U.S. History Online Curriculum Chapter 7

 
Day 1 Assignment:

1. Create a timeline with the major events leading up to the Civil War.
    
2. Online Resource

Day 2 Assignment:

1. PowerPoint - The Civil War
    
2. Assignment:
    
   1. Explain the various interpretations that historians have advanced to explain why the Civil War took place.
       
   2. How have these interpretations followed the general outlines laid down by Senator William H. Seward in 1858?
       
   3. Create a CHART which analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the North and the South in terms of their readiness for war.
       
   4. How did the Republican Party act to expand the American economy during the war?
       
      • To which pre-war party was their program similar?
         
      • Why were they able to enact it, whereas the previous party had not been successful?
       
   5. How did the Union propose to finance the war?
       
      • How successful was this?
         
      • What was the effect on the economy?
       
   6. How did the Union propose to raise troops?
       
      • To what extent was it forced to use conscription?
         
      • How did the nation react to this method?
       
   7. What was Lincoln's view of the extent of presidential war powers?
       
   8. Who were the opponents war in the North?
       
      • How did Lincoln use his powers against them?
         
      • What was the outcome?
       
   9. For what reason was the "Union Party" created?
       
      • Who were its candidates?
       
   10. What were the two factions trying to control the Republican Party?
        
       • What were their goals?
          
       • Which group did Lincoln support?
        
   11. How was this split in the Republican Party revealed in the debate over what to do about slavery?
        
       • What action did each faction propose?
          
       • What was Lincoln's response to each faction?
        
   12. What factors, other than political pressure, brought about the Emancipation Proclamation?
        
       • What did the proclamation really accomplish?
        
   13. What role did African Americans play in support of the Union cause?
        
   14. What impact did the Civil War have on the Northern industrial economy?
        
   15. What impact did the Civil War have on women in the North?
        
   16. What part did women play in the Union war effort?
    
3. Terms:
    
   • Morrill Tariff Act (1861)
   • Homestead Act (1862)
   • Pacific Railway Act (1862)
   • Morrill Land Grant College Act (1862)
   • Confiscation Acts (1861, 1862)
   • National Bank Acts (1863 & 1864)
   • greenbacks
   • Peace Democrats [Copperheads]
   • Clement L. Vallandigham
   • Conscription Act (1863)
   • A rich man's war, but a poor man's fight!
   • New York Draft Riots (1863)
   • writ of habeas corpus
   • Emancipation Proclamation
   • 54th Massachusetts Regiment
   • Clara Barton
   • Mathew Brady

Day 3 Assignment:

 
1. Document: Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
    
2. PowerPoint - Some Civil War Atrocities
    
3. Assignment:
    
   1. How did advances in the effectiveness of arms and artillery change the way soldiers in the field fought?
       
   2. What was the response of the border states to the outbreak of war?
       
   3. Why was the outcome of the First Battle of Bull Run [First Manassas] such a shock?
       
      • What did it reveal about the possibility of an early end to the struggle and about the readiness of the two sides for a major conflict?
       
   4. What were the strengths and weaknesses of General George McClellan's military leadership?
       
   5. What were the strengths and weaknesses of General Robert E. Lee's military leadership?
       
   6. What was the Union plan for the conquest of the West?
       
      • How did the Confederates propose to defend this area?
       
   7. How did the battle of Shiloh change Grant's thinking about his military plans?
       
   8. Why was the Battle of Antietam considered to be one of the turning points in the war?
       
   9. Why was 1863 the "Year of Decision?"
       
   10. What was Grant's grand strategy for 1864? What were his objectives?
        
   11. How was the Confederacy finally defeated?
        
   12. In what way did the Union forces destroy the South's will to carry on the fight?
    
4. Terms:
    
   • First Battle of Bull Run [First Manassas]
   • Anaconda Plan
   • General "Stonewall" Jackson
   • Battle of Antietam (1862)
   • Battle of Gettysburg (1863)
   • General Ulysses S. Grant
   • General William Tecumseh Sherman
   • Sherman's "March to the Sea"
   • Appomattox Court House
   • Andersonville

Day 4 Assignment:

1. Begin Civil War
2. PowerPoint
3. Report and movie