The Civil War

Unit 4 Understanding Goals  

General Resources

• Unit 4 Vocabulary

Lesson #1: Researching the Causes of the Civil War

UG: What caused the Civil War?

Materials:

• Causes of the Civil War Mini-Lessons
• Rubric for Causes of the Civil War Mini-Lessons  
• Civil War Internet Resources
• Chart: Events Leading to the Civil War

Homework: Prepare for Causes of the Civil War Mini-Lessons

Lesson #2: Slavery (Two Days)

UG: What can quantitative and qualitative analyses tell us about the nature of slavery?

Vocabulary: quantitative research, Cliometrics, qualitative research, agency, resistance accomodation

Materials:

• Slavery Power Point   
• Photo (Library of Congress)
• Slave Song #1  
• Slave Song #2  
• Slave Song #3  
• "New Perspectives on Slavery" Charts  
• Worksheet: New Perspectives on Slavery  

Homework: Prepare for Causes of the Civil War Mini-Lessons.

Lesson #3: Early Compromises 

UG: How effective were the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 in resolving conflicts over slavery's expansion into the western territories?

Vocabulary: Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, popular soveriegnty, Fugitive Slave Act, Underground Railroad

Materials:

• Causes of the Civil War Mini-Lessons
• Rubric for Causes of the Civil War Mini-Lessons  
• Civil War Internet Resources
• Abolitionist Movement Power Point
• Power Point: Events Leading to the Civil War  
• Chart: Events Leading to the Civil War  

Homework: Do Sectionalism Venn Diagram. Complete "What was the Civil War About?" Handout. Complete WPA Slave Narrative. Read text pp.394-395 and complete Varying Viewpoints Questions.

Lesson #4: Sectional Tensions Increase

UG: How did the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Kansas-Nebraska Act increase tensions over slavery?

Vocabulary: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stephen Douglas, The Kansas-Nebraska Act, "Bleeding Kansas"

Materials:

Homework: Do Sectionalism Venn Diagram. Complete "What was the Civil War About?" Handout. Complete WPA Slave Narrative. Read text pp.394-395 and complete Varying Viewpoints Questions.

Lesson #5: Consequences of Dred Scott v. Sanford

UG: How did radical abolitionists react to the Supreme Court's decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford?

Vocabulary: Dred Scott v. Sanford, John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

Materials:

Homework: Do Sectionalism Venn Diagram. Complete "What was the Civil War About?" Handout. Complete WPA Slave Narrative. Read text pp.394-395 and complete Varying Viewpoints Questions.

Lesson #6: The Last Straw

UG: Why did several states of the deep South secede after the 1860 presidential election?

Vobabulary: Election of 1860, Crittenden Compromise, sectionalism

Materials:

Homework: Write Causes of the Civil War DBQ

• Rubric for Regents DBQ Essays
• Optional Graphic Organizer for DBQ Essays   

Lesson #7: The Meanings of the Civil War

UG: What meanings have Americans attributed to the Civil War?

Vocabulary: collective memory

Materials:

• Collective Memory Reading
• What was the purpose of the Civil War?
• "A War Not for Abolition" The New York Times, Oct. 11, 2011
• NPR Podcast: "Lincoln's Evolving Thoughts on Slavery and Freedom," October 11, 2010
• History, Memory and Pop Culture Project Overview
• Walt Whitman Poetry Part 1
• Walt Whitman Poetry Part 2

Homework: None.

Lesson #8: Resources and Strategies

UG: How successful were the Union and Confederacy in creating war strategies that took advantage of the relative strengths of each side?

Vocabulary: Fort Sumter, Anaconda Plan, War of Attrition

Materials:

• Secession Map
• Statistics and Charts on Northern and Southern Resources
• Blank Map: Battles of the Civil War
• Map: The Anaconda Plan
• Map: Battles, 1861-1862
• Fort Sumter Video Clip

Homework: Rd. text pp. 481-482, 485-488, 494-496 and complete the first page of the Civil War Battles Chart.

Lesson #9: African-Americans in the Civil War

UG: How did African-Americans experience the Civil War?

Vocabulary: contraband, Emancipation Proclamation

Materials:

• Slides: African-Americans in the Civil War
• The Emancipation Proclamation
• NPR Podcast: "'The Fall of the House of Dixie' Built a New U.S." Interview of Historian Bruce Levine (1-7-2013)

Homework: None.

Lesson #10: The Battle of Gettysburg

UG: What military lessons can be learned from the Battle of Gettysburg?

Vocabulary: Battle of Gettysburg

Materials:

• Slides: Ken Burns' Civil War
• Map: Battles, 1862-1863
• Gettysburg Day #1
• Gettysburg Day #2
• Gettysburg Day #3

Homework: Finish Watching Video Clips OR read text pp.462-464 and complete the Gettysburg portion of the Civil War Battles Chart.  Read "The Gettysburg Address" and answer the corresponding questions.

Lesson #11: Sherman's March to the Sea

UG: How successful was General Sherman's tactic of using "total war" on the Confederacy?

Vocabulary: Sherman's March to the Sea, total war, scorched earth warfare

Materials:

• Total War Slides
• Map: Battles 1863-1865

Homework: Read text pp.474-479, 499-501 and complete the Home Fronts Guided Reading.

Lesson #12: Home Fronts

UG: How did civilians on the Union and Confederate Home Fronts experience the Civil War?

Vocabulary: Ex Parte Milligan, Ex Parte Merryman, Copperhead

Materials:

• Station #1: The Confederate Home Front
• Station #2: Wartime Politics in the Union
• Station #3: Lincoln and Civil Liberties
• Station #4: Clip #1: The Union Draft, Clip #2: Rage in New York
• Worksheet: The Civil War Home Fronts

Lesson #13: War's End and Impact

UG: Why did the Confederacy lose the Civil War? Or, alternatively... Why did it take the Union so long to win?

Vocabulary: Appomattox

Materials:

Homework: Complete Civil War Study Guide

Lesson #14: Review

UG: Review Unit 4 skills and content.

Materials:

• Unit 4 Vocabulary
• Civil War Jeopardy

Homework: Study for Unit 4 Exam

Lesson #15: Unit 4 Exam

UG: To assess student mastery of Unit 4 skills and content.

Materials: None.

Homework: Read text pp.518-527 and complete the Reconstruction Venn Diagram.