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Ellen and William Craft, an enslaved married couple, devised a daring plan to escape to freedom. Capitalizing on Ellen’s mixed race heritage and light skin, she would dress herself as a wealthy white man, while William posed as her slave.

Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States, led the nation through its darkest hour — the Civil War. Find out about Lincoln’s childhood on a frontier farm, how a struggling small town lawyer became president, and why he is one of America’s most revered and beloved leaders.

The sons of one family fight on different sides while the youngest tries to make sense of the war.

The Civil War has broken out and Annie Sinclair’s Virginia home, Hickory Heights, is right in the line of battle. Caught up in the rising conflict, Annie and her mother tend to wounded soldiers while Annie’s older brother, Laurence, enlists in the Confederate cavalry under JEB Stuart.

The Civil War was lost long before the first shot was ever fired, thanks to deep and violent divisions of class and political allegiance that resulted in “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.”

A look at African-American whalers and the whaling industry’s role in the Underground Railroad and the Civil War.

Black women everywhere have changed the world! Published in partnership with curators from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, this illustrated biography compilation captures the iconic moments of fifty African American women whose heroism and bravery rewrote the American story for the better. 

Michael Shiner was born into slavery in Maryland but bought his freedom. He learned to read and write and thus detailed in his journal the history of Washington, DC. Insightful and accessible, this is a well-documented and handsomely presented look at history.

Isabel, an enslaved 13-year old, and her younger sister are set to be freed but instead are sold to a ruthless Loyalist at the start of the Revolutionary War. Life in New York City during the time comes vividly alive as do the complexities of the war

When Mariah and her younger brother Zeke are freed from slavery, Mariah packs her belongings and her brother into a wagon driven by Caleb, a free Black man, who helps them join General Sherman’s treacherous march through Georgia until he is forced to leave them behind when he must cross with the troops at Ebenezer Creek and leave Mariah trapped as Rebel forces draw near.

Eleven-year-old Elijah was born in Buxton, a Canadian settlement that was the final stop on the Underground Railroad. The free child of slaves, Elijah reveals his growing awareness of the horrors of slavery on his journey to young adulthood. Vivid characters and a strong sense of place create both humor and horror in this moving novel.

What led up to Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation? Who were the abolitionists and what was their influence? Primary source material and a crisp narrative combine to present a fascinating look at the events leading up to the Proclamation and the period in which it was created.

An engaging look at the many contributions of Frederick Douglass — including his work as a publisher, a diplomat to Haiti, a bank president, and a prolific writer. Chockful of quotes, excerpts from Douglass’s writing, and images that capture the atmosphere of the times.

Before the Civil War ended, enslaved African Americans sought ways north to freedom; explores how historians continue to dig up and learn more about the difficult trek to freedom.

Laced with real events and leaders such as Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry, Give Me Liberty explores the Revolutionary ideas and risks colonists faced in their quest for liberty. Thirteen-year-old Nathaniel Dunn is an indentured servant laboring on a tobacco plantation in colonial Virginia. Life is hard, and it’s about to get harder when Nathaniel is sold at an auction.

Many students know of John Wilkes Booth as Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, but few know that before he committed this infamous crime, he was a member of a family of accomplished actors, including his well-known brother, Edwin.

Hand in Hand presents the stories of ten men from different eras in American history, organized chronologically to provide a scope from slavery to the modern day. The stories are punctuated with dynamic full color portraits and spot illustrations by two-time Caldecott Honor winner and multiple Coretta Scott King Book Award recipient Brian Pinkney. Backmatter includes a civil rights timeline, sources, and further reading. 

Harriet Tubman did something exceptionally courageous: She escaped slavery. Then she did something impossible: She went back. She underwent some thirteen missions to rescue around seventy enslaved people, using and expanding a network of abolitionists that became known as the Underground Railroad. She spent her life as an activist, speaking out for Black people and women’s suffrage. This graphic novel of story is detailed and authentic. Illustrated with care for the historical record, it offers insight into the life and mind of Tubman, displaying her as a woman with an unshakable desire to break the chains of an unjust society. Introduction by Carole Boston Weatherford.

This survey of transformative events in American and African American history is presented in an informal text and striking illustrations in an oversized format.

“Young Quebrado’s name means ‘the broken one,’ a child ‘of two shattered worlds.’ The son of a Taíno Indian mother and a Spanish father, he is taken in 1510 from his village on the island that is present-day Cuba and enslaved on a pirate’s ship, where a brutal conquistador, responsible for thousands of deaths throughout the Americas, is held captive for ransom. When a hurricane destroys the boat, Quebrado is pulled from the water by a fisherman, Naridó, whose village welcomes him, but escape from the past proves nearly impossible.” — Gillian Engberg, Booklist

A lighthouse keeper’s daughter on Fenwick Island, Delaware, chronicles the confusion brought on by the War.

A warm, moving portrait of Abraham Lincoln told through the eyes of his children and captured in exquisite full-color illustrations. Historians claim him as one of America’s most revered presidents. But to his rambunctious sons, Abraham Lincoln was above all a playful and loving father. .

He was born in the backwoods of Kentucky in a humble log cabin, but Abraham Lincoln was savvy enough to embrace the new technology of his time—photography—to propel him all the way to the White House. This simple man with lofty goals was willing to use any means necessary, including the power of photography, to save the union and free the slaves—leaving behind an unmatched legacy of sacrifice, service, and achievement.