The Civil War Complete Unit Guide Packet
Overview The Civil War was fought from 1861-1865 between the North and the South because of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of African Americans. War broke out in April 1861 when secessionist forces from the South attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as President.
In 1861, there were 34 states in the US. Eleven slaveholding states seceded from the Union and called themselves the Confederate States of America. The states that remained loyal to the US were known as the Union. The slaveholding border states of Delaware and Maryland remained in the Union, as did West Virginia, which as formed from counties in Virginia. The border states of Kentucky and Missouri had both pro-Confederate and pro-Union governments.
The Confederacy was never diplomatically recognized by the United States or by any foreign country. The Union and the Confederacy quickly raised armies that fought mostly in the South over the next four years. Intense combat left between 620,000 to 750,000 people dead. The war ended when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle of Appomattox Court House. Confederate generals throughout the southern states followed suit. Much of the South’s infrastructure was destroyed. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million black slaves were freed. During the Reconstruction Era that followed the war, national unity was slowly restored, the national government expanded its power, and civil rights were granted to freed black slaves through amendments to the Constitution and federal legislation. Essential Questions a) What were the cultural, economic, and constitutional issues that divided the nation? b) How did the issue of slavery increase sectional tensions? c) Which states seceded from the Union and which remained? d) What were the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, and Frederick Douglass in events leading to and during the war? e) What is the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation and the principles outlined in the Gettysburg Address? f) What were the critical developments in the war? g) How did the war affect Union and Confederate soldiers (including African American soldiers), women, and enslaved African Americans?
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Vocabulary Directions: Write the definition for each word next to each in your own words.
Abolitionist
Compromise of 1850
Dred Scott Decision
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Popular Sovereignty
Fugitive Slave Law
Confederacy
Border states
Secede
Anaconda Plan
Emancipation Proclamation
Gettysburg Address
Sherman's March
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Geography Directions: Analyze the maps and overview of the geography of the Civil War and then answer the questions. .
Which states were Border States?
Where did most battles take place and why?
What was the northernmost battle of the Civil War? Why were there not more in the North?
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People to Know
Directions: Use the word bank below to identify the appropriate category for each person. For each person, identify the significant contributions that person made in history. Abraham Lincoln Jefferson Davis Ulysses S. Grant Clara Barton Robert E. Lee Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson Frederick Douglass Robert Gould Shaw Harriet Beecher Stowe
Name: Name: Title: Title: Contributions: Contributions:
Political Leaders
Name: Name: Name: Title: Title: Title: Contributions: Contributions: Contributions:
Generals
Name: Name: Name: Title: Title: Title: Contributions: Contributions: Contributions:
Civilians During War
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Timeline of the Civil War Directions: Place each the following Civil War events on the timeline next to the year they occured. Lincoln Elected President Emancipation Proclamation Issued Congress Approves the 13th Amendment South Carolina Secedes Gettysburg Address Surrender at Appomattox Court Fort Sumter Attacked Ulysses S. Grant Promoted to House Lieutenant General First Battle of Bull Run Lincoln is Assassinated Abraham Lincoln is Re-elected Battle of Antietam President
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
Why is Gettysburg considered the turning point of the Civil War?
th Why was Congress able to approve the 13 Amendment during the war?
Which event was the most significant to this period? Why?
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Key Concepts Directions: For each section, either takes notes on the required topics or answer the questions in complete sentences. Union Confederacy Characteristics Characteristics
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At the Start of the War Strengths Strengths
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Weaknesses Weaknesses
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Who issued this? The Emancipation Proclamation
By the President of the United States of America: What did it do?
“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons Why do you think it only applied to, “any State … in rebellion”? held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free…”
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The Gettysburg Address What was the purpose of the Gettysburg Address?
“Fourscore and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a According to Lincoln, what is being tested by this war? new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure.”
At what point in the war was this speech given? Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him What is the tone of the address? Explain. who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”
Civil War Battles Match the Civil War battles in the 3rd column to the description by typing each in the first column. Turning point of the war in 1863 that made it clear the Union would win. ● Fort Sumter
First shots were fired here when Lincoln sent ships with food to feed ● Bull Run hungry men. ● Hampton Roads Union victory in Mississippi that split the Confederacy in two. ● Antietam Where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union Army. ● Vicksburg Naval battle when the first ironclad ships fought each other to a draw. ● Gettysburg First major conflict and showed the Union the war would not be easily won. ● Appomattox Deadliest day in American history and strategic Union victory. Court House
1. What was the major cause of death during the Civil War?
2. Which side suffered heavier casualties (deaths)? Explain why.
3. What are two conclusions you can draw from this information?
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Visual Literacy Directions: Use the included images to answer each of the questions.
What is “Scott’s Great Snake”?
What effect might this have on the South?
What aspect of the South’s economy would make this effective?
How would you describe Civil War battles?
What effect do you think would have on soldiers?
By the end of the war, roughly 179,000 black men (10% of the Union Army) served as soldiers in the U.S. Army and another 19,000 served in the Navy. What did African American soldiers face in addition to combat?
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President Abraham Lincoln meets with William T. Sherman, Ulysses S. Grant, and David Porter near the end of the war to discuss peace terms to follow.
How active do you think Lincoln was in leading the war? Why?
“I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which their people ever fought, and one for which there was the least excuse.” - Ulysses S. Grant
What scene is shown here and how did Grant feel about it?
What did Grant believe was the reason why the South was fighting?
What part of the US saw most of the fighting?
What long-term impact might this have on the region?
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