University of California
The Civil War: Secession of the South
Was the Southern states' decision to secede from the Union protected by the United States Constitution? Eighth graders discuss the constitutionality of the South's justification for secession, particularly the secession of South...
Curated OER
Secession: A Southern Perspective
Eighth graders determine how secession impacted South Carolina as well as the United States. For this American Civil War lesson, 8th graders examine selected primary and secondary sources in order to study the state's sovereignty and the...
Curated OER
An Early Threat of Secession: The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Nullification Crisis
Students analyze an interactive map of the Missouri Compromise to identify the regions and their relation to slavery. In this pre-civil war era instructional activity, students read primary source documents and research online to answer...
Curated OER
A Southerner’s Reaction to the Republicans
In this Civil War worksheet, learners write a letter to the editor of a local Southern newspaper in 1960. The letter should feature Republican platform statements regarding the issue of secession.
Curated OER
A Nation Divided
Fifth graders participate in various activities related to the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson students understand the events and feelings of people during the Civil War by studying primary sources, journal writing, readings, viewing...
Curated OER
Civil War and Reconstruction
Fourth graders investigate the Civil War by researching the state of Virginia. In this US History instructional activity, 4th graders identify Abraham Lincoln, James Chestnut and Fort Sumter, and discuss their roles in the start of the...
Curated OER
Continue the War?
Students have to decide if they would continue the war from the Union's perspective and how would they go about doing it. Students need to read excerpts from the Congressional Globe to decide their argument. Finally, a poster will be...
Curated OER
First Inauguration Speech of Abraham Lincoln
Students read an annotated excerpt of Lincoln's speech. In this government lesson plan, students discuss questions related to the speech to identify Lincoln's ideas to preserve the Union. Students may write optionally write their...