Children of the Civil War: On the Home Front
Source: American Battlefield Trust
The Civil War wasn’t only confined to battlefields. Find out how the war directly affected the lives of children on both sides of the battle lines.
Grade 8
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Solving a Civil War Photograph Mystery
Source: Library of Congress
Even before computers made it easy, people have tampered with photographs. On this web site, you can examine an image from the Civil War and learn how experts determined it was fake.
Walt Whitman and the Civil War
Source: American Experience
The poet Walt Whitman wrote extensively about the Civil War, although he did not fight in it. Find out what he was doing during those five pivotal years.
Harriet the Spy: How Tubman Helped the Union Army
Source: National Geographic
As if her work leading people out of slavery through the Underground Railroad weren’t amazing enough, Harriet Tubman also served a crucial military role during the Civil War.
Classic Slave Narratives
Source: Thought Co.
One powerful driver of the abolitionist movement was the words of formerly enslaved people. Find out about some of the most influential slave narratives.
What the Emancipation Proclamation Didn’t Do
Source: National Public Radio
In this interview, a historian sets the record straight about Abraham Lincoln’s bold move.
Louisa May Alcott: Abolitionist, Suffragette, and Mercenary
Source: Tavistock Books
Although she is best known for writing the childhood classic Little Women, Louisa May Alcott was far more interested in advocating for freedom for all. Learn more about this multifaceted American author.
Underground Railroad: Primary Source Documents
Source: Pathways to Freedom
Explore letters and official documents related to the Underground Railroad from the front line in Maryland.
A Close, Intimate Look at Walt Whitman
Source: Smithsonian Magazine
What can the camera tell us about the lives and work of famous authors? In this article, poet Mark Strand examines an 1891 photograph of Walt Whitman.
Baltimore rededicates ex-Confederate site to Harriet Tubman
Source: CBS News
In another chapter of America’s reckoning with the history of slavery, Baltimore has removed Confederate statues from one of its parks and renamed it after abolionist Harriet Tubman.
Born-Into-Slavery Narratives Discovered in Newspaper
Source: U.S. News & World Report
In 2017, a Pennsylvania historian found several slave narratives that had been published in a local newspaper in 1893. Read this article to learn more.
African American Spirituals
Source: Library of Congress
Why might singing be important for laboring slaves? Click this link to learn more about the important roles folksongs called spirituals played in the lives of slaves.
Frederick Douglass On How Slave Owners Used Food As A Weapon Of Control
Source: NPR
This article examines some of Frederick Douglass’s writings in which he describes how slave owners made use of food (and hunger) as a way of manipulating their slaves.
Sojourner Truth
Source: Biography.com
A former slave, Sojourner Truth was an ally of Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison in the fight for the abolition of slavery. Watch a mini-biography and read about this brave abolitionist and women’s rights advocate.
Harriet Tubman: American Hero
Source: U.S. News & World Report
In March of 2017, the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center opened in Maryland. Read this article to learn more about the center, along with several other reasons Tubman has received fresh attention recently.
English professor digitizes historic slave manuscript in Library of Congress
Source: Virginia Commonwealth University
Read to learn about a professor who recently found one of the only manuscripts known to be written by a slave during his bondage. The professor has preserved the document by creating a digital version of the manuscript in its original form.
‘What To The Slave Is The Fourth Of July?’ Frederick Douglass, Revisited
Source: NPR
In 1852, Frederick Douglass gave a famous speech criticizing the celebration of Independence Day in a time of slavery. This article suggests that Douglass’ speech is as relevant today as it was before slavery was abolished in the United States.
Grad Student Discovers A Lost Novel Written By Walt Whitman
Source: NPR
Click this link to find out how an unknown novel written by poet Walt Whitman was recently discovered and to read a short excerpt from the manuscript.
Final Confederate statue coming down in New Orleans
Source: CNN
In May 2017, New Orleans took down a statue of General Robert E. Lee that had stood for 133 years. Read to learn more about the city government’s reasons for removing the statue and the public disagreement about the decision.
Slave Rebellions: A Timeline
Source: PBS
How did enslaved people fight against their condition? This timeline gives information about the major escape operations and rebellions from slavery that occurred in the Western Hemisphere.
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