamental guarantees of the Constitution to all citizens and protect ex-slaves from violence carried out by the Ku Klux Klan.
Curated OER
Sau: Ama and the Freedmen's Bureau in Arkansas
A lengthy paper about the role of the Freedmen's Bureau in Arkansas and its support for schools for African American children.