Pro d uc ed by Ci nc in na ti Mu s e u m C en te r at Un i o n Te rm in a l
Contents
Teacher Guide
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Activity 1: BillyYank and Johnny Reb Activity 2: A War Map
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Activity 3: Young People in the Civil War Timeline of the Civil War
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Activity 4: African Americans in the Civil War Activity 5: Writing a Letter Home Activity 6: Political Cartoons
Credits
Content: Barbara Glass, Glass Clarity, Inc. Newspaper Activities: Kathy Liber, Newspapers In Education Manager, The Cincinnati Enquirer Cover and Template Design: Gail Burt Border Illustration Graphic: Sarah Stoutamire Layout Design: Karl Pavloff,Advertising Art Department, The Cincinnati Enquirer Illustrations: Katie Timko
For More Information
www.libertyontheborder.org www.cincymuseum.org Cincinnati.Com/nie
Photos courtesy of Cincinnati Museum Center Photograph and Print Collection
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Teacher Guide
This educational booklet contains activities to help prepare students in grades 4-8
for a visit to Liberty on the Border, a his-
tory exhibit developed by Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.The exhibit tells the story of the American Civil War through photographs, prints, maps, sheet music, three-dimensional objects, and other period materials. If your class cannot visit the exhibit, the activity sheets provided here can be used in conjunction with your textbook or another educational experience related to the Civil War. Included in each brief lesson plan below, you will find objectives, suggested class procedures, and national standards. Please request, from Cincinnati Museum Center or your local museum venue, a list of additional resources, including children’s books and useful websites.
Activity 2: A War Map
few southern soldiers were wealthy slave owners, but most were from rural agricultural areas. Farming was widespread in the North, too, but because the North was more industrialized than the South, many northern soldiers had worked in factories and mills. Students may be interested to know that new immigrants made up about one-fifth of the Union Army. African Americans could not become soldiers until after the Emancipation Proclamation became law in 1863.
Objectives
Students will: • Examine a map of Civil War America • Use information from a chart • Identify the Mississippi River, the Confederate coasts, and several cities
• Mark routes of two Union armies and the position of the Union naval blockade.
Procedure
Guide students through the activity. Ask them why it was important for the North to cut the Confederate states off from outside suppliers. Explain that, because the South had a small industrial base, it had to import much of the weaponry, ammunition, medicines and painkillers, and other war materials it needed. As a result of the Union blockade, manufactured items became scarce in the South during the war.
The Cincinnati Enquirer Newspapers in Education Department has developed newspaper activities that enhance the lessons presented in this guide.The activities are designed to connect the objectives of each lesson to current events and to build critical thinking skills.
If your class wants to learn more about what soldiers had to eat, what they wore, and what their daily lives were like, many resources are available. Books include
Civi l W ar by John E. Stanchak (DK Publishing, 2000), War , T e rribl e W ar by
Joy Hakim (Oxford University Press,
1998), and Journal of James Edmond Pease: A Civi l W ar Union Soldier:Virginia, 1863
by Jim Murphy (Scholastic, 1998).You can find Civil War lesson plans at www.theteachersguide.com/Civilwarles sons.html.The website
Activity 1: Billy Yank and Johnny Reb
When Union General William Tecumseh Sherman marched through the South, he destroyed anything that could be of use to the Confederacy—buildings, private homes, factories, railroads, bridges, and even food. His campaign also destroyed the South’s remaining will to fight.
Objectives
Students will: • Complete a reading about Union and Confederate soldiers
• Label photographs of a Union soldier and a Confederate soldier
•Draw items that each often carried in his knapsack or blanket roll. http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/ offers a broad selection of links to historical information.
National Standards
The South had a smaller population than the North, and thus fewer soldiers.The battles between Grant’s army and Lee’s army at Cold Harbor and Petersburg, Virginia, took a horrific human toll, but Grant could afford to lose more men than Lee could.When Lee finally surrendered, he had suffered great losses, and his men were starving.The campaigns by Grant and Sherman ended the war by exhausting the Confederacy’s last resources.
History—History content: compare the motives for fighting and the daily life experiences of Confederate soldiers with those of white and black Union soldiers.
Procedure
Discuss the historical background of the Civil War with students.Verify that they understand what happened to cause the war, when it occurred, and what its general outcomes were. Guide students to compare and contrast the soldiers who served in the Union and Confederate armies. Note that relatively
Visual Arts—Students use different media, techniques, and processes to communicate ideas, experiences, and stories.
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Remind students that their abstract marks and symbols on the map represent a broad range of wartime experiences for people on both sides, as well as tremendous suffering. For more resources on the various phases of the war, look at a series of books by James Arnold and Roberta Wiener, published in 2001 by Lerner Publishing Group.
Four of the titles are Divided i n T w o:The Road to the Civi l W ar, 1861; Life Goes On: The Civi l W ar at Home, 1861-1865; The Unhappy Country:Th e T u rn of the Civil War, 1863; and The Lost Cause:The End of the Civi l W ar, 1864-1865.
Point out that the timeline begins before 1861 and extends long past 1865. Emphasize that the beginnings of the war lay in the beginnings of our history as a nation. Northern and southern colonies were quarreling about slavery at the constitutional convention in 1787. The war also had a long aftermath. About 618,000 men died as a result of combat, nearly as many as died in all other American wars combined, from the American Revolution to the present. Moreover, many who survived came home physically crippled or emotionally scarred.As a result, the war lingered in people’s feelings and memories for a very long time, and it affected the nation’s behavior for at least a century. The timeline reflects these lengthy roots and effects of the Civil War.
Activity 3: Young People in the Civil War
Objectives
Students will: • Read descriptions of duties performed by young people in the Civil War
• Examine drawings of young people for clues regarding their roles
•Match drawings and descriptions.
Procedure
Guide students to read the descriptions of duties performed by young people in the CivilWar and to match them with the drawings.What clues did students notice in the drawings?
National Standards
History—History content: understand how the resources of the Union and Confederacy affected the course of the war; historical thinking: draw upon data in historical maps.
Share books on children in the war with your class. Some excellent ones
include When Johnn y W ent Marching Home:Young Americans Fight the Civi l W ar
by G. CliftonWisler (HarperCollins, 2001),
Children of the Civi l W ar by Candice F.
Ransom (Lerner Publishing, 1998), and
The Boys’War: Confederate and Union Soldier s T a lk About the Civi l W ar by Jim
Murphy (Houghton Mifflin, 1993).
National Standards
History—History content: the causes of the Civil War; the course and character of the Civil War and its effects on the American people; historical thinking: interpret data presented in timelines; conduct historical research.
Geography—The world in spatial terms: develop and use different kinds of maps, globes, graphs, charts, databases, and models.
Language Arts—Students use a variety of technological and informational resources (e.g., libraries, databases, computer networks, video) to gather and synthesize information and to create and communicate knowledge.
National Standards
History—History content: understand the social experience of the war on the battlefield and home front.
Language Arts—Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Activity 4: African Americans in the Civil War
Objectives
Students will:
Timeline of the Civil War
• Read background material about African Americans in the Civil War
• Organize dates chronologically • Construct a timeline of African Americans in the Civil War.
Objectives
Students will: • Interpret data presented in a timeline • Research and report on events listed in the timeline.
Procedure
Discuss the history of black enlistment in the Union Army. Even though the Union Army needed additional soldiers after the first year of the war, it was slow to accept blacks into its ranks. In part, President Lincoln feared alienating the Border States—slave states that had not seceded.They would deeply resent the arming of blacks, especially blacks sent among them with the authority of soldiers.
Procedure
Before your class visit to the exhibit, use the timeline as an overview of Civil War events and dates.After the visit, assign students each to research an event listed in the timeline and to report their findings to the class.
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But by 1863, voluntary enlistments in the Union Army had dwindled to a trickle. Lincoln considered drafting men, but he knew it would be unpopular.Accepting black soldiers would help get men onto the battlefield. Eventually, the government passed a draft law, but fewer whites were drafted because so many black men volunteered.
For more examples of CivilWar soldiers’ letters, along with lesson plans and an image of an original document, see the letters of Private Newton Robert Scott, Company A, 36th Infantry, IowaVolunteers, at www.civilwarletters.com/home.html. There are additional CivilWar letters at www.genealogy.org/~ajmorris/cw/cwlet ter.htm.
A political cartoon also makes a statement. If the statement of the first cartoon was,“Lincoln will cut down the tree of slavery,” the statement of the second is,“McClelland can offer a compromise to end the war.” In the middle of the cartoon is a map symbolizing the U.S. The country is being ripped apart by Abraham Lincoln (“No peace without abolition”) and Jefferson Davis (“No peace without separation”). McClelland, who was running for president at the time, says,“The Union must be preserved at all hazards!” The other two figures appear disheveled and physically unbalanced. McClelland treats them as if they were thoughtless boys in a fight. He presents himself as the calm person who saves the day when others have lost their heads.
There are a number of additional resources on this topic. One of the most exciting is the feature film Glory, starring Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, and Matthew Broderick, about the black troops of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment.There are also several good websites, including www.hist.unt.edu/09w-acwd.htm and www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/history/aa_histo- ry.htm.
National Standards
History—History content: understand the social experience of the war on the battlefield and home front.
Language Arts—Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
Visit the website
National Standards
Activity 6: Political Cartoons
www.boondocksnet.com/gallery/car- toons/cw/index_abe.html for more Lincoln cartoons. Go to
History—History content: compare the motives for fighting and the daily life experiences of Confederate soldiers with those of white and black Union soldiers; historical thinking: create timelines.
Objectives
Students will: • Examine two Civil War era political cartoons
• Discuss the cartoons’ content and messages
• Examine and discuss additional CivilWar era cartoons, as well as contemporary cartoons http://cagle.slate.msn.com/politicalcar- toons/ to see current political cartoons, along with related lesson plans.Ask students to scan newspapers at home for cartoons about current issues, then clip them and bring them to class. Choose several for class discussion. Finally, assign students to draw their own political cartoons on current national or local issues.Allow students to share and explain their drawings.
Activity 5: Writing a Letter Home
Objectives
Students will: • Read examples of letters by Civil War soldiers
• Create their own political cartoons.
Procedure
• Discuss their effectiveness • Write letters about difficult personal experiences
Begin by defining a symbol as a word or image that stands for something more than itself.Ask students to give examples of familiar symbols. Political cartoons make liberal use of symbolism, to pack meaning into a small space. In one cartoon on the activity sheet, for example, Abraham Lincoln swings an axe at a tree labeled “slavery.” Ask students why the cartoonist might have chosen a tree to symbolize slavery.They may answer that a tree grows and becomes stronger over time, as slavery did. Students may notice that a sword hangs from a branch, symbolizing the violence of the Civil War, underway at the time. During the period, Lincoln was well known as the rail-splitter. His representation here, with an axe in hand, is part of his popular image.
National Standards
History—History content: identify and explain the economic, social, and cultural differences between the North and the South; identify the turning points of the war and evaluate how political, military, and diplomatic leadership affected the outcome of the conflict; historical thinking: consider multiple perspectives.
Procedure
Discuss the letters on the activity sheet. Begin by noticing that each soldier’s letter is written in reaction to his wartime experiences. Private Edes has not yet been in battle, but he has been close enough to battle to hear the cannons. Does the class think less of him for admitting his fear, or do students respect him for his honesty? What about his concrete language? Is it more effective to write “will make me shake” than to write “will make me afraid”? List the strengths of each letter on the chalkboard. Suggest that students adopt some of these techniques as they write their own letters.
Language Arts—Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences for a variety of purposes.
Visual Arts—Students select and use the qualities of structures and functions of art to improve communication of their ideas.
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Activity 1: Billy Yank and Johnny Reb
In the Civil War, the Union soldier was sometimes called BillyYank, while the Confederate soldier was called Johnny Reb. The two soldiers spoke the same language and shared many of the same values. Their weapons and equipment were similar. Both were likely to have muskets with bayonets. Muskets were guns that had to be loaded from the front end of the barrel, one bullet at a time. A soldier could shoot only once before he had to reload. He could also defend himself with his bayonet, a long, thin knife attached to the end of his gun. Many soldiers also carried pistols or swords. soldiers carried worn decks of playing cards. Some men kept religious leaflets with them. One was called,“A Mother’s Parting Words to Her Soldier Boy.”
USE THE NEWS
Some of the differences between the Union and Confederate soldiers were a result of the differences in their home regions. The North and the South each had customs, foods, and lifestyles that were unique. Find examples in the newspaper of traditional foods, celebrations, music, and clothing that make your community unique.
Food and other necessities grew scarce in the South during the war. Union soldiers had plenty of paper for writing letters. Some Confederate soldiers had to use scraps of wallpaper from abandoned houses near their camps. A southern soldier rarely had coffee, unless he captured it in battle. A northern soldier might have coffee, bacon, hard crackers, and a few potatoes. Southern men usually had cornbread and beef.
Shortages caused hardships for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Today’s scarcities create inconveniences and hardships, too. Find news articles about shortages facing people today. How do the shortages affect people’s lives?
Some soldiers carried knapsacks on their backs, while others carried blanket rolls over their shoulders. Inside each were necessities and precious mementoes. A soldier might carry a metal cup and plate, a small diary, and letters from home. Many Confederate
Most men carried canteens, either a flat, metal style or a wooden style that looked something like a small barrel with a cork.
Inside the knapsack below, draw four things a Union soldier usually carried. Inside the blanket roll, draw four things a Confederate soldier often carried. Choose different things for the knapsack and the blanket roll.
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Use the words in the box to label the photographs of Billy Yank and Johnny Reb as well as their canteens.
Billy Yank
sword musket bayonet metal canteen Confederate uniform Union uniform wooden canteen
Johnny Reb
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Activity 2: A War Map
The North planned to cut the South off from the supplies it needed to fight the war. Union forces took control of the Mississippi River.The Union Navy blockaded southern coasts.
Sherman moved onward.After he
USE THE NEWS
reached Columbia, South Carolina, he marched his men to Goldsboro and then Raleigh, North Carolina. From the North, General Ulysses Grant’s army moved from Cold Harbor to
Reading a map requires an understanding of its symbols and key. Study the weather map in the newspaper. What does the symbol for a cold front look like? What color signifies a 100% chance of precipitation? Now that you understand the map key, write several sentences that describe today’s predicted weather for your area.
Northern forces marched deep into the South. A Union army under General William Tecumseh Sherman moved from Chattanooga,Tennessee, to Atlanta, Georgia, and then to Savannah, Georgia. From there,
Petersburg and then to Appomattox Court House, all inVirginia. Eventually, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was trapped.The South’s leading general, Robert E. Lee, surrendered at Appomattox Court House.
This map shows the states at the time of the Civil War. Color Confederate States gray, Union States blue, and Border States green. Why doesn’t the map show West Virginia?
Show the military strategy on the map. Mark the Mississippi River in red. Draw gunboats along the south- ern coasts. Remember to place boats around Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico. Draw a heavy black line to mark Sherman’s march and another to mark Grant’s march.
Union States
Kansas Minnesota Iowa Wisconsin Illinois Indiana Michigan Ohio Pennsylvania NewYork New Jersey Connecticut Rhode Island Massachusetts New Hampshire Vermont Maine
Confederate States
Texas Arkansas Louisiana Mississippi Alabama Georgia Florida South Carolina North Carolina Virginia Tennessee
Border States
Missouri Kentucky Delaware Maryland
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Activity 3: Young People in the Civil War
Many young people worked and fought in the war. Read the descrip- tions of some of their jobs below to the left. Draw lines to match the descriptions with the pictures to the right.
Drummer Boy
Boys who could play a drum could enlist in the army. They played in bands at parades. The drum also announced meals, drills, assembly, and bedtime. In battle, musicians relayed commands through musical signals soldiers understood.