The following post is from guest blogger Joe Phelan who is with the National Endowment for the Humanities which runs the EDSITEment website.  Joe wanted to share some of the Civil War related resources available through EDSITEment with everyone.  Please welcome Joe and let’s hope this becomes a series of posts.

EDSITEment the free online K-12 resource from the National Endowment for the Humanities has over 33 lessons on causes, the course and the consequences of the war. These lessons are  built around primary sources in all media, are written by history and government scholars,  and tested by classroom teachers http://edsitement.neh.gov/american-civil-war.

What may be of most interest to readers of this blog are the many interactive maps and timelines which are stand alone and can be used by everyone.

• An Early Threat of Secession The Missouri Compromise 1820
  Interactive map illustrating the geography, demography, and political division of the United States as a result of the Missouri Compromise over the issue of Slavery in 1820-21 http://edsitement.neh.gov/student-resource/early-threat-secession-missouri-compromise-1820-1821 Accompanies the EDSITEment curriculum unit: The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in Antebellum America: A House Dividing
• Kansas Nebraska Act
  An interactive political and demographic map of the U.S. in 1854 that allows users to see the economic, demographic, and political makeup of regions and states at the time. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular sovereignty allowed the settlers of a federal territory to decide the slavery question without interference from Congress.
  http://edsitement.neh.gov/student-resource/kansas-nebraska-act-interactive-mapAccompanies the EDSITEment curriculum unit: The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in Antebellum America: A House Dividing
• Abraham Lincoln on the American Union
  Explore this interactive timeline of Lincoln’s most famous speeches, and a little-known fragment on the Constitution and union’ to learn about the significance of Union to the future of American government.http://edsitement.neh.gov/student-resource/lincoln-american-union-word-fitly-spoken
  Accompanies the EDSITEment curriculum unit Abraham Lincoln on the American Union
• On the Eve of the Civil War
  A student interactive that uses a series of animated maps to summarize all the factors and statistics on the United States on the eve of the American Civil War. Click on the various tabs across the bottom of the interactive to bring up the different statistical maps.
• Meet the Commanders
  A comprehensive animated map showing the locations and travel routes of the major Civil War military campaigns. Accompanies the EDSITEment curriculum unit: The American Civil War: A “Terrible Swift Sword”.
• Battles of the Civil War Campaign Map A comprehensive animated map showing the locations and travel routes of the major Civil War military campaigns. Accompanies EDSITEment curriculum unit: The American Civil War: A “Terrible Swift Sword”.

Accompanies the curriculum unit The American Civil War