THE ROAD TO CIVIL WAR – WEBQUEST ASSIGNMENT

INTRODUCTION – “’A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure permanently halve slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect wit will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.” – Abraham Lincoln, 1858. No event in American history after the Founding Fathers set the young American nation on its course has redefined the country so completely. But how did the country find itself at war, with brother and brother, father and son, fighting one another over the future of the “nation”?

This project will take you through the events leading up to the Civil War. Through the words of those who lived through these events, you will be able to reflect on them yourself. In this project your task is to study the events leading to the Civil War.

First things first – here are the events your assignment will cover: The Wilmot Proviso, the Compromise of 1850, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, the Caning of Charles Sumner, the Dred Scott Decision, the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, John Brown’s Raid and the Election of 1860. The most important thing about studying history is to find connections – connections between events and connections to you.

Task

-Using your textbook and the websites provided, you must choose five events to examine for your assignment. Before you try to interpret and explain these events, it’s good to get an idea of what they are and how they fit into the story of the years leading to civil war.

-1. Write a brief explanation of each event by answering the following questions: What was it? When and where did it occur? Who did it affect? What were the outcomes of the event? Why is the event significant?

-2. Write a brief explanation of how the event furthered the sectional divide between the North and South…..how/why did the event lead to the Civil War?

-Make sure all of the information is in your own words……NO CUT AND PASTE…..NO PLAGIARISM.

You have today and today only in the lab to work on this project, so use your time wisely. All five events are due Monday. It is preferred that your project be typed, however, it may be hand written if you do not have access to a computer at home. GOOD LUCK!

HELPFUL WEBSITES

General Information

- General Civil War Infor

- General Info

- Wilmot Proviso

- Compromise of 1850

- Compromise of 1850

- Uncle Tom’s Cabin

- Bleeding Kansas

- Bleeding Kansas

- The Caning of Charles Sumner

- Dred Scott

- Lincoln-Douglas Debate

- John Brown’s Raid

- Election of 1860

- Map of the Election of 1860

Biographical Information

Primary Sources

- The American Memory Project – The BEST source for primary sources.

- Valley of the Shadow – Newspapers, journals, etc. from two different towns, one North, one South.

AVOIDING PLAGARISM AND CHICAGO-TURABIAN STYLE

Just because you find a good idea, comment or quote does not mean that you can claim it as your own. Even when you paraphrase an idea, you need to let your reader know where you got the idea. Quotations are always documented. In history, the correct form of documentation is footnotes. History does not use in-text documentation. Here are a few examples.

Book

Bibliography

Diggins, John P. On Hallowed Ground: Abraham Lincoln and the Foundation of American

History. New Haven: YaleUniversity Press, 2000.

Footnote

John P. Diggins, On Hallowed Ground: Abraham Lincoln and the Foundation of American History (New Haven: YaleUniversity Press, 2001), 136.

Website

Bibliography

Spanish American War Centennial, < Available 15 August 2004.

Footnote

Same.