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.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Wartime Diplomacy
Both the North and South wanted the British and French to support their cause. Read about cotton diplomacy, which the South used to court both Britain and France. See how the North was tied to Great Britain. Find out why both European...
University of Groningen
American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: Beginning Scott v Sandford
Explains the background for the Dred Scott case and its journey through the court system, finally reaching the US Supreme Court.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre
John Brown, seeking revenge for the sack of Lawrence, Kansas, made Kansas even more bloody. Read about the Pottawatomie Massacre and its reverberations throughout Kansas.
Digital History
Digital History: September 11, 2001
This site has a comprehensive overview of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., including information on Osama bin Laden's background, the formation of Al Qaeda, the attacks themselves, the US response, civil liberties and national...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Sack of Lawrence
Read about how the destruction of Lawrence, Kansas, seat of the Free-Soiler government by border ruffians inflamed attitudes in the North toward the actions of the slave-holders.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Border Ruffians
Because of the terms of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, a election would be held to determine whether Kansas would be a slave or free state. Read about the fraudulent votes cast by the so-called border ruffians from Missouri, and see how Kansas...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Kansas Nebraska Act
Read about the essential repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which had established which states could be slave and which would be free for thirty years, with the rancorous passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. See who supported it and why,...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: The Dred Scott Decision
Read the terms of the Dred Scott decision which determined that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. See why this decision was so controversial and completely unacceptable to the northerners, thus driving an additional wedge...