Question/Problem 4: In what ways were people affected by the Civil War?

Objectives

Description of lesson/activity

Resources

1. identify strengths and weaknesses of the Union and Confederacy.

2. describe how people were affected by the Civil War.

3. explain why the Civil War is referred to as the first modern war.

4. analyze photographs and draw conclusions about life during the Civil War.

5. create a visual representation depicting the war's impact on people.

1. In Question/Problem 3, students looked at the causes of the Civil War. In Question/Problem 4, students will examine the war itself. Students have a natural interest in this topic and the teacher can capture this interest by focusing on how the war affected individual Americans. The following is a guide for teaching the Civil War.

2. Background on the war is essential. The teacher should have students examine the strengths and weaknesses of the Union and the Confederacy. Students should study one or more battles of the war to understand some of the strategy that shaped the course of the war. The study of the battles of Gettysburg, Shiloh, and Antietam would be useful for this purpose.

3. The focus of this question should be on the people whose lives were impacted by the war. There are a variety of ways to do this:

• Focus on leaders such as Grant, Lee, Lincoln, and Davis.

• Study different groups of people such as women, slaves, free African

• Americans, soldiers, merchants, etc. Focus on key events which affected civilians such as the siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Gettysburg, and the New York City draft riots.

4. Literature and audio-visuals should be used throughout the unit. The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara is an excellent novel, providing an introspective view of military leaders at the battle of Gettysburg. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane is a realistic depiction of what it was like to fight in the war. Ken Burns's video series, The Civil War , speaks for itself. It is broken into short thematic episodes and is an effective teaching tool. The movie Glory is a dramatic portrayal of Massachusetts 54th Regiment that fought in the war. The movie documents the bravery of these black troops. These are just a few of the many possibilities to enrich lessons on the Civil War.

5. The Civil War was the first American war to be documented extensively by photographs. The accompanying "Photograph Analysis Guide" can be used with any available photographs from the Civil War. Photograph analysis can be used as a jumping off point or as a concluding activity. Civil War photographs are not limited to just battlefield scenes. Although an excellent way to document the activities and horrors of war, students should know that battlefield photographers sometimes composed the picture by moving things and bodies around. Note the following for this activity:

• Sources of photographs include but are not limited to books, albums, slides, filmstrips, etc.
• Students should always record accurately the source of a photograph.
• The photographer may not be known.

7. As a concluding activity, students should create a poster or other visual project, such as produce a video, that depicts how the Civil War affected people. This can be a class, group, or individual project.

Resource 1: Photograph Analysis Guide

Resource 2: Civil War: the First Modern War