Compelling Question: Did the Civil War help create a more perfect Union?

Chapter Objectives:

• Students will be able to examine the relationship between military events in the Civil War and changes in politics, society, and justice for African Americans.
• Students will be able to analyze the changing nature of the goals of the Civil War and whether it wrought a “second American Revolution.”
• Students will be able to evaluate whether justice for African Americans was achieved through Reconstruction.

• Fort Sumter and the Coming of the War Narrative
• The Battle of Antietam Narrative
• Gettysburg and Vicksburg: July 4, 1863 Narrative
• Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation Decision Point
• William Tecumseh Sherman and Total War Narrative
• Images of Total War: Sherman’s March to the Sea, 1865 Primary Source
• Grant and Lee at Appomattox Decision Point
• Did Abraham Lincoln Exceed His Presidential Powers during the Civil War? Point-Counterpoint
• Was the Civil War Fought Over Slavery? Point-Counterpoint
• J.B. Elliott,Scott’s Great Snake(Anaconda Plan), 1861 Primary Source
• Mathew Brady, The Dead of Antietam Photography, 1862 Primary Source
• The Rhetoric of Abraham Lincoln DBQ Lesson

• The Draft and the Draft Riots of 1863 Narrative
• Robert Gould Shaw and the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Regiment Narrative
• Mary Chesnut’s War Narrative
• Clement Vallandigham and Constitutionalism Narrative
• Women during the Civil War Narrative
• Daniel Emmett’s “Dixie” and Julia Ward Howe’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” 1859 and 1861 Primary Source

• Cartoon Analysis:The “Rail Splitter” at Work Repairing the Union, 1865 Primary Source
• O. O. Howard and the Freedmen’s Bureau Narrative
• Comparing Views of the Freedmen’s Bureau, 1866 Primary Source
• The Ku Klux Klan and Violence at the Polls Narrative
• To What Extent Did American Principles Become a Reality for African Americans during Reconstruction? Point Counterpoint
• Cartoon Analysis: Thomas Nast on Reconstruction, 1869-1874 Primary Source
• The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Decision Point
• Andrew Johnson’s Veto of the Civil Rights Act, 1866 Primary Source
• The Emergence of Black Codes DBQ Lesson
• Comparing Impeachments across U.S. History Lesson

Additional Resources:

• Chapter 8 Introductory Essay: 1860-1877
• The Homestead Act of 1862 Primary Source
• Unit 4 Civics Connection: Equality, the Civil War, and Reconstruction Lesson

Unit 4 Essay Activity Did the Civil War help create a more perfect Union? Option B: Analyze the effects of the Civil War on U.S. politics and society. Through this inquiry, students will evaluate primary and secondary sources to assess the outcomes and consequences of the Civil War. Ultimately, students will use the primary and secondary sources in this chapter to practice constructing an essay in AP Long-Essay Question format, demonstrating their skills in explaining historical causation. Students should be evaluated using the AP Rubric. Assess students’ progress in understanding the compelling question for this chapter by assigning the Unit 4 Essay Activity.