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Lesson Plan
What So Proudly We Hail

The Meaning of America: Equality

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
What if society sought equality by handicapping the gifted and dispelling any traces of diversity? Kurt Vonnegut Jr. offers one possible answer to this question through his incredibly engaging and thought-provoking satirical...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Cherokee Removal

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders examine the issue of Cherokee removal from the perspectives of Andrew Jackson, members of Congress, and members of the Cherokee nation. They adopt the perspectives and engage in debate over the issue of Cherokee removal.
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PPT
Curated OER

Background to the Conflict: Pre-Civil War Days

For Teachers 8th - 12th
The American Civil War was a complex test of a relatively young democracy in the mid-nineteenth century. Discuss the events and factors that led to the Civil War with a thorough slideshow presentation.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Anti-Slavery Movement

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders as a class create and write a constitution for an anti-slavery society. They investigate demographics of slavery, treatment of slaves, the colonization movement, and women in the abolition movement, and present their...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Kansas and Nebraska Act

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students use a primary source of a political cartoon to set the context for a lesson. They answer key questions in writing or orally. Students conduct a class discussion about the issue to stimulate higher order thinking skills like...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Songs of the Times: American Concerns in 19th Century Campaigns

For Teachers 11th - Higher Ed
Students examine campaign songs from the 1840, 1848, and 1860 elections to explore the campaign strategies of 19th century political parties.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Black Hawk War-Reconstructing "Stillman's Run"

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders compare several eyewitness accounts of Stillman's Run, and discuss how a historian might use them. They act as historians and try to reconstruct what happened during Stillman's Run from the eyewitness accounts.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War.

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students investigate major characters of history that are represented in children's literature. They conduct research using a variety of resources and each character is put into a class book as a presentation. The character includes a...
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Primary
Claremont Institute

Founding.com: Lincoln Douglas Debates

For Students 9th - 10th
The content of seven Lincoln-Douglas Debates from August to October of 1858.
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Primary
Curated OER

National Park Service: Lincoln Home: The Lincoln Douglas Debates of 1858

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides the transcripts to all 7 of the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Lincoln Douglas Debates

For Students 5th - 8th
The Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 exemplified the rift in the nation concerning the issue of slavery and who should be able to determine whether states were free or slave. Read about this war of ideas that moved from the stage in...
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Handout
Other

Debate Central: Important Terms in Lincoln Douglas Debate

For Students 9th - 10th
Twenty-three important terms to know when conducting Lincoln-Douglas style debates. They can also be used when weighing any logical argument.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Lincoln Douglas Debates

For Students 9th - 10th
Discussion of the Lincoln Douglas Debates, a series of seven public debates held in 1858 between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas as they contested the Illinois Senate seat.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Lincoln Douglas Debates

For Students 9th - 10th
Historic debates, both in substance and form, were held between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in the Illinois Senate race in 1858. Read about the debates, where tht two men stood on the issue of slavery, and its place in the...
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Handout
California State University

Csun: Debate: Debate Formats

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Great explanation of the debate formats commonly used in high schools and universities. High school formats include Team Policy and Lincoln-Douglas debates, while university formats include NDT, CEDA, and Parliamentary debates. Formats,...
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Website
Constitutional Rights Foundation

Constitutional Rights Foundation: Bill of Rights in Action: The Lincoln Douglss Debates [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Article and activity offering students problem-based learning by examining conflict, past and present, that call in to question our Constitutional Rights. Questions for writing and discussion as well as small group learning activity.
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Website
Northern Illinois University

Northern Illinois University: Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project

For Students 9th - 10th
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...
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Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Lincoln, Douglas and Brown

For Students 9th - 10th
Overview of events of a nation in conflict including the 1858 U.S. Senate race between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas and the attack on Harpers Ferry.
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Website
Digital History

Digital History: Lincoln vs. Douglas [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
The Licoln-Douglas debates pitted two great speakers who were espousing different courses for the country in regard to the issue of slavery. Read a snopsis of their seven debates and see what four major issues they debated. [pdf]
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Handout
Other

Bloomsburg University: Lincoln Douglas and Team Debate Formats

For Students 9th - 10th
Dr. Tomlinson provides basic outlines of the two most prominent debate formats including time limits and the characteristics of each phase of the debate.
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Article
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: Abraham Lincoln Speeches and Writings

For Students 9th - 10th
Excerpts of various speeches, debates and writings on slavery from Abraham Lincoln 1854 and 1858, giving the reader a glimpse of Lincoln's position on the issue of slavery.
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eBook
Blackdog Media

Classic Reader: The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 4

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Read the full text of volume four of "The Writings of Abraham Lincoln". This anthology focuses on debates four through seven of the infamous Lincoln-Douglas debates.
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eBook
Blackdog Media

Classic Reader: The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, Volume 3

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
Read the full text of volume two of "The Writings of Abraham Lincoln". This anthology combines speeches and the first three Lincoln-Douglas debates.
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Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Abraham Lincoln

For Students 9th - 10th
The Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia offers biographical information on Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865 CE), including short-answer basics and a "Life in brief."