1850 Fugitive Slave Act – Underground Railroad Online Handbook
This GIS map and original dataset created by Cooper Wingert visualizes arrests under the federal 1850 Fugitive Slave Act.
06: Expansion and Sectionalism
Margaraetta Mason and Lydia Maria Child Discuss John Brown, 1860 | The American Yawp Reader
This exchange of two letters would take time for students to decipher, but it would be time well spent
I Hear America Singing by Walt Whitman | Poetry Foundation
This should be included in Manifest Destiny DBQs and lessons.
Archy Lee - Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California | ACLU NorCal
The story of Archy Lee can show teachers and students that there were many enslaved people caught between free and slave states, not just Dred Scott. It also shows how Canada was the only safe haven for many of these people
Other Donner Buffs
Scroll to the bottom of this page and read the short note left at Donnor Party Memorial Park in California. This is a personal connection with history that is seldom confronted. This should be referenced in any lesson dealing with the Donnor Party.
The Life and Trial of John Brown
Comprehensive collection of articles, artifacts and documents from the "Famous Trials" site at the University of Missouri - Kansas City
Dred Scott V. Sandford: A Brief History with Documents, Paul Finkelman
Abraham Lincoln's Lyceum Address
1838 Speech in which Lincoln shows support for the rule of law.
Death or Liberty Documents
Primary documents from the library of Virginia - check out the letters written to Gov. Wise during the John Brown trial
Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393 (1856)
Although much of the text of the decisions itself is impenetrable to high school students several select phrases are absolutely clear
1986 State Song of Kentucky Statute
This is the legislation that changes the words to the state song "My Old Kentucky Home", changing the words "darkies" to "people"
The Alamo--U.S. History lesson plan (grades 9-12)--DiscoverySchool.com
The Donner Party
This personal site is the work of a Donnor Party "Buff" includes links to other resources and day by day logs of the Party's progress.
The Expansion of the United States, 1846-48
Uncle Tom's Cabin, Or, Life Among the Lowly
TSHA | Lundy, Benjamin
Democracy In America Alexis De Tocqueville
Chapter 13 quote used at the start of the Donnor Party documentary film by Rik Burns
American Panorama - Overland Trails
map tracks how many people journeyed through parts of the United States each year, as well as providing context to explain the reason for the spikes and declines in travel. It also links to travelers' diary entries. These passages often record details on the weather people endured, and the company they kept on the road.
Discovery of Gold, by John A. Sutter - 1848
John Sutter's recollection of the discovery of gold in California, from Hutchings’ California Magazine, November 1857
The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum
The Kansas Barbed Wire Museum in LaCrosse, Kansas is devoted solely to the history and legend of this part of American history often referred to as the "Devils Rope". On exhibit are over 2000 barbed wire varieties; including samples manufactured between the years 1870 and 1890. Hundreds of antique fencing tools illustrate the inventiveness of pioneers
Black Population by State, 1790–2019 | Flourish
Teachers should just look at this - won't take more than 30 seconds to see how useful it is. It shows how the black population in states changes over time - slavery, great migration, right before your very eyes.
[USC02] 48 USC Ch. 8: GUANO ISLANDS - Guano Islands Act
This is the Guano Island Act by which the United States seized islands off the coast of Peru to remove guano for American farmers to use as fertilizer. Despite the narrative canon's insistence that imperialism doesn't come until the late 19th century, here it is in the administration of Millard Fillmore. There are a number of islands that are still claimed by the United States under this act
Gov Bond's Rescission Order (1976 Missouri Governor order rescinding 1838 Governor's order to exterminate Mormons)
Teachers can how this document to students without any explanation - and give them a few minutes to find out as much as they can about it. In 1838, the Governor of Missouri issued an order calling for the "extermination" or "expulsion" of all Mormons in Missouri. As surprising as that is, the state of Missouri did not officially rescind that order until 1976!
Teaching Hard History: American Slavery | Classroom Videos | Teaching Tolerance
Collection of 5 minute videos, each directly related to Key Concepts of Teaching Tolerance's Teaching Hard History Program. Although there are questions provided to go with each video it would be easy, and valuable, to just show the videos and talk about them with students
10 Remarkable Escaped "Runaway" Ads | Journal of the American Revolution
Virginia Memory: Deed of Manumission
How many students would believe that at one time, it was illegal for a Virginia slaveowner to set his slaves free? This deed of manumission can be described as a "birth certificate" as it in actuality marks the beginning of the free life of a person. Prior to 1723, it took an act of the Assembly to free any slave.
Lesson Plans trans-Atlantic slave trade database
Collection of lesson plans integrated with the data in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade database.
The Making of African American Identity: Vol. I, 1500-1865, Primary Resources in U.S. History and Literature, Toolbox Library, National Humanities Center
A collection of primary resources-historical documents, literary texts,and works of art-thematically organized with notes and discussion questions from National Humanities Center from National Humanities Center
Enslaved.org
robust, open-source architecture to discover, connect, and visualize 600,000 (and growing) people records and 5 million data points. From archival fragments and spreadsheet entries, we see the lives of the enslaved in richer detail. Explore the data and life stories on Enslaved.org and read articles on data-driven research about the lives of the enslaved in the Journal of Slavery and Data Preservation.
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Comprehensive, ship-by-ship tally of slave ships. It would not take more than a few moments for students to click through the ship records and review the number of slaves loaded on to ships in Africa and the number delivered to the Americas. Ask them to imagine what it would be like to trace their family tree back to this record. Share the story of Alex Haley who had to do this research long before the internet.