Race, Slavery, Freedom
Before the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania was a battleground of another sort. For 85 years, African-American freedom seekers fled from Maryland into southern Pennsylvania, often pursued by sinister slavecatchers. Simultaneously, a nationwide discussion was raging over what it meant to be an American. Lessons explore these discussions and bring a human perspective to the debates over slavery.
Virtual Interactive Lessons
Google Slides and PDF Lesson Plans
African Americans and the Confederate Invasion
Explore the Gettysburg Campaign’s effects on the home front, the Confederate military’s capture and enslavement of free Black residents in Pennsylvania, and historical accounts written by and about underrepresented communities.
The Roots of Racism
Explore the foundational nature of race and racism in the grander context of global and United States history, en route to understanding causes of the Civil War and the legacy of issues with which America still deals today.
Virtual Museum Experiences
ThingLink walkthroughs of Museum exhibits
Corroborating Primary Sources
ThingLink explorations of firsthand historical accounts
Slave Census Map
Explore 18 unique historical links on a map published by the United States Coast Survey in 1861, sold for the benefit of sick and wounded U.S. soldiers during the Civil War, which depicts Southern states based on enslaved populations in their counties according to the 1860 census.
There is a copy of this map (pictured above) gifted by Charles and Carol Hanlon in the Seminary Ridge Museum second-floor gallery.