Resource Unit: the Civil War (11Th Grade U.S. History)

Resource Unit: The Civil War (11th grade U.S. History)

Aaron Pelphrey

March 6, 2008

INTORDUCTION

The Civil War was one of the bloodiest and most divisive times in American History. This Unit will explore that time period. It will focus on causes, battlefield tactics and weapons, and a historical study of the war.

CONTENT

The unit will be five weeks long and consist of a mini section on causes of the Civil War which will last four days, and a larger section, the Civil War which will last twenty one days. This section will be divided up into two sub-sections. One section lasting, four days, will explain the tactics and weapons of the period. The second section will discuss the history of the war and last 17 days. The length of the unit may be adjusted as needed.

Text

Martin, James Kirby et al. America and its Peoples. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Chapter 15

pp. 386-419.

The text will be supplemented by presentations, videos, and handouts made by the teacher.

Causes of the Civil War

This section would be given after the completion of a section on sectionalism and slavery in America during the early to mid 1800’s. Its purpose is to use all of the classes learning up until this point in order to see how the country had grown apart economically and ideologically since the time of the American Revolution, and how slavery was the spark that ignited greater causes of the war.

Concepts, people, and places

· Secession

· State’s Rights

· Tariffs

· Missouri Compromise

· Compromise of 1850

· Abraham Lincoln

· Union

· Federals

· Confederacy

· Rebels

· Infrastructure

· Federal government

· Nullification

· 3/5th Compromise

The Civil War

Sub-section one: Weapons and tactics

This section will be taught in order to allow the students to understand the tactics and weaponry of the day. This will allow them to see why the battles, which they will study later, were so brutal and traumatic. It will also allow students to see how the war led to new military technology which would change tactics for generations to come.

Concepts

· Napoleonic warfare

· West Point

· Smooth bore

· Rifled

· Solid shot

· Shell

· Canister

· Springfield rifle

· Sharps rifle

· LeMat revolver

· Parrot shell

· Bayonet

· Mini ball

· Volley

· Bayonet charge

· Cavalry

· Infantry

· Artillery

· Tactics

· Ranks and order of battle

Sub-section two: The History of the Civil War

This sub-section will follow the war from Fort Sumter to Appomattox Courthouse. It will cover battles, political movements, politics, and people of the Civil War period.

Part One: The War Begins

This will cover from Fort Sumter to the First Battle of Manassas. It will discuss such things as why the south feared the election of Lincoln, the session of the South, the neutrality of the Border States, and the strengths and weaknesses along with strategies of both the North and South. It will conclude with a study of the optimism of the early part of the war, and how that was derailed by the First Battle of Manassas.

Part Two: The War Picks up Steam

This section will cover from First Manassas to Gettysburg. It will include such notable events and battles such as the Monitor and the Virginia, the Peninsula Campaign, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The Battles of Shiloh, The Seven Days, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville along with the Emancipation Proclamation will be discussed.

Part Three: Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg

This section will cover the turning point of the war and the period from June 1863 to July 1863. It will explain in detail how the Battle of Gettysburg and the taking of Vicksburg turned the tide of the war in the favor of the Union.

Part Four: Roles of Minorities and Women in the War along with a Study of Prison Camps.

This section will cover the contributions of Clara Barton and the Red Cross. It will go into the medical practices of the time. It will also discuss the raising of colored units. It will conclude with a study f the Andersonville Prison Camp.

Part Five: The Union’s March to Victory

This section will cover from the Battle of Gettysburg to the end of the war and Lincoln’s assassination. It will include battles such as the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Lookout Mountain, Franklin, Chickamauga, and the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. It will also introduce the student to Grant’s utilization of the Union’s resources to press onward to victory, unconditional surrender, total war and Sherman’s March to the Sea. It will conclude with the assassination of Lincoln and its meaning for America’s future during Reconstruction.

Important Battles: Fort Sumter, First Manassas, Seven Days, Shiloh, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Mobile Bay, The Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Chickamauga, Petersburg, and Appomattox Courthouse.

Important People: Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, P.G.T. Beauregard, Joseph Johnston, Sidney Johnston, Thomas Jackson, Winfield Scott, Irwin McDowell, J.E.B. Stuart, James Longstreet, David Farragut, John Bell Hood, Frederick Douglass, U.S. Grant, George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joe Hooker, George Meade, William T. Sherman, Clara Barton, Robert Gould Shaw, George Pickett, John Wilkes Booth.

Key Terms

· Anaconda Plan

· Martial Law

· Conscription

· Blockade

· Foreign Intervention

· Gettysburg Address

· Emancipation Proclamation

· Defensive Warfare

· March to the Sea

· Unconditional Surrender

· Army of the Potomac

· Army of Northern Virginia

· Conspiracy

· Copperheads

· Total War

ACTIVITIES

Causes of the Civil War

Day 1

Begin the discussion of causes of the Civil War with students by asking them if they believed slavery was the direct cause of the war. After the discussion lead into a PowerPoint/guided note presentation on the causes of the Civil War.

Home work: Pick from a list of key battles and people for a brief 5 minute oral presentation. Due on day 3. Does not have to be in depth. Can read a print off from the internet.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities, Social Studies Skills and Methods

NCSS Standards: Culture, Time, Continuity, and Change, People, Places, and Environments, Individuals, Groups, and Institutions, Power, Authority, and Governance, Production, distribution, and Consumption, Science, Technology, and Society, Global Connections

Day 2

Continue and complete the presentation with the election of Lincoln and its effects. Show a brief 10 minute clip of the movie Gettysburg in order to reinforce states rights and the perceived Southern cause of the war. The scene is entitled the Gentlemen’s Club. Check students’ notes for completion, a grade of 25 points.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 3:

Have students give their brief oral presentations. (10 points each) From these allow students to pick one on which they will do their unit project…a 3 to 5 page paper due after the day after the final unit test.

Homework: Study for quiz over the presentation

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 4:

Review and Quiz (25 points)

Day 5:

Explain tactics, military branches, and weapons of the Civil War period through a brief lecture, and selected scenes from the movie Gettysburg. These scenes would include Pickett’s Charge to show an amassed attack and Little Round Top to show a bayonet charge.

Day 6:

Presentation of Civil weapons by the teacher (multimedia source 20). These will include a Springfield rifle, several solid shot balls, shells, canister shot, a Confederate cavalry sword, and a bayonet. Allow the students to carefully handle the weapons when possible.

Homework: Have the students write a brief ½ a page on whether or not they think the tactics of the war were appropriate for the weapons available. (10 points)

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 7:

Go to the computer lab and allow students to play the North Vs. South video game (Multimedia source 19) in class in order to teach students the order of Civil War battles, disarray during battles, and the relative size of armies. If the students can win a battle on the medium setting by the end of the class period, they will receive 10 bonus points.

Homework: Study for quiz over weapons and tactics of the Civil War

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Social Studies Skills and Methods

NCSS Standards: Culture, Time, Continuity, and Change, People, Places, and Environments, Individuals, Groups, and Institutions, Power, Production, distribution, and Consumption, Science, Technology, and Society

Day 8:

Review and quiz. (25 points) Assign unit paper: a 3-5 page report on a topic which was presented during the oral presentations. Due on date of final exam. (75 points)

Day 9:

Hand out the guided notes for the Civil War History unit, and begin with the events leading up to Fort Sumter. Include discussion of advantages of each side and plans for each side. Start the Civil War Journal Video (Multimedia source 3) on Fort Sumter.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 10:

Finish video, and using the guided notes go up to the First Battle of Manassas.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 11:

Go over the First Battle of Manassas in the guided notes. Explain how it changed expectations of the war, and made a hero out of “Stonewall” Jackson.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Social Studies Skills and Methods

NCSS Standards: Culture, Time, Continuity, and Change, People, Places, and Environments, Individuals, Groups, and Institutions, Power, Authority, and Governance, Science, Technology, and Society

Days 12-14:

Cover from the Battle of First Manassas up to the Battle of Gettysburg in the guided notes. (see part two, the War Picks up Steam for details).

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 15:

Catch up and review

Homework: Read pages 409-413 in textbook. It covers the Battle of Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg.

Day 16:

Using the guided notes cover the first and second days of the Battle of Gettysburg. Use the movie Gettysburg (Multimedia source 21) to illustrate key points such as the Confederate failure to take Culp’s Hill the first day, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s charge on the second day of battle.

Homework: Have students review pages 410 and 411 of the text. It is a section on Pickett’s Charge.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 17:

Have a brief discussion on Pickett’s Charge, and show the Pickett’s charge scene from Gettysburg.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 18:

Using the guided notes, cover the fall of Vicksburg, and how it hurt the Southern economy by dividing the country.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Social Studies Skills and Methods

NCSS Standards: Culture, Time, Continuity, and Change, People, Places, and Environments, Individuals, Individual Development and Identity, Groups, and Institutions, Power, Authority, and Governance, Production, distribution, and Consumption, Science, Technology, and Society, Global Connections

Day 19:

Cover a section on the roles of women, African Americans, prison camps, and the New York draft riots during class using the guided notes and PowerPoint presentation.

ODE Standards: History, People in Societies, Geography, Economics, Government, Social Studies Skills and Methods

Day 20:

Have students go to the library to research, and work on their papers.

Day 21:

Continue in the library.

Day 22-24:

Cover part five, The Union’s March to Victory. On day 23 show Sherman’s March to the Sea for the History Channel’s Civil War collection. (Multimedia source 8, number 12). Conclude with the Assassination of Lincoln. (Check student’s guided notes for completeness 25 points).