US History Links

Student Site

Chapter 13: The House Divided, 1846-1861

Links

University of Virginia's "The Valley of the Shadow"
This is an award wining site about the experiences of two communities, one northern and the other southern, on the eve of war and follows them during the course of the Civil War. Interesting and easy to navigate this is a must see site. Uses primary and secondary sources, with a good section on John Brown and his ill-fated raid.

Smithsonian Institution's "CivilWar@Smithsonian"
An excellent site, with reliable information - that is often brief. The site is easy to navigate and well worth the time spent, especially for the novice.

University of Virginia's "Scartoons: Racial Satire and the Civil War"
The site is well written and easy to navigate. It provides a study of political cartoons from before the Civil War to reconstruction. Please note: Some of the depictions and language are offensive. The primary documents contain images, and uses language, that will shock the sensibilities of a modern reader.

Virtual Library's, "THE COMING OF THE WAR 1850-1860"
The site is part of the Virtual Library project and Lynn H. Nelson, professor of History at the University of Kansas, who maintains this section on the prewar years. The site, which is a "links page", contains many useful web links for the period. Be aware that some of the links are broken. You will also need to be cautious of the information contained on some of the links, while the webmaster has attempted to verify the information it is still the responsibility of the user to verify the facts. Much of the web is maintained with little money and few proof readers, so errors are common! Before using this link, you should take some time to read the Researcher's Toolbox, the link is at the bottom of this web page, about how to evaluate a website for content.

     Africans in America: Judgment Day, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/title.html
"A site on the deepening conflicts in American life as slavery expanded into the West and increasingly entrenched itself into political institutions. One section of a four-part site created by PBS Online as a supplement to a television documentary, Judgment Day covers the years 1831 to 1865. It contains a brief narrative of the period and an extensive resource bank, which includes short explanations of key people and events, historical documents, and commentary by historians."*

     Henry Clay, http://www.henryclay.org/index.htm
"*A short biography of Henry Clay. Maintained by Ashland: The Henry Clay Estate, the site also houses a set of links to other primary- and secondary-source material on Clay and a digital image of Clay's will."*

     Third Person, First Person: Slave Voices, http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/slavery/
"A library of manuscripts and broadsides that shed light on the social life of slavery. Created by the Special Collections Library at Duke University, the exhibit includes thumbnail images of broadsides calling for the return of runaway slaves and records from southern plantations."*

     Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture, http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/utc/
"A site dedicated to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Presented by the Special Collections Library at University of Virginia, the exhibit includes the full text of Stowe's novel, as well as a series of responses and reviews."*