UNIT DESCRIPTION

In this unit, students will study the major battles of the Civil War, including the goals, strategies, and the strengths and weaknesses of both the Union and Confederacy. Prominent Civil War leaders will also be examined in depth, as will President Lincoln’s decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and the repercussions of this act. Students will discover the plans for Reconstruction and how they affected Southern politics and economy. Students will also compare and contrast the rights and lifestyles of freed slaves in the North and South under the new Union. This unit will conclude with students learning about African Americans’ loss of rights.

Essential Questions Exploration · How did the history and outcome of the Civil War shape our nation? · How would a different outcome have changed the History of the United States?

Performance Task: The Civil War and Reconstruction was the time of greatest division in U.S. history. Even so, it is a period of time that all Americans look back to and memorialize even today. However, not all Americans memorialize the Civil War in the same way. Your goal is to answer the question “How should Americans remember the Civil War and Reconstruction?” You have been asked by the National Archives to help them create a collection of materials that tells the story of the Civil War. This collection will then be open to the American public for viewing. The challenge you face is to decide how best to tell the story of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Should it be considered a war against slavery? A war to protect state’s rights? An economic war? In order to put together a presentation for the National Archive, you will need to consider primary and secondary sources about the Civil War from the perspective of the North, South, and West. You will need to also consider the views of political leaders and the average American to understand what the war meant to them. You will then take all that evidence about the past into a coherent argument to present to the National Archives. The Archives will take your presentation into account as they build their new collection.