This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources about the power of religion for people in the New World.

Discover how African American political organizing in Richmond, Virginia, in the first decades after the Civil War, secured a measure of power amid ongoing fights against injustice.

The landmark four-part series The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow explores segregation from the end of the Civil War to the dawn of the modern civil rights movement. It was a brutal and oppressive era in American history, but during this time, large numbers of African Americans and a corps of influential black leaders bravely fought against the status quo, amazingly acquiring for African Americans the opportunities of education, business, land ownership, and a true spirit of community.

This lesson provides an excellent bridge into the study of the Reconstruction era. Students will examine the roles of the president that have evolved through history and the powers of the president as prescribed in Article II of the U.S. Constitution. They will then role-play members of Lincoln’s cabinet and witnesses hold hearings on Lincoln’s Reconstruction plans.

The Southern Campaign of the American Revolution picks up the story after the fall of Charleston in 1780. After catastrophes at The Waxhaws and Camden, victories in battles and skirmishes such as Brattonsville, Musgrove Mill, Kings Mountain, and Cowpens expelled the British invaders and defeated their loyalist friends, leading to the surrender at Yorktown, Virginia. The Battle of Guilford Courthouse (North Carolina) and the siege of Ninety Six are also featured in the series.

It may be difficult to imagine the total devastation of the South after the Civil War. Cities were destroyed, houses and slave quarters were burned, farmland was ruined, and one out of every five men who went to war never returned. Historians Cliff Kuhn, Marcellus Barksdale, and Gene Hatfield describe the chaos and uncertainty of the period. It was especially difficult for former slaves who were left homeless with nowhere to go.

Learn how the 1860 presidential election became a referendum on the southern way of life in this excerpt from The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected President, and the South was horrified. Seven Southern states seceded in the time between Lincoln's election and inauguration.

Students will learn about the impacting 2013 Supreme Court case that fractured part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by dismantling provision that gave the federal Congress the p[owner to protect voting rights. Students examine the immediate effects of the case.

This activity helps students understand how General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea was one of the most controversial aspects of the later phases of the Civil War. Sent by Ulysses S. Grant to create havoc and destruction of all resources that would be beneficial to the enemy, Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign in May 1864. Students will view a video clip from Ken Burns: The Civil War that explains how after capturing Atlanta, Sherman marched his army to the sea, capturing the city of Savannah in December, and then marching through South Carolina into North Carolina. Students will then analyze two primary sources. Student questions follow, which can be used for general class discussion or individual assessment. Answers to the questions are included.

After destroying the city of Atlanta, Gen. William T. Sherman turned his attention to the rest of the state and ordered what is known in history as the March to the Sea. Union soldiers were under orders to forage liberally and live off the land as they marched from Atlanta to Savannah. Bringing war to the people by destroying personal

Examination, discussion questions, and perspective defense resources about if the Electoral College is fair or not fair.

Sir Walter Raleigh and John White were the founders of the first English colony in the United States, the Roanoke Island colony. The contributions of Raleigh and White greatly expanded European knowledge of the New World.

This lesson plan encourages classroom discussions and reflections on cultural norms, mores, and folkways and uses the coloring sheet and poem: "S is for Shoes Off in the House" to propel critical thinking about students' own cultures in relation to others and how we can show respect, tolerance, and acceptance.

Over the course of the 19th Century, white settlers moved westward, and the US Government brokered treaties with Native Americans and often resorted to using military force to claim land for the United States. To this day, Sitting Bull—spiritual and military leader of the Lakota tribe—is remembered as the Native American chief who took the greatest stand against the US government. Through two primary source activities and a short biographical video, students will understand the remarkable courage of this leader who stood up for his people.

In the South, slavery is viewed as an economic necessity instead of a moral issue. Lincoln decides he cannot compromise on slavery. He runs for the U.S. Senate against Stephen Douglas.

For many, the Civil War was about only one issue: slavery. For others, it was about preserving the Union. The decision to free enslaved people would come slowly and from many sides. For more resources from Mercy Street, check out the collection page.

In this interactive lesson supporting literacy skills in U.S. history, students learn about the debate over slavery at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Students explore the changing perception of slavery in the new United States and the ways in which the debate over slavery affected the content of the Constitution. During this process, they read informational text, learn and practice vocabulary words, and explore content through videos and engagement activities.

Explore the story of how Brother, a seven-year-old boy from Africa, was enslaved and brought to America in the early 1700s adapted from Africans in America. Renamed Venture Smith, he was given difficult household tasks to perform by his master. As Venture grew older, he began to stand up for himself against the cruelty of his master's son.

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources and examines the role and impact of slavery in colonial America.

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources about the history of slavery in the United States.