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A house divided against itself cannot stand. The United States could no longer remain half-slave and half-free, and the ensuing war over the fate of slavery ripped apart the nation.

Slavery and African Americans in Antebellum America  |  Causes of the War  |  Abraham Lincoln and the Course of the War  |  The Art and Literature of the Civil War  |  Reconstruction and After in Art and Culture  |  Related EDSITEment Websites

US History Fellow Kim Kutz explains how slavery was an issue at the birth of the United States and how the issue became more and more central as the country expanded.

Kim and Sal talk about increased tensions between slave and free states as new territory is added after Mexican-American War and from Compromise of 1850 (especially the Fugitive Slave Act).

The Spread of Cotton and of Slavery 1790-1860

Compare North and South states on interactive maps to identify the differences between free and slave populations before the Civil War. Also includes discussion questions.

Compromises over Slavery

PBS LearningMedia Video for Social Studies for 4-12

PBS LearningMedia Video for Social Studies for 4-12

Reconstruction

Civil War and Reconstruction (1850-1877) - National Archives

Kim and Sal talk about the Emancipation Proclamation. 

Text Analysis of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Presidential Election of 1860

The US Civil War, Part I

The US Civil War, Part II

The Red Badge of Courage is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane. Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. - Wikipedia

In which John Green teaches you about the Mexican-American War in the late 1840s, and the expansion of the United States into the western end of North America. In this episode of Crash Course, US territory finally reaches from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific Ocean. After Oregon was secured from the UK and the southwest was ceded by Mexico, that is. Famous Americans abound in this episode, including James K Polk (Young Hickory, Napoleon of the Stump), Martin Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, and Winfield Scott. You'll also learn about the California Gold Rush of 1848, and California's admission as a state, which necessitated the Compromise of 1850. Once more slavery is a crucial issue. Something is going to have to be done about slavery, I think. Maybe it will come to a head next week.

From Lincoln's election to the formation of the Confederacy and Fort Sumter.

Strategy of the Civil War. The advantages and disadvantages of the North and South in the American Civil War.