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Handout
Other

Basd: Reconstruction [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Website
US Government Publishing Office

Ben's Guide to u.s. Government: About the Emancipation Proclamation

For Students 6th - 8th
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.
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Handout
Other

Ithaca High School Social Studies Department: Plans for Reconstruction

For Students 9th - 10th
A great chart comparing Lincoln's and Johnson's reconstruction plans with the plans offered by the Radical Republicans.
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Primary
Emory University

Lewis H. Beck Center: Child, Lydia: How a Kentucky Girl Emancipated Her Slaves

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Website
Texas State Library and Archives Commission

Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Beginnings of the Movement: The Second Great Awakening

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Lesson Plan
US National Archives

Docsteach: Letter to President Abraham Lincoln From Annie Davis

For Teachers 9th - 10th
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...
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Website
BBC

Bbc History: British History: Empire: British Anti Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
A five-part article describing the British antislave trade movement. All major figures in the abolition movement discussed. Archived.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Mount Vernon and the Dilemma of a Revolutionary Slave Holder

For Students 9th - 10th
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?
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Primary
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: u.s. Constitution: Thirteenth Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Primary
Thomson Reuters

Find Law: u.s. Constitution: Thirteenth Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
Presents the Thirteenth Amendment - Slavery and Involuntary Servitude, which abolished slavery and forced servitude in the United States. Includes four annotations to the Amendment.
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Primary
Lumen Learning

Lumen: American Literature: Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Pre Civil War Reform: Introduction

For Students 9th - 10th
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?
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Absalom Jones (1746 1818)

For Students 9th - 10th
In this encyclopedia article you can read about Absalom Jones and his role in the development of black churches in the United States.
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Handout
The History Cat

The History Cat: Reconstruction Era

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Reconstruction

For Students 5th - 8th
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...
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Handout
Black Past

Black Past: Toussaint L'overture

For Students 9th - 10th
This encyclopedia article gives an accounting of Toussaint L'Overture, freed Haitian slave who was the leader of the revolt against France.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: James Forten

For Students 9th - 10th
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.