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Website
BBC

Bbc: Slave Island New York's Hidden History

For Students 9th - 10th
A fascinating article that examines the discovery in 1991 of a large Negro burial ground in lower Manhatten. The African American cemetery was used during the 18th century. Archived.
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Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Sojourner Truth

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn of Sojourner Truth's eventful life from runaway slave to advocate for freedom and fairness. She was the first African American woman to speak out against slavery in public. She continued her quest for fairness by being a...
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Handout
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Harcourt: Biographies: Sojourner Truth

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about Sojouner Truth's eventful life from runaway slave to advocate for freedom and fairness. The first African American woman to speak out against slavery in public. (In Spanish)
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Handout
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: The Supreme Court: Landmark Cases: Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS features a summary of the landmark Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v. Sanford which ruled that African Americans are not American citizens, and therefore could not sue in federal court. Decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Controversial Dred Scott Decision [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The Dred Scott case was a test case on whether African-Americans, whether free or slave, had any rights. Find out what led up to this controverisal decision, and read the reasoning of the majority opinion as expressed by Chief Justice...
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Booker T. Washington

For Students 5th - 8th
Booker T. Washington was an African-American visionary. Read about his embrace of education as a way to lift up blacks in the racist South, but see how some of his views found opposition in the black community.
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Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1844 1877: Reconstruction: Black Codes

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses the Black Codes that white Southerners imposed on African Americans after the Civil War and the efforts by Republican politicians to protect their rights.
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Handout
University of Missouri

Famous Trials: Stamped With Glory: Lewis Tappan and the Africans of the Amistad

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about Lewis Tappan, "an abolitionist and devout Christian," and his participation with the Amistad trial. Providing detailed information and original documents, this is an excellent resource on Tappan and his efforts to expedite...
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Handout
A&E Television

Biography: James Armistead (C. 1748 C. 1830)

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of James Armistead [Lafayete] who was born into slavery in Virginia and later became a famous American spy during the War for Independence.
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Article
Scholastic

Scholastic: New York Times Upfront: The Civil War: Ten Things You Should Know

For Students 9th - 10th
Article written on the 150th anniversary of Fort Sumter, the beginning of the American Civil War, in which the author presents little known Civil War facts about topics such as, Americans during that time, slavery, new technologies,...
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Article
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Inventor of the Week: Elijah Mc Coy

For Students 9th - 10th
According to this article, Elijah McCoy (1844-1929 CE) is one of the most prolific inventors in American history. Read about his parents who escaped slavery by traveling on the Underground Railroad and about his invention, the automatic...
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Primary
US National Archives

Our Documents: Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

For Students 9th - 10th
Image of handwritten copy of Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, accompanied by an explanation of the speech's purpose, impact, and role in American history.
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Website
Other

Juneteenth.com: History of Juneteenth

For Students 9th - 10th
Juneteenth.com discusses what Juneteenth is, its history, and its celebration. Content includes a look at why June 19, 1865, signifies the end of slavery in America, as opposed to Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863.
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Lesson Plan
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Colonial Williamsburg: The Two Williamsburgs

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
This lesson plan on daily life in Colonial Williamsburg challenges students to compare and contrast the lives of the African and European populations.
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Lesson Plan
John F. Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center: Harriet Tubman: Secret Messages Through Song

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
This ArtsEdge lesson, part of a larger unit about Harriet Tubman, not only teaches students about spirituals but effectively illustrates the struggle for freedom from slavery.
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Article
A&E Television

History.com: How Black Women Fought for Civil War Pensions and Benefits

For Students 9th - 10th
In a time when military pensions were a large part of the federal budget, Black women faced unique challenges in securing compensation. Widows of Civil War soldiers could begin applying to the Bureau of Pensions during the war, and one...
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Lesson Plan
iCivics

I Civics: Civil War & Reconstruction

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The Civil War and Reconstruction Era brought about the end of slavery and the expansion of civil rights to African Americans through the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Compare the Northern and Southern states, discover the concepts of...
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Lesson Plan
Yale University

Yale New Haven Teachers Institute: Black Emancipators of the 19th Century

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson unit on the people and movements that fought to abolish slavery. Looks at the Triangular Trade, and at the Underground Railroad and famous abolitionists. Includes a play about emancipation, a black history rap and a trivia quiz...
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Article
Texas State Historical Association

Texas State Historical Association: Civil Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of the state and progress of civil rights in the state of Texas since its emancipation from slavery in 1865.
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Activity
South Carolina Educational Television

Etv: Artopia: Painting Critic: The Life of John Brown, No. 11 by Jacob Lawrence

For Students 9th - 10th
A painting of antislavery fighter John Brown leading an attack on horseback against settlers who supported slavery. Provides a short biography of the artist, Jacob Lawrence, questions about the painting for students to answer, and an...
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Activity
Other

Juneteenth: The Middle Passage

For Students 9th - 10th
Moving description of the Middle Passage and African American trauma through the perspective of the artist, Tom Feelings.
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Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Phillis Wheatley

For Students 9th - 10th
Despite spending much of her life enslaved, Phillis Wheatley was the first African American woman to publish a book of poems.
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Graphic
Curated OER

Early Anti Slavery Publication, a Sermon by Jonathan Edwards, Jr.

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, which is provided for by the Library of Congress, is part of the African American Mosaic. It describes abolition and gives references to books about the topic.
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Graphic
Curated OER

Minutes of Early Anti Slavery Meeting

For Students 9th - 10th
This site, which is provided for by the Library of Congress, is part of the African American Mosaic. It describes abolition and gives references to books about the topic.