Civil War

In response the tension over states rights and the election of Abraham Lincoln, 11 southern states decided to leave the US and form their own nation called The Confederate States of America. The northern states, however, did not agree that these states had the right to leave, and decided to fight to restore the Union.  

On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free;” Did you notice that?  It only freed the slaves in the Confederate States; 500,000 of the 4million US slaves.  Of course, the south ignored the order, but it did pave the way for the eventual creation of the 13th amendment.  

The Battle of Gettysburg was a major turning point in the war and by 1865, the Union had the upper hand.  The Civil War was by far the deadliest war in American history with well over 600,000 people killed.

In Class Activities:

• Read the letters of a Civil War soldier and his family
• Discussed the reasons for Lincoln freeing the confederate slaves
• Made our own simple Civil War timeline
• Learned about fan language and folded our own fans
• Defined the word secede and discussed the difference between cede and secede

Lesson Extension Activities:

• Watch this free BrainPop movie covering the entirety of the civil war in 5 minutes
• Play Civil War games and activities
• Read more of the letters written by George Josiah Sager (scroll to bottom)

Assignment:

• Read history cards 17 & 18
• Practice your timeline