Read ten facts about the 1863 Proclamation, one of the most important documents in the history of the United States.
Category Archives: The Move Toward Freedom
“12 Years a Slave” based on true story
The film 12 Years a Slave is hailed as one of the most accurate portrayals of slavery to come to the movie screen. In this short clip, you will see some scenes from the film and meet the screenwriter.
Robert Smalls: A Daring Escape
An enslaved man named Robert Smalls went undercover for one of the most daring escapes of all time. Find out how he saved himself and saved dozens of other enslaved people as well!
Did Black Rebellion Win the Civil War?
Historians are giving credit to sociologist, W.E.B. DuBois’s idea that enslaved workers coordinated a general strike, which helped end the Civil War.
6 Southern Unionist Strongholds During the Civil War
It’s easy to think of the two sides in the Civil War as monoliths, in which everyone supported the side where they lived. But many Southerners opposed secession and even fought as part of the Union Army.
Stop making second American Civil War clickbait
Pundits from both political extremes sometimes bring up the idea of the United States having a new civil war. Here’s why that’s not going to happen.
Children of the Civil War: On the Home Front
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.
Solving a Civil War Photograph Mystery
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
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
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
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
In this interview, a historian sets the record straight about Abraham Lincoln’s bold move.
Louisa May Alcott: Abolitionist, Suffragette, and Mercenary
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
Explore letters and official documents related to the Underground Railroad from the front line in Maryland.
A Close, Intimate Look at Walt Whitman
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
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
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
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.
Sojourner Truth
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
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.