Educator Resources

Lincoln's Dilemma

Lincoln’s Dilemma: Recasting the Struggle for Freedom and Equality provides four companion lessons created for the docu-series, Lincoln's Dilemma. Each lesson engages middle and high school students in a rigorous re-examination of American history through a careful look at the people, places, and events surrounding the Civil War, the work of abolitionists, and the emancipation of enslaved people. Using clips from the docu-series, extensive interviews with present-day scholars, and primary source materials specific to each episode, students will set aside their preconceptions and explore anew how President Lincoln and his administration contended with the issues of his day — a violently corrosive political environment, the threat to the cohesion of the union, and deeply institutionalized racism — and compare them to those in our current climate. Students will explore the relationship between history and the construction of national narratives and the important work of redress that we, as individuals and as a nation, can re-dedicate ourselves to as we work towards racial healing and justice.

Stream the series on Apple TV+

"Lincoln is a human being like the rest of us. He was not perfect, not at all, but he was able to accomplish some things that someone who was less great or with less ambition or with less skill would not have been successful at. He was the right person at the right time for the nation and for African Americans, too. I don't give him credit for everything that happened with African Americans during this period, because we did a lot of it ourselves as well - but I do give him part."

-Edna Greene Medford, Professsor and Historian

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These four lessons engage students in a rigorous re-examination of American history including the people, places, and events surrounding the Civil War, the work of abolitionists, and the emancipation of enslaved people. We recommend reviewing the Introduction first as you plan for implementation of the lessons.