Check out Debating Emancipation Online, a new interactive site developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Students assume “the role of Lincoln’s closest advisers” and use primary sources to “learn how they would advise the President on this controversial issue.” Be sure to download the teacher guide for an overview of this online program, lesson plans, and other supplementary material that would help students prepare for the activity.

Horatio Nelson Taft’s diary (January 1861-May 1865) is available online from the Library of Congress and provides an interesting look at life in Washington D.C. during the Civil War. While Taft worked at the US Patent office, his children played with “Willie” and “Tad” Lincoln. “Our three boys and the Two Lincoln boys have been very busy fireing off Crackers & Pistols,” as Taft recorded on December 25, 1861. Be sure to check out this short essay from the Library of Congress for more information about Taft’s diary.

The University of Washington offers a great collection of Civil War letters that provide interesting accounts on a wide range of topics. The collection contains correspondence from both Union and Confederate soldiers, including a description of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender. “It all seems like a dream,” as M. Adelaide Smith explained to his “dear friends” back in Michigan. Another interesting letter is one General Lee’s wife wrote to Union General Sanford in late May 1861, in which she complained about the conduct of northern troops who occupied her home in northern Virginia. An overview of all the material in this collection is available.

Among the many websites and digital projects bringing the 19th century to the World Wide Web is the Lincoln Archives Digital Project from researcher Karen Needles. This ambitious project began in 2002 with the goal of digitizing all federal records from the Lincoln administration, including every cabinet and every agency. The project is the first of its kind to digitize the holdings of an entire administration and its standards are high. The project uses high resolution scans of original documents from the National Archives and incorporates technology such as “Zoomify” to create a high quality and easily accessible collection.

The project is not limited to just federal documents and includes maps, newspapers, photographs, political cartoons, blogs, lesson plans and even a dictionary and who’s who of the period. The wealth of information is seemingly endless and is always growing, although a subscription is required for full access to the project. For more information, check out the project and the August article about it in Civil War News.

The Northern Illinois University offers digital access to a number of different publications. Nine magazines are available from the Illinois Periodicals Online, such as Illinois Heritage (1997-2007). Teachers may want to check out Illinois History Teacher (1994-2009). Each article provides suggestions on how to use it in your classroom. For example, take a look at “Yankees and Southerners Clash in Frontier Illinois” by James E. Davis and the accompanying curriculum materials.  In addition, some of the magazines are appropriate for younger readers (see Illinois History).

Teachers can also access the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society (1979-2006) through NIU’s Illinois Historical Digitization Project.

This year a freshman at Miami University in Ohio discovered a rare fingerprint from Abraham Lincoln just barely visible on one of his letters housed within the college’s archives.  Lydia Smith, now a psychology major, made the discovery in November 2008 while examining a letter that Lincoln wrote on October 5, 1863.   John Lupton, director of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln Project in Springfield, has verified the finding.  Though there is some debate over how many known Lincoln fingerprints exist (see this post from Sam Wheeler), Lupton claims this is actually the second one in the Miami University collection and one of several that probably exist –most because of smudge marks in nineteenth-century ink but some, such as this one, imprinted on the rag paper.  Read various news stories about this discovery or see a terrific YouTube video that details the whole episode.

Digital collections of Civil War era newspapers are great resources and are available at a number of different sites. One that I want to highlight is UC Riverside’s California Digital Newspaper Collection, which includes the Daily Alta Californian (1849-1891) and the Sacramento Daily Union (1856-76). Each issue can be downloaded as a PDF file. Several lesson plans are also available on the site.

Teachers may also want to check out the USC Digital Library. This site offers several newspapers, including the Los Angeles El Clamor Publico (1855-1859) and the Los Angeles Star (1851-1864). Thousands of historic maps and images, such as California’s first State House, can also be downloaded.

PBS now offers on their website selected full-length episodes from programs like the American Experience. While these documentaries cover a wide variety of subjects, several episodes are on 19th century American history – Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Walt Whitman, and Kit Carson. “We Shall Remain,” a documentary on Native American history, is also available.

Also be sure to check out NOVA and FRONTLINE. While neither show has video on 19th century American history, they still offer a number of interesting programs, such as “Astropies.”

American history teachers may want to check out Emory University’s “The Martyred President,” which provides full text access to fifty seven sermons on Abraham Lincoln’s death. The site includes sermons from different regions and religious denominations, such as Rev. Richard Eddy’s “The Martyr to Liberty” (Universalist) and Rev. Samuel T. Spear’s “The Punishment of Treason” (Presbyterian). These sermons, however, are largely from northern ministers.

Admirers of Robert Hicks, the acclaimed author of Widow of the South will be very pleased to know that in a couple of weeks his new novel, A Separate Country, will appear.  The new novel has as its main actor John Bell Hood and there are other connections, too, with Franklin, Tennessee.  But the real hero of this remarkable new work is the city of New Orleans where Hood and others head to rebuild their lives and their fortunes.  The Crescent City appears in all its racial, social, and economic complexity at a time following the Civil War when its “Americanization” was transforming its character.  Separate Country will be published by Grand Central Publishing and is due out September 23.