Tennessee State Museum
An Emancipation Proclamation Map Lesson
Did the Emancipation Proclamation free all slaves during the Civil War? Why was it written, and what were its immediate and long-term effects? After reading primary source materials, constructing political maps representing information...
Curated OER
After the Civil War: Segregation
Students study the Civil War. In this American history instructional activity, students define segregation, make a segregation collage with pictures of people being separated from others because of their race, religion, or ethnic...
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Slaughter House Cases 1873
Review background information about the Slaughter-House Cases then read the complete text of the majority opinion of the court and also the dissenting votes.
iCivics
I Civics: Games: Do I Have a Right?
Play this game from iCivics that requires an understanding and application of the Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, and a few other amendments to argue and win cases the clients bring into the law firm. There...
Other
University of Delaware: Abraham Lincoln: A Bicentennial Celebration
Commemorating Abraham Lincoln's 200th birthday, this exhibition provides several documents and photographs remembering the President's life. Resources cover his political career, slavery, the civil war and his assassination.
University of Maryland
Department of History: Freedmen and Southern Society Project
Collection of primary documents that depict the social revolution and drama of the Emancipation in the words of the participants. Includes the voices of liberated slaves and defeated slaveholders, soldiers and civilians, common folk and...
![U.s. Government Publishing Office: Thirteenth Amendment [Pdf] Primary](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "U.s. Government Publishing Office: Thirteenth Amendment [Pdf] Primary")
US Government Publishing Office
U.s. Government Publishing Office: Thirteenth Amendment [Pdf]
Complete text of the thirteenth amendment of the United States Constitution.
OpenStax
Open Stax: Restoring the Union
Read this section from a chapter on "The Era of Reconstruction" to learn about Lincoln's plan to restore the Union at the end of the Civil War. Students will be able to discuss the tenets of Radical Republicanism and analyze the success...
C3 Teachers
C3 Teachers: Inquiries: Emancipation
A learning module on the emancipation of African American slaves after the Civil War. It includes several supporting questions accompanied by formative tasks and source materials, followed by a summative performance task. Students will...
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Slavery and the Making of America: Freedom & Emancipation
Using primary documents, oral histories and other historical resources, learn about the African American reaction to emancipation and to events from the Reconstruction period following the Civil War.
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: Landmark Decisions
This site details the controversial issues regarding slavery and the effects they had on the Civil War amendments as well as on the fifth amendment. The site discusses events such as the Dred Scott case, the addition of the Civil War...
Other
Landmark Cases: Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Everything you might want to know about this historic Supreme Court decision. Included are great teacher directed activities, background summary, and the text of the majority opinion.
Cornell University
Cornell University: Library: I Will Be Heard: The 13th Amendment
Read the text of the 13th Amendment, adopted in January, 1865, even before the end of the Civil War, which ended slavery in the United States. Click on the image to see a larger picture of the document itself.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Reconstruction Amendments
In this interactive lesson, students will understand and explain the key provisions of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, commonly referred to as the Reconstruction Amendments.
Digital History
Digital History: Two Plans for Reconstruction [Pdf]
Before his assassination, Abraham Lincoln was already making plans for Reconstruction in the South. Read about his plan and the plan of the Radical Republicans. See the reasoning behind each plan.
US National Archives
Nara: Charters of Freedom: End of Slavery in the United States: 13th Amendment
Online exhibit of primary source documents related to the 13th Amendment after the Civil War and the end to slavery.
US National Archives
Our Documents: 13th Amendment to the u.s. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery
Take a look at an image of the constitutional amendment that put an end to slavery in the United States. Interactive image is accompanied by an overview of the amendment's inception and adoption, as well as document transcript.
Other
Karpeles: Emancipation Proclamation Amendment to the Constitution
A copy and transcription of the 13th Amendment which ended slavery. The sidebar gives a brief overview of emancipation and what led to this amendment.
US National Archives
Docsteach: Letter to President Abraham Lincoln From Annie Davis
Students will study a letter from Annie Davis, a woman who was enslaved in Maryland and wrote a letter to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War to find out if 'we are free.' The students will decide if she received her freedom...
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: u.s. Constitution: Thirteenth Amendment
This source provides the Thirteenth Amendment as it is worded in the U.S. Constitution. At the bottom of the page are annotations with links to information about the abolition of slavery, origin and purpose of the amendment, peonage, and...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: The Reconstruction Amendments
[Free Registration/Login Required] An article that discusses the 13-15th amendments and their impact on social history.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: What Is Freedom?: Politics and Reconstruction [Pdf]
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that guides students through an examination of the outcomes of the Civil War. Includes discussion prompts related to the effectiveness of...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1844 1877: Reconstruction: Life After Slavery
Discusses what life was like for African Americans who were freed from slavery after the Civil War. Includes questions for students.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Reconstruction
A very good overview of Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. Find the questions that needed to be answered about how to reincorporate the Confederate states, what rights freed blacks would have, and how terms of...