This resource page is designed to provide website visitors, students, scholars, researchers, teachers, and general readers with historically grounded, non‑partisan sources explaining the role of slavery in the origins, conduct, and outcome of the American Civil War. The focus is on primary evidence, respected scholarship, and clear historical interpretation, consistent with the educational mission of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia.
National Museum of African American History & Culture
Slavery & Freedom 1400–1877
"Split in Two: The Dred Scott Decision - 1857" Minnesota Historical Society
"Mud Sill Speech" by James Henry Hammond March 4, 1858
"Cotton is King Speech" by James Henry Hammond March 4, 1858
John Brown’s Last Speech - October 16, 1859 (Performed by David Strathairn)
"Corner Stone Speech" by Alexander H. Stephens March 21, 1861
"John Brown's Body" December 16, 1861 - Performed by Jim Knable
National Constitution Center - The Founders Library
Civil War and Reconstruction Documents
National Constitution Center Exhibit
Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - History Resources
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877
The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Foner
Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James M. McPherson
What This Cruel War Was Over by Chandra Manning
Confederate Reckoning by Stephanie McCurry
Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory by David W. Blight
Library of Congress - Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936 to 1938 - Voices and Faces from the Collection
New American History - The Valley of the Shadow - Two Communities in the American Civil War
Publications of the Freedmen and Southern Society Project
Abraham Lincoln Online - Selected Speeches and Writings by Abraham Lincoln
The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government by Jefferson Davis
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History - Slavery and the Civil War
YouTube Lectures
American Battlefield Trust - Selected Articles and Videos on Slavery
National Park Service - Soldiers and Sailors Database
Questions or comments:
contact@civilwarmuseumphila.org
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