Digital History
Digital History: Civil War in Kansas [Pdf]
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...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Anglo Amer. Colonization in Texas: Texas 1836 1848
A brief look at the declaration of independence from Mexico by Texas in 1836, the removal of restrictions on slavery, and how this dramatically increased the population and led to a much greater reliance on the cotton industry in the...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Harriet Beecher Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe threw gas on the fire of the slavery issue with the publication of her novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. Read about her background as an abolitionist, and find out the influence her book had in the North and even in Great...
History of American Wars
History of American Wars: What Caused the Civil War?
A timeline from the 17th to the 19th century showing the evolution of the slavery issue in the United States, leading eventually to the Civil War.
PBS
Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: History of Us: Fatal Contradiction: Missouri Compromise [Pdf]
A lesson plan from the producers of the 16-episode PBS series "Freedom: A History of US" that examines the goal of the Missouri Compromise. A good lesson plan for comparing and contrasting life in the North and South in the run-up to the...
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Popular Sovereignty and Slavery
Comprehensive resource explores the use of Popular Sovereignty in debates about the slavery extension issue in new territories.
American Presidency Project
American Presidency Project: Democratic Party Platform of 1856
Read a copy of the Democratic Party Platform in the election of 1856. Of note is its equivocation on the issue of slavery.
Tom Richey
Tom richey.net: The Crisis of the Union (1850 1860) [Ppt]
Presents key ideas for examining the events and issues that led to the American Civil War.
Texas Public Broadcasting
Texas Pbs: Texas Our Texas: Early Statehood 1845 1861
Examines the circumstances surrounding Texas's entry into the Union in 1845 as a slave state. It was an uneasy union, with ongoing controversy around the issue of slavery. This lasted through the Mexican-American War and helped to...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Missouri Compromise
A good look at the issues debated about the admission of new states, particularly those that would be made from the Louisiana Purchase. Read about why the issue of allowing slavery in the new states was such a hard decision for Congress....
Other
Fca Homeschool: History 806
A sample lesson plan covering the sectionalism and problems facing the nation in its debate on slavery in the 1850s.
Digital History
Digital History: Writing a Constitution [Pdf]
This site is from a unit called 'Writing the US Constitution.' It looks at the documents that preceded the Constitution, and the major issues that were debated while the Constitution was being created.
Other
Binghamton University: Lincoln, Labor and Liberation
The free labor ideology of the nineteenth century was grounded in the beliefs that Northern free labor was superior to Southern slave labor. It was this free labor ideology and not the republicanism of the Revolutionary War era that...
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: Celia, a Slave Trial (1855)
For nineteen-year-old Celia, a slave on a Missouri farm, five years of being repeatedly raped by her middle-aged owner was enough. On the night of June 23, 1855, she would later tell a reporter, "the Devil got into me" and Celia fatally...
Curated OER
National Park Service: The Significance of the Dred Scott Trial
In this article from "The Old Courthouse" by Donald Dosch the facts of the Dred Scott decision are laid out. Read why the outcome of the case fanned the embers of the coming Civil War.
Other
Accord Freedom Trail: Freedom Trail St. Augustine Civil Rights Movement
The city of St. Augustine, Florida played a part in The Civil Rights Movement. The early background of African Americans and slavery issues is documented, followed by noted people, events, and battles in the St. Augustine area during the...
Harp Week
Education at Harp week.com: The Reconstruction Convention Simulation
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...
Department of Defense
Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 4: A House Divided
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...
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University: Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project
Northern Illinois University provides audio, visual, and text documents about Abraham Lincoln's Illinois years. You can search historical themes that relate to Lincoln and a biography of Lincoln. The site offers both primary and...
University of Oklahoma
Chronology of u.s. Historical Documents: The Emancipation Proclamation 1864
Here you can find the full text of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Abraham Lincoln in September 1862, and passed into law on January 1, 1863.
Digital History
Digital History: The War's Significance
Did the Southern slaveholders rush headlong into a war with Mexicoin an attempt to spread slavery in new territories? Read about those who felt this was the reason for the war.
Library of Congress
Loc: National Expansion and Reform 1815 1880
Follow the territorial and westward expansion of the newly formed United States. Learn about the thriving slave trade of that era and the spread of reform efforts across the country.
Other
Project p.a.t.c.h.: Dred Scott v. Sandford
This resource presents the text of the case, Dred Scott, Plaintiff v. John F. Sandford, which was presented to the Supreme Court in December, 1856.
University of Virginia
Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: James Buchanan
The initial source for links to all aspects of the Buchanan presidency, including information on his cabinet, domestic policy and foreign policy. From the Miller Center.