Pre-Civil War Events (8 instructional days)
Unit Objective: Students will:
• research and analyze the events leading to the Civil War by creating a timeline and completing a
written reflection according to the standards of a rubric with a score of 85% or better.
Unit Questions:
• Can government actions solve moral issues?
• Was slavery the primary cause of the Civil War?
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: Life in the North and South from 1820-1860 (1 day)
As a class, compare and contrast the images from the PowerPoint slides 1-2.
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Using evidence from the images, what regions are represented?
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Which region is more industrialized?
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Which region is more agricultural?
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How are labor forces represented in each image?
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How do actions and products seen in each image relate to each other?
•
How was the North affected by slavery?
•
Did Northern industries help the spread of Southern slavery? Why or why not?
Now, view the Products of the North and South map in text. How does the map support the details of
the images?
Thinking back to the 13 Colonies, what industrial changes have taken place since the 1600/1700s? What
has remained the same?
By the mid-1800s, what were the economic strengths of each region, and how did those strengths
impact life in each region?
Part 1
With a partner, students will complete items 1-3 on the handout using the text. Then using PPT slides 18 and the text, students will complete items 4-5 as a whole class.
•
Read and discuss the short section about the telegraph on American Nation p. 409.
•
Display slide 1 - telegraph stations in the United States by 1853. Have students make
observations based on the map.
•
Display slide 2 - telegraph stations and lines in the North. Have students make observations
about the amount and locations of stations and lines. Why would the telegraph be important to states
like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York?
•
Display slide 3 - telegraph stations and lines in the South. Have students make observations
about the amount and locations of stations and lines. Why would the telegraph be important to port
cities like New Orleans, Savannah, Charleston, and Norfolk (cities are highlighted in red on map)?
•
Display slide 4 - telegraph lines and stations in the north and south. Who benefitted the most
from the telegraph – the North or the South? Explain your answer.
•
Next, read and discuss the short section about the railroads on Smore.
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Display slide 5 - U.S. railroads in 1850. Have students make observations about the map. Where
are the most and least railroad lines located?
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Display slide 6 - U.S. railroads in 1855. Have students make observations about the map. Where
are the most and least railroad lines located? How is the North using the railroads? How is the South
using the railroads?
•
Display slide 7 - U.S. railroads in 1860. Have students make observations about the map. Which
direction do the railroads seem to moving towards? Why would the railroads begin to move west?
•
Display slide 8 - U.S. railroads from 1850 to 1860. Who benefitted most from the railroads - the
North or South? Explain your answer.
Part 2
Create multiple North and South student groups (divide the class in half, then assign North/South roles
to pairs). Using the Smore, research life in the North and South from 1820-1860. Northern students
need to research the advantages of living in the North and the disadvantages of living in the South, while
Southern students will research the advantages of living in the South and the disadvantages of living in
the North. Groups will participate in a class discussion, using their research data. As groups report out,
students will record information using a graphic organizer.
To close the activity with a Two Minute Paper: How did economic differences affect life in the North
and in the South?
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: Slavery, Compromise, and Conflict (1 day)
To activate prior knowledge, ask students to explain the image on slide 1 of the PowerPoint.
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What does the image represent? (The Three-Fifths Compromise)
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When was the document written? (during the Constitutional Convention, 1787)
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What was the purpose of the document? (settled the issue of how to count slaves for purposes
of representation and taxation)
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Did the Three-Fifths Compromise solve the issue of slavery?
As a class, read Setting the Scene in text. Answer and discuss the As You Read question to the left. How
will the "wolf" affect an ever expanding United States?
In groups, students will use summaries and maps to investigate the conflicts and compromises
surrounding the expansion of slavery from 1820 - 1854. Students will record their work on a graphic
organizer. Share and discuss student responses. The maps have been included in the PPT.
Questions to discuss:
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What issues and events caused of these boundary changes from 1820 to 1850?
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Why would boundaries need to be changed as the U.S. expanded to the West?
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Did the U.S. Government really try to stop the spread of slavery? Why or why not?
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Which documents would have support from people living in the North?
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Which documents would have support from people living in the South?
Teacher should model the steps to complete the cause and effect chart by completing the section on the
Missouri Compromise. Students should complete the remaining sections of the chart with a partner.
Share and discuss student responses as a class. Correct any misinformation if needed.
Writing reflection: Describe the reasons why Northerners and Southerners wanted the boundaries
changes that took place between 1820 to 1850. Which region benefited from these changes - the North
or the South? Explain your answer.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: Individuals Seeking Change: Stowe, Scott and Brown (2 days)
Discussion question: How can the actions and/or words from one individual influence society? Students
should provide examples to support their responses. Ideally, students would include examples from the
Reform unit. Share and discuss student responses.
Display the image and excerpt from Uncle Tom's Cabin from slide 1 of the PowerPoint. Discuss the
following:
1.
What is the author's intended message to the audience?
2.
How could the excerpt influence the beliefs or actions of others?
Part 1 – Harriett Beecher Stowe
View the Youtube video about Harriett Beecher Stowe on the Smore.
With a partner, read and discuss the excerpt from Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Answer the questions, citing
evidence from the excerpt to support your answers. Share and discuss answers as a class.
Part 2 – Dred Scott
View the Youtube video about Dred Scott on the Smore.
With a partner, read and discuss the information about the Dred Scott case. Answer the questions, citing
evidence from the excerpt to support your answers. Share and discuss answers as a class.
Part 3 – John Brown
View the Youtube video about John Brown on the Smore.
With a partner, read and discuss the information about John Brown.
Then, students will examine the excerpts about John Brown after his arrest at Harper’s Ferry. Based on
the excerpts, students need to decide if John Brown was a villain or hero? Cite evidence from the
excerpt to support your decision.
Share and discuss answers as a class.
Answers below:
#1 The Liberator, Fri. Nov 4, 1859 - Hero
#2 New Orleans, Louisiana, Times-Picayune Oct. 25, 1859 - Villain
#3 The St. Louis Democrat (Free Soil), Fri, Nov. 4, 1859 - Villain
#4 Ralph Waldo Emerson, speech on Jan. 6, 1860 in Salem, Mass. - Hero
#5 Wilmington, North Carolina, Daily Herald Oct. 26, 1859- Villain
#6 Wendell Phillips “The Lesson of the Hour,” Nov. 1, 1859 - Hero
Consider the following quote:
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I believe this government cannot endure permanently half
slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do
expect it will cease to be divided. . . . Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it. .
. or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new,
North as well as South.”
“House Divided” speech, Abraham Lincoln, June 16, 1858
How does the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the Dred Scott decision, and the actions of John Brown
relate to Lincoln’s quote?
Teacher note: Teacher may need to debrief the quote’s meaning and brainstorm as a class, the
relationship between the quote and the content of this learning experience.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: The Election of 1860 (1 day)
Preview Display the map of the Election of 1860 on the Smore.
Discussion questions:
•
Is the map an example of nationalism or sectionalism? Justify your answer with evidence from
the map.
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Who received the majority of the popular vote? (No one received the majority, which would be
51% or more of the popular vote.)
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Who received a majority of the electoral vote? (Lincoln at 59%)
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How is the map a representation of the events from 1850 to 1860?
Engage
Using the PowerPoint and student handouts, analyze election results from 1860.
Complete the political carton analysis and writing reflection.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: Secession of the South (2 days)
Display the Charleston Mercury broadside, The Union is Dissolved and the Election of 1860 map from
the Smore.
As a class, discuss the elements of the broadside such as the date, message details, intended audience,
etc. Answer the following questions:
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How are the broadside and map related? (a cause and effect relationship – Lincoln being
elected president caused the state of South Carolina to secede from the union)
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Why would South Carolina choose to leave the United States? (the fear that Lincoln will end
slavery, causing a collapse of their economy; belief in states’ rights)
•
Has South Carolina ever rebelled against the Federal government before? (yes, the Nullification
Crisis)
Part 1 - With a partner, analyze the excerpts for the authors’ point of view regarding secession. Include
the authors’ reasons for their point of view. Share and discuss responses and their answers to the
questions at the bottom of the table.
Part 2 With a partner, evaluate the various statistics of the North and South prior to Civil War. Share
and discuss student responses.
Read and discuss the Ordinances of Secession of South Carolina. Then, use excerpts from the
Declaration of Independence (1776) and the U.S. Constitution (1787) to support or not support the idea
of secession. Writing reflection: In your opinion, did the South have the right to secede from the United
States? Use evidence to justify answer.