Other
Basd: Reconstruction [Pdf]
A very clear document outlining the various reconstruction plans, the problems for both whites and blacks during Reconstruction, and the amendments added concerning the abolition of slavery, civil rights, and suffrage. Requires Adobe...
US Government Publishing Office
Ben's Guide to u.s. Government: About the Emancipation Proclamation
Ben's Guide is a fun way to present U.S. Government to students grades K-12. This site presents a history of the Emancipation Proclamation. Links to related sites are available.
Other
Ithaca High School Social Studies Department: Plans for Reconstruction
A great chart comparing Lincoln's and Johnson's reconstruction plans with the plans offered by the Radical Republicans.
Emory University
Lewis H. Beck Center: Child, Lydia: How a Kentucky Girl Emancipated Her Slaves
Download the full text to Lydia Maria Child's "How a Kentucky Girl Emancipated Her Slaves." This account of a woman who freed her slaves was originally written by Lydia Child in 1862 and published in The New York Tribune.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Beginnings of the Movement: The Second Great Awakening
What did the Second Great Awakening have to do with women's rights and social reform? How was it a stepping stone for the women's suffrage movement? Find out how this movement, which emphasized individual worth, empowered women...
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...
BBC
Bbc History: British History: Empire: British Anti Slavery
A five-part article describing the British antislave trade movement. All major figures in the abolition movement discussed. Archived.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder
Read about George Washington's dependence on slaves to increase his wealth, and his private views on slavery. What were the possibilites had he expressed these views in public?
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...
Thomson Reuters
Find Law: u.s. Constitution: Thirteenth Amendment
Presents the Thirteenth Amendment - Slavery and Involuntary Servitude, which abolished slavery and forced servitude in the United States. Includes four annotations to the Amendment.
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Literature: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
This is the text and audio of the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an anti-slavery novel published in 1852, that was said to "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War." It was the best-selling novel of the 19th...
Digital History
Digital History: Pre Civil War Reform: Introduction
A good introduction to the topic of reform movements in Pre-Civil War America. What were the reasons that encouraged reform of many social ills?
Black Past
Black Past: Absalom Jones (1746 1818)
In this encyclopedia article you can read about Absalom Jones and his role in the development of black churches in the United States.
The History Cat
The History Cat: Reconstruction Era
Describes what the South was like after the Civil War ended. Many places were in ruins and people were desperately poor with many being homeless. Social structures had collapsed now that slaves had been freed. The Reconstruction era...
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...
Black Past
Black Past: Toussaint L'overture
This encyclopedia article gives an accounting of Toussaint L'Overture, freed Haitian slave who was the leader of the revolt against France.
Wikimedia
Wikipedia: James Forten
Learn about the life of James Forten, who was a successful inventor, businessman, abolitionist and social activist in the early years of the United States.