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Primary
University of Virginia

Virginia Center for Digital History: The Geography of Slavery in Virginia

For Students 9th - 10th
A digital collection of advertisements for runaway and captured slaves in the period before the American Civil War. In addition, there are historical documents related to slavery. Gives the option of browsing or doing a detailed search....
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Handout
Other

Understanding Race: Society: 1800 1850s: Resisting Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
An overview of slave revolts and abolitionist efforts during the first half of the nineteenth century, leading up until the Civil War. Read about the Underground Railroad, the colonization movement, and various anti-slavery books.
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Handout
Other

American Anthropological Association: 1800 1850s: Expansion of Slavery in the Us

For Students 9th - 10th
Outlines the political events prior to the Civil War as the United States expanded its territories to include new states and conflicts arose over the issue of slavery.
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Unit Plan
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: Ap Us History Study Guide, Period Five: 1844 1877

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] Advanced Placement U.S. History learning module on Civil War era America and the transformation of society, 1844-1877. Comprehensive study tools include videos, essays, primary source documents, and...
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Handout
National Women’s History Museum

National Women's History Museum: Harriet Tubman

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn about Harriet Tubman, the first African American woman to serve in the military who escaped enslavement and helped others reach freedom During the Civil War.
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Unit Plan
Other

After Slavery Project: Race, Labor and Politics in Post Emancipation Carolinas

For Students 9th - 10th
This site is a collaborative work-in-progress involving a team of four scholars based in the US, Ireland and the UK. It consists of ten learning units on topics revolving around the emancipation of slaves in the American South following...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: A War to End Slavery: Gettysburg, Vicksburg and Children at War [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that takes students through an investigation of two key battles of the Civil War--Vicksburg and Gettysburg. Students determine why these battles...
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Website
Other

American Girl: Addy, a Courageous Girl

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Meet Addy, a character in the American Girl series, and learn about her courageous struggle over slavery during the Civil War through this collection of stories, games, and activities. Also, includes teacher guide and worksheets.
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Interactive
University of Oregon

Mapping History Project: Slavery in the American South: 1790 1860

For Students 9th - 10th
Watch this interactive map to see the spread and concentration of slavery in the South from 1790 to the eve of the Civil War Click on the map to begin. The timeline at the bottom indicates the year. Be sure to access the key. Shockwave...
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Peace Democrats, Copperheads, and Draft Riots

For Students 9th - 10th
Abraham Lincoln did not have universal backing in the conduct of the Civil War. Read about the opposition, mainly from the Democrats, who opposed emancipation of the slaves and waging a war to reunited the country.
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Handout
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: Reconstruction & Civil Rights

For Students 9th - 10th
Following the Civil War in the United States came an era of reconstruction. The men and women who were freed from slavery were suddenly stuck trying to sort out all of the freedoms as well as new responsibilities they were facing. The...
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Lesson Plan
Library of Congress

Loc: Slavery in the United States: Primary Sources

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
This lesson introduces students to primary sources- what they are, their great variety, and how they can be analyzed. The lesson begins with an activity that helps students understand the historical record. Students then learn techniques...
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Lesson Plan
Louisiana Department of Education

Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Grade 7 Social Studies: Slavery Compromise

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students develop and express claims through discussions and writing which compare and contrast how the early compromises over slavery, including their effectiveness and impact on different regions of the United States.
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Handout
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1844 1877: Reconstruction: Life After Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
Discusses what life was like for African Americans who were freed from slavery after the Civil War. Includes questions for students.
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Website
Siteseen

Siteseen: Civil Conflict: The Crittenden Compromise of 1860

For Students 9th - 10th
Web page on the Crittenden Compromise of 1860 which assured the continuation of slavery where it already existed in an attempt to appease Southerners and halt secession of Southern states from the Union.
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Website
Siteseen

Siteseen: Civil Conflict: The Corwin Amendment

For Students 9th - 10th
Web page on the proposed Corwin Amendment which, if ratified, would have forbade Congress from interfering with states' right to make decision to slavery. Site contains textual information, video [3:28], and fun facts for students.
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Article
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: The Demise of Slavery

For Students 9th - 10th
In this essay, J. William Harris, Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire, explains the developments that brought about the demise of slavery.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Civil War in Kansas [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The Compromise of 1850 did not solve all the slavery issues in the territories, which was not surprising. Read about the Kansas-Nebraska Act, put forth by Sen. Stephan Douglas, who proposed that the issue be decided by popular...
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Civil War Begins [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The election of 1860 showed the deep divisions that split the country. With four candidates representing four very different approaches to the issue of slavery, the outcome resulted in the secession of South Carolina, followed eventually...
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Graphic
Other

The Spread of u.s. Slavery, 1790 1860

For Students 9th - 10th
Presents population maps of enslaved and free African Americans before the Civil War based on census population.
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Handout
PBS

Pbs: Africans in America: Slavery and the Origins of the Civil War

For Teachers 9th - 10th
An article by Columbia University historian Eric Foner that discusses how long-standing views of the role of slavery in America began to be challenged during the civil rights era of the 1960s by a new generation of historians, whose work...
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Website
PBS

Pbs: Slave to Sharecropper

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection of resources examines the life and work of freed slaves after the Civil War. Includes questions and answers on sharecropping in the American South, as well as a personal account from a former slave who became a sharecropper.
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Unit Plan
Department of Defense

Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 4: A House Divided

For Students 9th - 10th
This extensive learning module examines how the United States became more connected with the world as it pursued an expansionist foreign policy, became the destination for many new immigrants, and encouraged migration to the Pacific...
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Unit Plan
Harp Week

Education at Harp week.com: The Reconstruction Convention Simulation

For Students 9th - 10th
A simulation activity where students participate in a convention at the end of the American Civil War that never actually took place. Together they grapple with the issues that faced America in 1865 in dealing with the demise of slavery...

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