Topic :Civil War
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U.S. Civil War Center (Louisiana State)
Produced by Louisiana State university, the site is not a museum or library but serves to locate, index, and make available Civil War data on the Internet. A great place to begin web research.
The American Civil War Homepage (U. TN)
Has useful information including timelines, descriptions of battles (state by state), letters, documents, and links
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
This Library of Congress exhibition contains succinct overviews of several aspects of the Civil War and Reconstruction and features primary sources, maps, and images
Civil War Resources from the VMI Archives
This site highlights collections of the Virginia Military Institute, including manuscripts and battle resource guides. Special topics include VMI's Civil War generals, Stonewall Jackson's resources, a war chronology, Robert E. Lee's funeral and more
Great American History
This is a diverse site on the Civil War that provides educational materials and research services. Some of the unconventional topics covered are religious revivalism in the armies, unsung heroes, and Lincoln's belief in God.
The Valley of the Shadows
The Valley of the Shadow depicts two communities, one Northern and one Southern, through the experience of the American Civil War. The project focuses on Augusta County, Virginia and Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and creates a social history of the coming, fighting, and aftermath of the Civil War. The project is a hypermedia archive of thousands of sources for the period before, during, and after the Civil War for Augusta County, Virginia, and Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Those sources include newspapers, letters, diaries, photographs, maps, church records, population census, agricultural census, and military records. Students can explore the conflict and write their own histories, or reconstruct the life stories of women, African Americans, farmers, politicians, soldiers, and families. The project is intended for secondary schools, community colleges, libraries, and universities.
Civil War @ Smithsonian
Explore the Civil War through the extensive collections of the Smithsonian Institution. Includes a timeline and many images of artifacts and documents.
Abraham Lincoln Papers
The complete Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 20,000 documents. The collection is organized into three "General Correspondence" series which include incoming and outgoing correspondence and enclosures, drafts of speeches, and notes and printed material. Most of the 20,000 items are from the 1850s through Lincoln's presidential years, 1860-65.
Abraham Lincoln Online
President’s speeches, writings, and images
Lincoln/Net
Lincoln/Net provides historical materials from Abraham Lincoln's Illinois years, including Lincoln's writings and speeches, as well as other materials illuminating antebellum Illinois. This site includes interpretive materials, featuring a brief Lincoln biography and discussions of eight major historical themes. Lincoln/Net provides over fifteen million words of primary source materials, over 1500 images, video commentary on various aspects of Lincoln's life by historians and, and even a sound archive. Lincoln/Net also offers lesson plans that utilize the primary source documents found in the Lincoln/Net database.
Assassination of President Lincoln
This Library of Congress site provides an introduction, timeline, and photo gallery to document the assassination of the nation’s 16th President.
Mr. Lincoln's White House
This site profiles family members, Cabinet officers and Vice Presidents, members of Congress, generals and others
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum
The official Web site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Abraham Lincoln Research Center
This teacher-produced site has three main sections: Abraham Lincoln Research Site, Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination, and the Mary Todd Lincoln Research Site. Offers a clear and engaging mix of text, images, and primary sources.
Harper's Weekly Reports, 1857-1874
For over a quarter of a century Harper’s Weekly captured the lion’s share of the national newspaper audience. Materials from the magazine are presented in order to give a true historical picture of the leading 19th-century newspaper’s view of black Americans.
Racial Satire and the Civil War
Presented by the University of Virginia, this site is a case study that explores racial caricature in editorial cartoons at the time of Lincoln.
The Battle of Antietam
This NPR report features the views of renowned historian James McPherson who argues that Antietam was a turning point in the war.
The History Place - U.S. Civil War 1861-1865
Here you'll find a Lincoln timeline, biographies, resumes of famous battles and events, photos and a chronology
American Civil War Resources
This site is a useful gateway to Civil -War related sites
Civil War Women
Duke University uses diaries and papers to profile three Civil War era women
The Iron Road (PBS)
Part of PBS's American Experience series, this site is the story of the building of the first east-west railroad link. There is a teacher's guide, a bibliography, photos and recommended readings
Lesson Plans, Teacher Guides, Activities, and more
The Crisis at Fort Sumter
Crisis at Fort Sumter is an interactive historical simulation and decision making program. Using text, images, and sound, it reconstructs the dilemmas of policy formation and decision making in the period between Abraham Lincoln's election n in November 1860 and the battle of Fort Sumter in April 1861.
Teaching with Documents (Lesson Plan)
The NARA has compiled many Civil War primary sources, including several sound files of interviews with the last surviving confederate veteran. Lesson plans and activity worksheets are at the bottom of the page and can be applied to any visual document.
Selected Civil War Photographs (Library of Congress)
There are over a thousand Civil War photographs for you to explore at this site
Civil War Battle Fields-Virtual Field Trip
Using the provided websites, students will follow Kelly Fortner's lesson plan to understand the significance of each Civil War battle. Activities include writing battle outlines and reading eyewitness accounts of the fighting.
Lesson Plan: The Civil War
This Civil War lesson plan includes many topics of discussion. It also encourages students to build their background knowledge of the Civil War through research and a suggested reading list.
Time of the Lincolns: A Teachers Guide
The PBS film Abraham and Mary Lincoln: A House Divided and this companion Web site, The Time of the Lincolns, offer insights into topics in American history including women's rights, slavery, abolition, politics and partisanship, the growth of the industrial economy, and the Civil War. You can use part or all of the film, or delve into the rich resources available on this Web site to learn more, either in a classroom or on your own.
PBS provides a lesson plan that encourages debate and discussion among students.
Lesson Plan: Civil War Letters
Intended for both middle and high schoolers, this PBS lesson plan revolves around a letter writing activity in which students write letters as if they are in the Civil War Era. The webpage also includes authentic Civil War letters and encourages students to analyze these documents. PBS recommends that this lesson plan be used in conjunction with the film The Civil War, directed by Ken Burns.
Lesson Plan: Lee and Grant at Appomattox Court House
In this PBS lesson plan, students are asked to examine the terms and conditions of Lee's surrender. The lesson plan provides ample material for research and discussion regarding the end of the Civil War. PBS recommends that this lesson plan be used in conjunction with the film The Civil War, directed by Ken Burns.
Teacher Lesson Plan: What Do You See?
In this LOC lesson plan, students will examine one Civil War photograph from the selected catalog in extreme detail. This lesson plan includes all the necessary handouts and class materials for convenience. Suitable for grades 5-12
Lesson Plan: Lincoln Goes to War
In this MarcoPolo lesson plan, students examine Abraham Lincoln's decision to mobilize the Union Army against the South. Particular attention is paid to external factors that influenced the President's decision. Recommended for grades 9-12
Lesson Plan- We Must Not be Enemies: Lincolns First Inaugural Address
Students will gain a greater knowledge of Lincoln's presidency in this MarcoPolo lesson plan. A copy of the first inaugural is included, along with many other documents and six complete lesson plans. Written for students in grades 6-8
Lesson Plan- Eve of the Civil War: People and Places of the North and South
This MarcoPolo lesson plan is intended to provide students with a knowledge of the social climate immediately before the Civil War. It comes with 6 different lessons a good selection of online resources. Recommended for grades 6-8
Teaching with Documents Lesson Plan: The Fight For Equal Rights: Black Soldiers on the Battlefield
This NARA lesson plan contains a lot of good background information and many online resources, as well as Teacher activities and Student assignments.
American Civil War Ethnography
This website has been designed in order to assist students in the creation of an ethnography of the United States during the Civil War Era.
Civil War Knowledge Bank: Activities, Projects, Quizzes
The site offers a series of Civil War activities, resources, and assessments. Go to Table of Contents
September 11 & The Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address was read at the September 11 anniversary ceremony. Read the Gettysburg Address and discuss with your partner(s) its main themes. Why do you think the Gettysburg Address is appropriate now?
The Meaning of Memorials
Inspired by AMERICAN VISIONS' online content, middle school students will explore the historical and cultural meaning of memorials, our country's "organs of social memory," with a focus on works and structures eulogizing the American Civil War. Using a variety of online, multimedia, and community resources, students will also investigate how the Civil War impacted their community and how the War and its veterans are remembered locally. This lesson is especially appropriate as part of a unit on the Civil War, or as an excellent way to honor and give meaning to the Memorial Day holiday in May. Doing field research, students will learn about the lives of local Civil War soldiers firsthand, and will gain confidence in their ability to discover the past for themselves.
The Coming of the Civil War: Multiple Choice Quiz, Fill-in-the-Blank, Flashcards, American History Glossary, American History Appendix
The Student Resources section of The American Nation companion web site features introductions to chapters, interactive quizzes, flashcards, web links, an American History Glossary, and an American History Appendix
The War to Save the Union: Multiple Choice Quiz, Fill-in-the-Blank, Flashcards, American History Glossary, American History Appendix
The Student Resources section of The American Nation companion web site features introductions to chapters, interactive quizzes, flashcards, web links, an American History Glossary, and an American History Appendix
Interpreting Primary Sources
Digital History provides brief excerpts from primary sources and statistics and also questions to think about: Sectional Conflict, Secession and the Civil War, Civil War
Digital History Resource Guides
The Digital Resource Guides provides links to American history web sites by period and provide historical overviews, readings (online textbook chapter, Reader's Companion) primary source documents (documents, maps, cartoons), teaching resources (chronologies, maps, quizzes), audio-visual resources, and additional resources. It is an excellent and comprehensive teaching resource.
HistoryTeacher.net: AP United States History Quizzes
A New York teacher has produced a great general site for history teachers that offers AP-level United States history quizzes on many different periods and topics.
AP United States History DBQs: 1810-1860
These student-created DBQs are part of the excellent Historyteacher.net site
The American People: The Union in Peril
PowerPoint Presentation on the causes of the American Civil War as part of the online companion to The American People. Click Chapter 14.
The American People: The Union Severed
PowerPoint Presentation on the American Civil War as part of the online companion to The American People. Click Chapter 15.
Role of Women in the Civil War
Working in collaborative teams, students use a variety of sources to prepare multimedia presentations about the different roles that women played in the Civil War. High School.
Women in the American Civil War
"You will learn about military battles and the lives of women during the American Civil War, 1861-1865 using both the Internet and other resources. You will work both by yourself and in a group throughout this unit. Your group will write 2 letters from a woman who may have lived during the Civil War and 2 letters from the woman's relative."
The Civil War: Quizzes and Activities
Mountain City Elementary School, Tennessee
Civil War: Blank Map
The companion web site to The American People offers blank maps related to various topics in American history. The maps can be printed or placed in a PowerPoint presentation
A History of the United States: Internet Activities and Student Self Test Questions
Prentice Hall's phschool.com offers internet activities and interactive quizzes based on A History of the United States textbook chapters. High School.
The American Nation: Internet Activities
Prentice Hall's phschool.com offers internet activities based on their The American Nation textbook chapters. Middle School grades.
Timeline of the Civil War
Library of Congress