House Divided is a great place to learn more about the Lincoln Douglas Debates.  Through the Lincoln Douglas Major Topic Page, you can search by different events, such as by individual debates.  One such debate was the fourth, held in Charleston, Illinois. By searching through the Fourth Debate’s event page, one can find modern scholarship by prolific writer David Herbert Donald; people, places, and documents involved.  Also included is a word cloud generated by Wordle displaying the top fifty words spoken during the debate, offering a new perspective on an old debate.  House Divided offers ample important information on these nation defining debates.

In 1858, many important ideas were spread through letters.  Thus, during the Lincoln Douglas Debates, Lincoln and Douglas corresponded with many contemporaries concerning the senatorial race.  These letters provide an excellent window into the minds of these great men.  One such letter, sent August 25, 1858, was a letter written to Lincoln by Schuyler Colfax advising Lincoln on such matters as the Dred Scott Decision and the spread of slavery.  This is just one letter of many found on the documents section of the Lincoln Douglas major topic page.  House Divided has a dearth of information concerning the Lincoln Douglas Debates.

The Northern University of Illinois page, The Lincoln/Douglas Debates of 1858, offers wide-ranging coverage of the historic oratory campaign. The site houses numerous primary documents including debate transcripts, maps, and contemporary press coverage. Also, The Lincoln/Douglas Debates of 1858 provides a video podcast on the debates by Columbia’s Eric Foner as well as lessons plans for teachers that include brief descriptions of the debate topics and guided reading assignments for students. This site would be a great addition to any history teacher’s repertoire of resources.

If you are interested in the Dred Scott Case of 1857, a great place to start your research is House Divided’s Major Topic Page on the Dred Scott Case.  There you can find excerts of modern scholarship concerning the infamous case.  Also by searching through the tabs, you can find information reguarding the people involved with the case, a timeline of events, primary source documents involved in the case, including transcriptions, and sources where you can learn even more about this ex-slave who was suing for his freedom.  The verdict of the Dred Scott Case, as handed down by Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney, was an instrumental case that led the nation deeper into turmoil, closer to the stirring civil war.

The House Divided currently offers an intriguing exhibit on Henry “Box” Brown and his incredible journey to freedom. The exhibit compliles images depicting his trek, a map of his path, and a three-dimensional Sketch Up of the box in which he traveled. Also, a brief yet informative descritption accompanies each image, bringing the story to life. This section is perfect for those interested in obtaining insight into the dangers involved in a slave’s struggle for freedom. The exhibit also helps transplant viewers into the plight of slaves through displaying the awful conditions that Brown was willing to endure in order to escape bondage. Additionally, if you enjoy this exhbit you should be sure to check out our Henry “Box” Brown Google Earth Tour.

Of the many differences between America today and America during the House Divided era is the relationships between politicians and persons of a more controversial quality. 150 years ago, politicians associated and communicated with persons whose national stature would make such contact disastrious today. For example is a letter written by the infamous John Brown to Massachusetts Congressman Eli Thayer. In the letter, Brown asks Thayer, a Republican and adamant free-soiler, “to have Mr. ALLEN & Co. send me by express one or two navy-sized revolvers as soon as may be.” Putting aside the fact that Brown speaks of shipping weapons very casualy, it is both interesting and astonishing that a U.S. Congressman was so openly conspiraring with a notorious figure like Brown. It is not something likely to happen today.

While researching the historic Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, I uncovered a video on YouTube that would great for teaching younger audiences about the debates.  “The Lincoln Douglas Debates” condenses an overview of the 1858 debates into a simple format designed to keep children engaged. The video’s runtime reaches only two minutes, fourteen seconds and uses both voice-over acting and background music to catch and maintain the audience’s attention.  I recommend this site for anyone who wishes to gain a basic background of the debates through a simplistic and entertaining format.

The National Park Service is looking to expand upon its Underground Railroad stops in its National Register of National Historic Places.  By visiting , “Aboard the Underground Railroad: A National Register Travel Itinerary” you can help the NPS. At the website, one can explore stops on the Underground Railroad, both in the North and South, and even a few stops in the territories. The site is also useful in offering a “Learn More” page, , where additional sources regarding the Underground Railroad can be found, including web resources.

With your help, by applying to the National Register of Historic Places to add your historic Underground Railroad site, this website and tool can only grow and become more useful.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute just added a new podcast on Abraham Lincoln’s political career during the early 1850s. In “Lincoln at Peoria: The Turning Point,” Lewis E. Lehrman explains how in October 1854 Lincoln “argu[ed ] that slavery was incompatible with the Founders’ vision of America as articulated in the Declaration of Independence.”  While House Divided does not have a transcript of Lincoln’s speech, one is available through the University of Michigan Digital Library.

Other lectures are also available at the Gilder Lehrman Institute (full list here), including James McPherson’s “Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam” and David Blight’s “The Civil War in American Memory.”

To see naval officers in uniform walking around New York city in 2009 is unremarkable. Yet in November 1859 a lieutenant wrote the New York Herald to address the fact “that a great number of naval officers are seen daily in the streets and public places in uniform.” While careful to note that he was not “ashamed of [his] uniform,” this officer believed such public display was wrong. “In our republican country,” as he explained, “it is not customary for offices of either “arm of national defense” to war their uniforms, save on special occasions.”

This letter is available on House Divided – while a transcript has not been posted, you can access the page image.