The Documents of the Civil War

Name:__________________ Period:_____________

The Documents of the Civil War

Wordles show documents by enlarging and darkening words that are used more than once. The bigger and bolder the word, the more times it’s used in a document. Examine the wordles created with the documents of the Civil War and answer the questions that follow:

Document 1 – Jefferson Davis, 1st Inaugural Address as President of the CSA:

February 18, 1861, Montgomery, Alabama

1. What two words stand out in Jefferson Davis’ 1st Inaugural Address?

2. Why do you think he stressed those two words?

3. Write a sentence using those two words plus three others that are stressed in the document that would show his point of view of secession.

4. What word is not mentioned at all, and WHY do you think he didn’t mention it?

Document 2 – Abraham Lincoln’s 1st Inaugural Address as President of the USA:

March 4, 1861, Washington, D.C.

1. What is the one word that is stressed more than all the rest in Lincoln’s speech?

2. Why do you think he stressed that one word?

3. Write a sentence using that one word plus five others that Lincoln stresses that shows his point of view of secession.

4. What is more important to Lincoln at the time of his first inaugural speech – keeping the Union of the States together or ending slavery? How do you know?

Document 3 – Excerpts from The Emancipation Proclamation:

Abraham Lincoln Executive Order, written February, 1862, effective January 1, 1863; announced after the victory at Antietam, Maryland in 1862.

1. Which slaves do Lincoln free?

2. Why does he do this?

Document 4 – The Gettysburg Address:

Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863

1. Why did Lincoln repeatedly use the words “nation” and “dedicated?”

2. How did the course of the war change after the Gettysburg Address?

Document 5 – 13th Amendment

Passed by Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House on January 31, 1865.

Approved by ¾ states December 6 1865

1. Where did the 13th Amendment abolish slavery?

Document 6 – Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address:

Washington, D.C., March 4, 1865

1. What are Lincoln’s main concerns at the beginning of his second term in office?

2. Have his priorities changed since his 1st Inaugural Address? How?