This resource covers the changing of America due to the Industrial Revolution which brought in not only new technology but also opened the door to reform movements. From the series by Joy Hakim, "A History of Us." Includes a teacher's...

Featured is an archive of documents relating to 19th century abolitionist and feminist, Sojourner Truth. Includes a brief biography, pictures, narratives, maps and other materials relating to her life.

The papers of suffragist, reformer, and feminist theorist Elizabeth Cady Stanton cover the years 1814 to 1946, with most of the material concentrated between 1840 and 1902. Consisting of approximately 1,000 items, the collection contains...

View this engaging online exhibit to learn about Harriet Tubman, an outspoken advocate for African American and women's rights.

Chapter two of "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano," the autobiography of a man abducted from Africa and forced into slavery before later obtaining his freedom. This chapter details his capture and eventual journey...

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...

Using primary sources and contextualizing, this lesson attempts to answer the question "Did the ideals of the American Revolution affect the condition of enslaved people?"

An exhaustive, searchable website with original court records on 300 legal petitions for freedom by people of color, originally filed in St. Louis courts between 1814 and 1860.

Read about the issues that motivated Lucretia Mott to become an abolitionist and fighter for women's rights.

The complete text of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, called an Act to Organize the Territories of Nebraska and Kansas.

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.

There were many reasons for splits in the first Republican party, now usually referred to as the Democratic-Republican Party. See how that changed the party itself and the ways those changes affected the election of 1824.

Read about the many problems encountered by John Quincy Adams during his presidency, most not of his making, but a reflection of the split in the philosophies of the National Republicans and the up-and-coming Jacksonian Democrats.

Read about the history of the Quakers, also called the Religious Society of Friends, who are the oldest organized Christian church in North Carolina.

Learn about the views of the American Colonization Society (ACS) and about their efforts to send free blacks to Liberia. This website briefly overviews how the ACS started and how their efforts lead to the emigration of thousands.

[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the African slave trade. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

Get a glimpse of what is housed in the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The interactive tour highlights the struggle and introduces key historical figures such as Sojourner Truth, Nat Turner, Dred Scott, and Frederick...

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.

A learning module that begins with the poem "Learning to Read" by Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...

Depiction of the Transatlantic slave trade.

8th grade students in Fort Collins, Colorado each created a historical character file (HCF) as part of a Learning Expedition on slavery. Each HCF is a fictionalized account of an historically/geographically accurate character. Each file...

This site describes how slaves were packed in the ships with barely enough room to sit or move, to maximize capacity.

"If I Had Just Two Wings", an historical novel by Virginia Frances Schwartz, follows the journey of some slaves as they flee to Canada along the Underground Railroad. This teacher's guide includes detailed chapter summaries and project...

A learning module that begins with "Life of a Slave on A Southern Plantation" by BirdBrain History, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...