Smithsonian's History Explorer Resources Related To "National Youth Summit: Abolition"

The Time Trial of John Brown

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 10:06:28 GMT

In this lesson, students will examine the difference between history and memory by debating the legacy of John Brown. Using video clips of an actor playing Brown, students are invited to debate his actions and determine how history should remember him. The video segments are also available on YouTube.

John Brown's Legacy

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:19:53 GMT

In this lesson, students will examine primary sources to understand John Brown’s actions in Harpers Ferry and will develop a creative project on his legacy. This resource was produced to accompany the exhibition The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Blog Post: Frederick Douglass: Orator, Activist, and Bad, Bad Man

Fri, 20 Jul 2012 11:43:54 GMT

In this post, students will learn about Frederick Douglass as more than an orator and activist. Though Douglass' persona was poised, dignified, and proper, he was also a fighter and an agitator. Written by Chris Wilson, Director of Daily Programs and the Program in African American Culture, this post is published on the Museum's "O Say Can You See?" blog.

Uneasy Partners: Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, LBJ and Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture Video

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:23:42 GMT

In this archived panel discussion, experts compare, contrast, and contextualize the relationships between President Lincoln and Frederick Douglass and President Johnson and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The content of the discussion includes comparison of the figures as orators, comparison of these historic figures to President Obama, and the personal and political constraints of the relationships between these figures.

This lecture is one in a series about issues that Abraham Lincoln faced as president that continue to confront the nation today.

The Civil War

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:22:31 GMT

From 1861-1865, Americans battled over preserving their Union and ending slavery. The Civil War is the focus of this section of The Price of Freedom: Americans at War, an online exhibition. This pivotal and complicated period of American history is divided into sections that allow students to focus either on a specific aspect of the war, or the conflict as a whole. The sections included are: John Brown, Fort Sumter, the Battle of Bull Run, major turning points, the war at sea, Wilderness to Appomattox, political leaders, military leaders, soldiers in blue and gray; battles and casualties and Reconstruction and the legacies of the war. A non-flash version of this site is available: The Civil War.