Civil War Challenge Spring, 2012
Tamanend Middle School
Civil War Challenge
The team is divided;
classmate against classmate;
friend against friend;
brother against brother;
it’s no longer a game…it’s Civil War
Spring, 2011
General Landis
&
General McFarland
When the Team is divided;
classmate against classmate; friend against friend;
brother against brother; it’s no longer a game…
it’s Civil War
Battle Plan-
Each member of the team will be drafted into state regiments (consisting of 3-5 soldiers) who will fight in the Union (Northern) or Confederate (Southern) army. Each state regiment will work to earn the respect of their general. The stronger the regiment performs, the more General Landis and General McFarland will award them by giving them more soldiers. You will be working to increase the number of soldiers in your regiment, which will in turn increase the size of your army.
Each regiment must immediately choose a commander, secretary, quartermaster and a scout. These choices must be written on a note card with your state’s name turned in to General Landis or General McFarland on the first day of the War.
Regiments at war-
Union-
Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, & New York
Confederacy-
Florida, North Carolina, Arkansas, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia Company A, Georgia Company B, SC Company A, SC Company B, Louisiana Company A, Louisiana Company B, VA Company A, & VA Company B
Expanding your Regiment-
Each regiment can be awarded more soldiers or have soldiers taken from them based on the following factors:
1. HW completion
2. Quality of assignments (soldier journal, quizzes, maps, speeches…)
3. Discipline of your regiment
4. Luck (game cards and the role of the dice)
5. Victories in various head to head “battles” of knowledge
6. Victories on various “battle tasks” (mini projects)
7. Preparedness for battle (having your book, flags, notebooks…)
8. There is a spy amongst us…
9. Victories in Civil War Day battles (Town Ball, company streets, reenactments…)
10. Be ready for the unexpected!!!!!!!
Victory-
Victory in the Civil War is obtained by having the largest force of on the final day of the war. General Landis/General McFarland will be rewarding 2 groups.
1. The first group to be recognized will be the winning army-Union or Confederate.
2. The second, and more prestigious award, will be given to the winning state.
Week 1 Required Reading and Homework
You are responsible for knowing the information on these pages when you come to class!
The date listed is NOT the night you read the information! It is the date you must have the reading finished!
Wednesday, February 29 – Read 21.3 and 21.4 – Missouri Compromise
Thursday, March 1 – Read 21.5 and 21.6A – Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Law
Friday, March 2 – Read 21.6B - Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Week 1 Battles
This list of battles DOES NOT include surprise attacks, which can come at anytime from Generals Landis and McFarland.
BATTLE # 1 – Creating a State Game Piece/Monument (due on Thursday, 3/1)
Your regiment or company must design a game piece. This piece must be no larger than 8 ½” x 11”, and 16” in height. Your game piece must be 3D and include your state name, 3 facts about your state’s role in the 1850’s and 60’s, and have an element of creativity, which sets it apart from the other regiments. Your state will brainstorm ideas in class Tuesday, 2/28, compile information and materials Tuesday night, and construct your game piece with the 25 minutes given in class on Wednesday 2/29. Work hard, be prepared, and stay organized-you will be strictly held to your deadline of 25 minutes!
10,000 soldiers will be awarded to the best regiment in each army. Soldiers will be awarded to each regiment based on the placement of your game-piece.
BATTLE # 2 – Congressional Debate concerning the Fugitive Slave Law (during class on Thursday, 3/1)
You are representing your state in the Senate. Today the senate will be debating the constitutionality and effectiveness of the Fugitive Slave Law (a key component of the Compromise of 1850). The debate will take place in three steps: First, your state will have 10 minutes to write down as many quality arguments for or against the Fugitive Slave Law as possible. Next, your state will combine forces with the other two regiments from your Army and you will be given 10 minutes to choose the best 5 arguments supporting your side’s view on the Fugitive Slave Law. Finally, the General will choose 5 people at random from each army to stand and argue their side’s points. Each argument will be rated on a scale of 1-5 and then the points will be totaled to determine which army presented the stronger arguments.
2500 soldiers awarded to the winning army.
BATTLE #3 – Write a letter to the Little Lady who started the Big War (during class on this day)
After reading an excerpt of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, each soldier in your regiment will be asked to write a letter to Harriet Beecher Stowe about the impact of her novel. The General is looking for you to be accurate, creative, and emotional in your letter. One soldier from each regiment will be randomly chosen to read their letter out loud.
1500 soldiers awarded to the winning regiment in each army.
Weeks 2 & 3 Required Reading and Homework
Monday, March 5 – Read 21.6C – Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bloodshed in Kansas, Violence in Congress
Wednesday, March 7 – Read 21.7– The Dred Scott Case
Thursday, March 8 – Read 21.8A - Lincoln/Douglas Debates
Monday, March 12 – Read 21.8B – John Brown’s Raid
PSSA Workday – Read 21.9 – Election and Secession
PSSA Workday – Read 22.1 and 2 – North vs. South
Wednesday, March 21 – Complete the 1st half of the “Causes” review sheet
Thursday, March 22 – Complete the 2nd half of the “Causes” review sheet – Quiz Today!!
Weeks 2 & 3 Battles
BATTLE # 4 – Dramatic eye-witness accounts of the violent events over slavery in Kansas (during class on Monday, 3/5)
Each soldier will be given 15 minutes to write and prepare a 1 minute eye-witness account of the events they encountered during “Bleeding Kansas.” You are about to be interviewed by a newspaper reporter from 1859, just after the violence ended: please give an accurate, creative, and enthusiastic account of what you have witnessed! One soldier from each regiment will be randomly chosen to be interviewed.
1000 soldiers awarded to the winning regiment.
BATTLE #5 – Dred Scott Political Cartoon (during class on Wednesday, 3/7)
In 1857 the Supreme Court heard the case of a slave arguing for his freedom. Their decision had an incredible impact on slaves and the spread of slavery in the west. Using the information from the reading you will create a political cartoon that accurately portrays the outcome and impact of the case.
2000 soldiers awarded to the winning regiment.
BATTLE #6A – Political Rally (prep on Thursday during class)
Vision of America, 1859 – Lexington, KY
Abraham Lincoln is running on the Republican ticket and the favorite for the Election of 1860. The southern states, with the support of Jefferson Davis, see this as a threat to their well being and are prepared to respond if Lincoln is elected.
The Northern Army will choose 1 person to represent Abraham Lincoln and 2 people to act as speechwriters. The Southern Army will choose 1 person to represent Jefferson Davis and 2 speechwriters. Both Armies will be given 20 minutes to prepare a speech supporting the election of Lincoln or denouncing the election of Lincoln. The remaining will create a campaign rally sign, (1 per regiment) which will be posted during the speech. Each speech must be 1.5 to 2 minutes in length and presented at the rally.
BATTLE #6B – Abraham Lincoln/Jefferson Davis Day (held on Friday, 3/8)
Students of the Union and Confederate regiments (1 per regiment) will portray Abraham Lincoln or Jefferson Davis for the political rally. This day commemorates the days that Lincoln and Davis acknowledged the hard work ahead following the election of 1860. Each Lincoln and Davis will deliver a speech to the people of America. Each person will deliver with passion and conviction to earn soldiers for their regiment.
2500 soldiers will be awarded to the winning Army,
1500 to the best Lincoln or Davis,
and an additional 500 for the best campaign poster.
BATTLE #7 – Trial of John Brown (prep in class on Monday 3/12 and during PSSA’s, held Wednesday 3/21)
John Brown, the radical abolitionist, has been caught by Federal Officials after the attempted capture of the Federal Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. Several months have passed and John Brown must now go to trial. The charges brought against him are murder in the 1st degree for the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre and conspiracy to commit treason at Harper’s Ferry.
Each Army will choose 2 attorneys to represent them during this trial and 2 judges to determine the fate of John Brown. Southerners will act as the Prosecution and the northerners will act as the Defense. Each Army will receive 40 minutes to assist the lawyers in preparing their case. Upon completion of the preparation each side will be given 10 minutes to present their case to a 5-person panel. The judges will then determine the guilt or innocence of John Brown.
2000 soldiers will be awarded to the winning Army.
Battle #8 – Quiz on the Causes of the Revolution (during class on Thursday, 3/22)
As the war began one side had a clear advantage: the North. But as we know from the Revolution, the underdog should never be counted out. To illustrate the differences observe the information at your tables and create a poster with (4) pie charts illustrating each side’s advantage.
5,000 soldiers will be awarded to the most attractive and informational chart.
Battle #9 – Strengths and Weaknesses (during class on Friday, 3/23)
As the war began one side had a clear advantage: the North. But as we know from the Revolution, the underdog should never be counted out. To illustrate the differences, observe the information at your tables, and create a poster with (4) pie charts illustrating each side’s advantage.
2,000 soldiers will be awarded to the most attractive and informational chart.
Weeks 4 to 7 Required Readings and Homework
Monday, March 26 Read 22.3 – Bull Run and the Women
Wednesday, March 28 Read 22.4A – Antietam: the bloodiest day
Thursday, March 29 Read 22.4B – New Realities of War (medicine)
Tuesday, April 3 Read 22.5 – Gettysburg and the Gettysburg Address
Tuesday, April 10 Read 22.6 – Vicksburg: A Besieged City
Thursday, April 12 Read 22.7 – Fort Wagner (African American involvement in the war)
Friday, April 13 Read 22.8A – Appomattox: Total War Brings an End
Monday, April 16 Read 22.8B - Appomattox: Total War Brings an End
Weeks 4 to 7 Battles
Introduction
On April 12, 1861, Confederate guns opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, thus beginning the bloodiest conflict in American history. 620,000 casualties. More than all other American wars combined. The Civil War remains this nation’s most defining experience, ultimately giving new meaning to the word “freedom.” Walt Whitman, a young newspaperman destined to become one of America’s greatest poets, wrote, “We will never know the seething hell and the black infernal background of this war, and it’s best that we should not. The real war will never be in the books.” This week the war will come alive for all of us to experience.
BATTLE #10 – Civil War Event Timeline (due in class on
Goal – Create a detailed timeline of (8) major events/battles between the years of 1861-1865. Each event will be detailed with visuals, i.e. – maps, pictures, charts, headlines, quotations, etc, AND include a 3-4 sentence summary of that event (Generals, who won, casualties, strategies used, etc).
Assignment- Use the following events/campaigns to create your timeline:
Fort Sumter, Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Sherman’s March to the Sea, and Appomattox Court House.
5000 soldiers awarded to the winning regiment.
BATTLE # 11 – Northern Lights Poem (due in class on Monday, April 2)
Your group is to submit one narrative poem describing the events of the Battle of Fredericksburg written from the perspective of the Union soldier Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Your poem can be in any style you wish and should have at least two stanzas. Your poem will be presented in a dramatic fashion.
5000 soldiers awarded to the winning regiment.
BATTLE #12 – “Tenting Tonight”
Each regiment must construct and dismantle 2 Civil War style tents in the fastest time in order to earn soldiers. The tents must be sturdy and well-constructed for inspection by the commanding officers.
BATTLE #13 – Town Ball
This challenge will bring you directly back to the activities of the 1860’s.
BATTLE #14 – Regimental Drilling
All Union and Confederate troops will be whipped into top military shape.
BATTLE #15 – Battlefield Challenge
The battlefield challenge will be the review for the unit exam. This will be a battle nobody forgets! Description TBA
FINAL CHALLENGE:
MAY 1st – CIVIL WAR UNIT EXAM
Missouri Compromise 21.3 and 21.4 (due Wednesday, 2/29)
1. What were the three decisions in the Missouri Compromise?
2. Paraphrase John Quincy Adams’s diary entry to explain how he felt about the Missouri Compromise.
I have favored this Missouri compromise, believing it to be all that could be effected [accomplished] under the present Constitution, and from extreme unwillingness to put the Union at hazard [risk]. If the Union must be dissolved, slavery is precisely the question on which it ought to break. For the present, however, the contest is laid asleep.
21.4
1. What was John Quincy Adams’s 1839 antislavery proposal? What was the gag rule, and how did it affect his proposal?
2. How did the fugitive slave issue and the Wilmot Proviso pull the nation apart?
Fugitive slave issue:
Wilmot Proviso:
3. Why did Northerners in Congress accept California’s application for statehood while Southerners rejected it?
Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Law 21.5 and 21.6A (due Thursday, 3/1)
1. List four details of Henry Clay’s plan to end the deadlock over the issue of California statehood.
d.
2. Write a new sentence to correct the errors in this sentence: Northerners and Southerners easily accepted the terms of the Compromise of 1850 and put their suspicions to rest once it had been passed.