Curated OER
Time of Slavery
Young historians learn about abolitionists, The Civil War, Frederick Douglas, and so many more details about slavery in this highly engaging presentation. Teachers could use this as a whole class review and discussion tool.
Curated OER
Slavery and Abolition: Three Unforgettable Names
Students research the people and events involved in the abolitionist movement prior to the U.S. Civil War. They read about and discuss the roles of Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, and John Brown. Students complete a word splash, Venn...
National Humanities Center
National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: How to Read a Slave Narrative
This essay, written by English professor William L. Andrews, explores slave narratives and their influence in American literature in the late nineteenth century up to modern times.
Other
Uncut Black Experience: Turner's Confession
Text of the confession of Nat Turner, leader of a bloody slave revolt.
Other
Widener University: The Nat Turner Project
The Nat Turner Project is a digital archive of primary source materials related to the Nat Turner Slave Rebellion, beginning with the experiences and living conditions of slaves prior to the revolt. The archive houses newspaper articles,...
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Nat Turner
[Free Registration/Login Required] Nat Turner led the largest slave uprising the South would see until the Civil War. The infamy of the event has led to multiple interpretations of Turner as a historical figure. By sourcing and...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery and the Making of America: Slave Religion
What religions did slaves bring from Africa to America? This PBS series site provides the historical overview of how early African Americans preserved African spiritual beliefs and practices while enslaved, converted to Christianity, and...
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: The Slave Narrative
In addition to defining "Slave Narrative," this website includes information on the styles and influences associated with slave narratives. Also provided, are links to several examples of nineteenth- and twentieth-century slave narratives.
University of North Carolina
Documenting the American South: The Confessions of Nat Turner
From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries, this site provides the complete "Confessions of Nat Turner" complete with images of the original pages published of the confession.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Themepark: Liberty: Slavery in America
Find a large collection of internet resources organized around slavery in America. Links to places to go, people to see, things to do, teacher resources, and bibliographies.
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...
Library of Virginia
Death or Liberty: Gabriel, Nat Turner and John Brown
Online exhibit with primary documents about slavery revolts in Virginia.
Library of Virginia
Death or Liberty: Nat Turner's Rebellion: To Rebel and Make Insurrection
A library resource providing details on this famous insurrection of slaves in 1831.
Library of Virginia
Virginia Memory: Nat Turner Rebellion
For this lesson, students examine the impact Nat Turner's Rebellion had on how enslaved and free African Americans were treated in Virginia.
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.
Other
Singapore American School: Slave Narratives
This site from the Singapore American School, Mr. Burnett's Classroom, provides links to a variety of different slave narratives. Included in the mix are: Harriet Jacobs, Allen Parker, American slaves, Olaudah Equiano, Frederick Douglas,...
iCivics
I Civics: Slavery: No Freedom, No Rights
From the basics about slavery to the attitudes that defended it and the efforts of those who wanted to see it abolished, in this lesson students learn about this dark part of America's past.
Other
Afgen.com: Confessions of Nat Turner
Read a copy of the confessions of Nat Turner on the night he was put in prison for his rebellion against slavery.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: African Heritage: Fighting for Freedom
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart aims to help students understand the role the Underground Railroad played in leading people out of slavery in the United States, particularly before the Civil War.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: African Heritage: Frederick Douglass
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart aims to help students understand how Frederick Douglass's writing painted a powerfully negative portrait of life on southern plantations. It uses video as well as text to inform students.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: African Americans in the British New World: Slave Codes
Resistance and even rebellion of slaves resulted in colonies enacting laws regarding the actions of slaves. Read about some of the slave codes and what they prohibited.
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica: Nat Turner
This entry from Encyclopedia Britannica features Nat Turner, a black American slave who led the only effective, sustained slave rebellion (August 1831) in U.S. history. Spreading terror throughout the white South, his action set off a...