Politics during the Civil War

Take your traditional timeline project on the Civil War to the next level! From the attack on Fort Sumter in 1861 to the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865, your class members will research a particular event and then teach their...

What is the balance between constitutional rights and security during a war? Young historians debate the question while looking at Lincoln's decision to suspect habeas corpus during the Civil War. After reviewing his order, discussion...

What caused the American Civil War? Who were the major figures during this time? Focusing specifically on slavery and the attack on Fort Sumter, this resource provides a quick overview of some of the conflicts faced at this time.

How do countries fund wars? Learners examine the economics of warfare through a comprehensive study of what measures were taken to fund wartime activities during the American Civil War. They'll start by reading a newspaper article from...

Louisa May Alcott longed to fight in the Civil War to end the scourge of slavery, but like most nineteenth-century women, was relegated to the ranks of wartime nurses and seamstresses. Learners watch a short dramatization of Alcott's...

In order to understand the complicated nature of slave laws during the Civil War, learners compare and contrast an abolitionist poster and a runaway slave ad. They use an attached worksheet to consider each primary source document, then...

Vivandieres and cantinieres, nurses and soldiers, loyalists and unionists. A primary source set provides young historians an opportunity to investigate the many roles women played in the United States Civil War. 

While there are no photographs of actual battles during the Civil War, the pictures of Matthew Brady still paint a vivid image of what life was like as a solider. Using a series of photographs, including those of camp life and the...

Get hands on virtually with recruitment posters for African American soldiers during the Civil War with an interactive online resource. By highlighting key phrases in the posters using an Internet tool, learners discover how African...

Pose the question to your historians: who really freed the slaves? They critically assess various arguments, using primary sources as evidence. In small groups, scholars jigsaw 5 primary source documents (linked), and fill out an...