Civil War Essay Writing
Submitted by: Steven Player
Endorsed by: These lesson plans are the result of the work of the teachers who have
attended the Columbia Education Center's Summer Workshop. CEC is a consortium of teacher
from 14 western states dedicated to improving the quality of education in the rural,
western, United States, and particularly the quality of math and science Education. CEC
uses Big Sky Telegraph as the hub of their telecommunications network that allows the
participating teachers to stay in contact with their trainers and peers that they have met
at the Workshops.
Date: May 1994
Grade Level/Subject: 11 - 12
Objective: The learner will be able to list the six major
themes presented in class and explain one in detail as an essay answer.
Method: The class will be divided into groups of three.
Each group will be assigned one of the following unit titles:
1. Total War
2. Military Strategy
3. Lincoln and the Union
4. The Confederacy
5. The Black Experience and Emancipation
6. The Legacy of the War: War As Revolution
The group will then research the War from their particular subject and report orally in
class.
Lesson Theme: The unit will be started by a five-part
video presentation on the Civil War. The students will be assigned their topic beforehand
so they may look for their area. Each group will be given a bibliography of their topic,
as well as a general bibliography to select from.
Each group will be given a brief outline to follow to help with research and to keep
the groups separate in their search for material.
I. Total War
A. The first modern war
B. Massive armies and recruitment
C. Civilian support of the home front
D. Economic base through industrial capacities
E. Coordination of resources by political leadership
David Donald, ed., Why the North Won the Civil War, (1960).
James McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (1988).
*Richard H. Sewell, A House Divided (1988).
II. Military Strategy
A. Number, terrain, morale
B. Impact of technology
C. Overall strategy of both sides
D. Offensive vs. defensive mind
E. Leaders
*Bruce Catton, The Centennial History of the Civil War (3 vols., 1961-65).
Thomas Connelly and Archer Jones, The Politics of Command: Factions and Ideas in
Confederate Strategy (1973).
T. Harry Williams, Lincoln and His Generals (1952).
Gerald F. Linderman, Embattled Courage: The Experience of Combat in the American Civil
War (1987).
III. Lincoln and the Union
A. Total leadership
B. Personality
C. Politics
D. Major Decisions
E. Effect of his assassination
*Benjamin Thomas, Abraham Lincoln (1952).
*Tyler Dennett, ed., Lincoln and the Civil War in the Diaries and Letters of John Hay
(1939; abridged paperback edition, 1988).
*LaWanda Cox, Lincoln and Black Freedom: A Study of Presidential Leadership (1981).
Philip S. Paludan, "A People's Contest;" The Union and Civil War, 1861-1865
(1988).
Elizabeth Mary Massey, Bonnets Brigade: American Women and the Civil War (1966).
IV. The Confederacy
A. Jefferson Davis and his leadership
B. Break with tradition (Old South)
C. Class conflicts
D. Hardships of the War
*Emory Thomas, The Confederate Nation, 1861-1865 (1979).
Steven Hahn, The Roots of Southern Populism; Yeoman Farmers and the Transformation of
the Georgia Upcountry, 1850-1890 (1983).
James Roark, Masters Without Slaves: Southern Planters in the Civil War and
Reconstruction (1977).
Massey, Bonnets Brigade
V. The Black Experience and Emancipation
A. Changes in slavery
B. Emancipation Proclamation
C. Role of the Freedman
D. Hopes and aspirations
E. Adaptability
Leon Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery (1979).
Clarence Mohr, On the Thershiol of Freedom: Masters and Slaves in Civil War Georgia
(1986).
*Willie Lee Rose, Rehearsal for Reconstruction: The Port Royal Experiment (1964).
VI. The Legacy of the War: War as Revolution
A. Social transformation of the slaves
B. Social transformation of women
C. Political changes
D. Economical changes
E. Cost of the War
F. Value changes
Susan Previant lee and Peter Passell, A New Economic View of American History (1979).
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