Slavery in America

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Slavery in America Gateway
Abolition Web Resources

Web site Evaluators
Tracy Ajello - Dolittle School, Connecticut
Ruby Bernstein - Laney College, California
Barbara Bureker - Evergreen Internet Academy, Washington
Sherry Tavegie - University of Wyoming, Wyoming

Web site Reviewer and Compiler
Tori Austin - Education Service Center, Texas

Site Ratings

1 = Poor

2 = Fair

3 = Good

4 = Excellent

Abolition, Anti-Slavery Movements, and the Rise of the Sectional Controversy
http://www.memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aopart3.html
Through digitized images of anti-slavery posters, speeches, songs, poems, books, and handbills, the Library of Congress web site "brings to life the anti-slavery and Abolitionist Movement." The short captions explaining the images provide excellent "hooks" to further engage an "motivate American literature and history students to create and interpret history." Excerpts from William Lloyd Garrison's "stirring song book" and "calling cards" designed and sold by Sojourner Truth to finance her "preaching God's word" are just a few of the profoundly moving images available on this site. The site provides additional links to information on related topics such as Free Blacks, Slavery and The Civil War and Reconstruction. The site is a great starting point for research into the Abolitionist Movement.
Overall Rating: 4

American Abolitionism
http://www.iupui.edu/~douglass/
American Abolitionism, initiated by Professor John R. McKivigan of Indiana University/ Purdue University of Indianapolis, is a "very extensive" site that includes "comprehensive" coverage of the history of the Abolitionist Movement through the inclusion of "first hand accounts by former slaves, memoirs, travel accounts, diaries, and illustrations." There are interviews with experts, which "help students and teachers understand how the past is studied and used as a catalyst for future learning." In addition, there are biographical sketches of key figures of the movement including John Quincy Adam and Sojourner Truth as well as an "extensive" section of links to related web sites, which include links to "fabulous" lesson plans for teachers. This site is "excellent" for high school students as well as educators researching the topic.
Overall Rating: 3.5

Hope High School Media Center: African American Resources
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Agora/6746/afroamerwebpage.htm
This African-American Resources site is part of the Hope High School Media Center’s web site. It was last updated in February 2000 and could use updating as “more than five links are broken.” Many of the links do lead to reputable and stable sites (Smithsonian, PBS, and Library of Congress among others). Quite a few primary resources, including wills and deeds (gifts and sales of slaves), information about rebellions and an interview with Nat Turner are included. The site doesn’t include information itself, but the list of links is “worth visiting and saving, primarily for teachers.” It may be “too spotty” and have too much “extraneous material through which to wade” for students, especially younger students.
Overall Rating: 3

The United States Civil War Center: Links to Abolition and Slavery sites
http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/cwc/links/slave.htm
This site is a thorough list of links, “more links than you can ever imagine,” all leading to sites dealing with abolition and slavery. The linked sites range from primary source material to bibliographies to descriptions of historical incidents. “The strength of this site is in both its thoroughness and variety.” The links are not annotated, but “it is not hard to click away and find something useful.” This site would be useful for both teachers and students conducting research, although it may “overwhelm” some students, especially younger students not used to researching on the Internet. The list could also offer good topic resources.
Overall Rating: 3

The End of Slavery and Serfdom
http://www.admin.northpark.edu/dkoeller/Classes/WHII/SlaveEnd.N.html
David Koeller of North Park University created these Class Notes on the causes of the end of slavery and serfdom throughout the world. The information is “interesting, but very general.” “Names, dates, and ideas abound, making good background information for teachers,” although the presentation is “rather dry.” The “sophisticated student” may find this useful as a basic resource, but “will want to research the topics within the outline for more information.”
Overall Rating: 2