War Between the States: Civil War

The United States was less than 100 years old when the Civil War divided its people. Eleven Southern states seceded from the Union, determined to defend their states' rights. Abraham Lincoln, the newly elected president, was just as determined to keep the Union together. No one thought the war would last very long, but it was four and a half years before the battles finally ended. The physical and emotional scars from this war would take decades to heal. This primary source portfolio contains ready-to-use, hands-on documents, most in their original sizes, and reproducible essays, which provide historical background for understanding the documents. Students will read personal letters and feelings from people who were living through it, on both sides. A detailed timeline puts the important events between 1820 and1865 into focus. This portfolio offers comprehensive Reproducible Student Activities, which include vocabulary, writing, research, and creative thinking exercises, and a teacher's response key. 4 Illustrated Broadsheet Essays: * A House Divides * North Against South * Presidents and Generals * Rebuilding a Country 9 Primary Source Documents: * Letter from Lieutenant George Herbert, Union artillery, to his brother, April 22, 1862 * Confederate recruiting notice, June 30, 1862 * Excerpt from Robert E. Lee's Special Orders No. 191, September 9, 1862 * Letter from Lieutenant George Herbert, Union artillery, criticizing his superior officers, November 26, 1862 * The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863 * Pages from the Richmond Daily Dispatch, June 5, 1863 * Message from Confederate General Cobb to Governor Brown of Georgia the day after the burning of Atlanta, November 16, 1864 * Patriotic poster: "Our Union Defenders" * Poster: The Civil War in photographs