AP African American Studies Resource Archive | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

GLC09028.01

An African American protests the Fugitive Slave Law

1850

Explore a letter written by a free Black man in Boston.

Primary Source

A Black soldier in a blue Union Army uniform (jacket, coat, pants, and hat), holding a rifle on his right shoulder with a slight smile on his face.

Historical Context: Black Soldiers in the Civil War

by Steven Mintz

Get some key facts on Black service during the Civil War.

Teacher Resources

An engraving of Frederick Douglass as a young man, wearing a double-breasted jacket, vest or waistcoat, and scarf, looking fiercely into the camera

Activist for Equality: Frederick Douglass at 200

1808–1894

Explore Frederick Douglass’s life in bondage and freedom in this online exhibition.

Interactive

Political cartoon of an enslaved Black woman (wearing a white dress), a baby in her left arm, holding the left hand of an older boy (wearing a dark jacket and lighter-colored pants) in her right hand, as White men chase after her.

The Backlash Against the Fugitive Slave Act

with Lois Horton

Explore the responses to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

Video

Illustration from 1867 issue of Harper's Weekly showing an African American man voting for the first time

Reconstruction and Citizenship

with Eric Foner

Discover the changes in definitions of citizenship before, during, and after the Civil War.

Video

Photograph of a man with graying, curly hair, smiling at the camera in front of a wooden wall. He wears a dark suit jacket, a blue collared shirt, and a red and blue paisley tie.

Slavery and the Early American Economy

with Edward L. Ayers

Consider how contemporary events affected American slavery at different points in history.

Video

Black-and-white print of Black men, women, and children bundled in coats and shawls, unpacking a horse-drawn wagon in a snowy field, with leafless trees in the center midground and right background. A hut or cabin is in the left background, its roof and eaves covered with snow.

What Is the Underground Railroad?

with David W. Blight

Learn more about the Underground Railroad in this short video.

Video

Broadside with text of varying sizes. On the top it reads in all capital letters, "MEN OF COLOR; TO ARMS! TO ARMS!; NOW OR NEVER."

Generations in Captivity: Slavery in America

with Ira Berlin

Understand how the interplay of regional and generational factors shaped the development of slavery in the antebellum United States.

Video

Black soldiers in dark Union Army uniforms, jackets with sashes and epaulets, and caps with a horn embroidered on the bill, looking at the camera while holding their rifles.

The Men of Company E

with Matthew Pinsker

Explore different points of view of Black soldiers in a postwar photograph.

Video

The front cover of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, featuring a small photorealistic illustration of Eliza and Lizzie Scott in dresses holding hands above two larger illustrations of Dred and Harriet Scott, pictured separately

Dred and Harriet Scott: A Family Story of Slavery and Freedom

with Matthew Pinsker

Learn about the family that brought the Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) case to the Supreme Court.

Video

Scan of the US Constitution, printed in September 1787.

Race and the American Constitution: A Struggle Toward National Ideals

by James Oliver Horton

Read how both pro-slavery and anti-slavery movements used the Constitution to promote their beliefs.

Essay

An engraving shows four people doing various tasks with harvested tobacco in an open shed, including pulling pieces of the leaves apart, and winding rope.

The Origins of Slavery

by Ira Berlin

Gain a greater understanding of the slave trade and the forced migration and diaspora of Africans.

Essay