The Civil War
- Why were efforts at compromise unsuccessful immediately prior to the Civil War?
- What caused a growing number of people in the North to be opposed to slavery?
- Was it necessary and worthwhile to wage a war to preserve the Union?
- What does it take for a brother to take up arms against a brother?
- What forces made Reconstruction so difficult?
- Why does the Civil War remain such a defining event for American identity?
- Why does Lincoln reference ideas in the Declaration of Independence when referring to the Civil War?
- What is the proper way to memorialize controversial events and people?
U.S. I Standard 7.1:
Students will explain how slavery and other geographic, social, economic, and political differences between the North, South, and West led to the Civil War.
U.S. I Standard 7.2:
Students will use evidence to interpret the factors that were most significant in shaping the course of the war and the Union victory, such as the leadership of Lincoln, Grant, and Lee; the role of industry; demographics; and military strategies.
U.S. I Standard 7.3:
Students will compare historians’ interpretations of the competing goals of Reconstruction and why many of those goals were left unrealized.
U.S. I Standard 7.4:
Students will use current events to evaluate the implications of the Civil War and Reconstruction for contemporary American life.