Project: Analyzing the Civil War
For this project, you will create something that answers this question: To what degree did the
Civil War create a more perfect Union? To do this, you will work in groups of three to describe
the key historical developments of these periods: the Antebellum Period (1788 – 1860), the Civil
War (1861-1865), and Reconstruction (1865-1877). No matter what form your project takes (see
ideas below) it must show the degree to which the nation grew more unified. You will use
writing, visuals, and primary sources to accomplish your task.
Requirements
1. Come up with an answer to this question: To what degree did the Civil War create a
more perfect Union? It must contain three sections, each of which represents one of
these historical periods:
 Antebellum Period (1788-1860)
 Civil War (1861-1865)
 Reconstruction (1865-1877)
Our answer to this question is:
2. Each one of you should specialize in one historical period. For EACH of the three
sections of your project, you must create some writing (historical analysis AND primary
source analysis, about 250 - 350 written and/or spoken words) and at least one visual
(drawing, chart, symbol, etc.)
Label each section with a group member’s name. Highlight four or more key topics from the
following lists for each section. Make sure the chosen topics match with your answer to the
project question.
Antebellum Period: the Constitution, slavery, regional differences, abolitionists,
Underground Railroad, Compromise of 1850, Dred Scott case, popular sovereignty,
“Bleeding Kansas,” Harpers Ferry, Republican Party, states’ rights
Civil War: secession, Union, Confederacy, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Fort
Sumter, Copperheads, Battle of Gettysburg, Emancipation Proclamation, war casualties,
Sherman’s March to the Sea, Appomattox Court House
Reconstruction: Radical Republicans, Andrew Johnson, Black Codes, Freedmen’s
Bureau, carpetbaggers, sharecropping, Ku Klux Klan, Compromise of 1877, segregation
3. Choose a format for your project. Some ideas are:
 On poster paper, draw and label a series of drawings—either original political
cartoons or simple stick figures—that represents the feud between North and South as
a troubled relationship, and annotate using your own analysis and primary source
documentation.
 Create a documentary or performance in which you show the origins of the war, its
details, and its outcomes. Work primary sources, visuals, and your own analysis into
the script. Summarize by answering the project question at the end.
 Do a PowerPoint/Keynote, display board, or website exhibit that systematically uses
information, visuals, analysis, and primary source quotes to show how each time
period affected the country. Have one final slide or webpage that gives your answer
to the project question.
 Write a three-part essay that refers to figures/visuals and quotes and analyzes primary
sources. In your essay, the thesis (somewhere in the beginning and the ending) would
be the answer to the project question.
Our project format will be (explain if necessary):
4. Discuss how the three sections of your project will fit together. For example, will you
show that the union between North and South deteriorated over time, or strengthened?
How will you transition between sections to show a sustained “thesis”?
Each section will support our answer to the project question as follows:
Antebellum:
Civil War:
Reconstruction:
5. Brainstorm which primary sources you will use for each section (at least one required per
section). I will lay out paper copies of several primary source documents, but you are also
free to find your own documents (laws, letters, speeches, political cartoons, magazine
articles, journal entries). Check your notebook as well as the primary source section of
your textbook, especially pp. 450 – 458. You may also use the Constitution (up to the
15th amendment). When you use a primary source, cite the relevant part of it in quotes
with the author in parentheses. For visual primary sources, give credit to the artist in
your analysis sentences. HINT: Find documents that focus on regional differences
between North and South, especially slavery and its aftermath.
Fill out the chart to prepare to write your historical and primary source analysis:
Period
Primary
Source
“Title”
(Author)
What it states
How this addresses the project
question AND matches with the
four key topics
Antebellum
(1788 – 1860)
Civil War
(1861-1865)
Reconstruction
(1865 – 1877)
6. Get Mrs. Allen’s approval on what you’ve done so far before moving on.
Teacher signature:
7. Begin creating the project. For each section, include your own writing (historically
accurate, full of facts and explanations of cause and effect), analysis of at least one
primary source (accurate, supports your answer to the project question, interpreted with
the author’s historical context in mind), and at least one visual. Study the rubric—and
your previous project rubrics—for maximum success!
A rough plan of our project’s components:
Period
Antebellum
Civil War
Reconstruction
Four (or more) Key
Topics
Primary Source(s)
Visual(s)
Rough sketch of layout or script for poster/slides/movie/project, including writing/speaking, visual, and primary source:
Antebellum
Civil War
Reconstruction
Primary sources brainstorm:
Antebellum: GW Farewell Address, TJ 1801 Inaugural, Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass (esp. 4th of July address), Sojourner
Truth, Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, John Q. Adams’ (const. amendment), John Brown, Harriet Tubman, Theodore Weld, Angelina
Grimké Weld, William Lloyd Garrison, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, Dred Scott, Stephen Douglas, Lincoln (“house divided”),
Daniel Webster, Abigail Adams, Benjamin Banneker, Edward Williams Clay cartoons (“Life in Philadelphia”), David Walker
(“Walker’s Appeal”)
Civil War: Lincoln speeches (Gettysburg, Emancipation, inaugurals, “Say What” quotes), Grant, Davis, Lee, 54th regiment, Shaw’s
diary
Reconstruction: Buffalo soldiers, “Jim Crow” laws, amendments, Klan, Horace Greeley (see political cartoons from election—
Grant/Greeley), Thomas Nast
Primary Sources Overview
Textbook
 Political cartoons: Calhoun/nullification/states’ rights (190); many in Ch. 23 (325335)
 The Constitution (474-483): especially the Preamble, the 3/5ths compromise
(Article I Section 2), the clause on the slave trade (Article I Section 9), and the
fugitive slave clause (Article IV Section 2)
 Anti-slavery sources (450-452): includes Fanny Kemble (the wife of a
slaveowner), Harriet Beecher Stowe (author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin), William
Lloyd Garrison, Theodore Weld, David Walker (free black in the North, wrote a
pamphlet), and Frederick Douglass (speech, beginning of Civil War)
 Congressional speeches re: secession, 1850 (453-454): John C. Calhoun and
Daniel Webster
 Jim Crow Laws (457-458): double check by also searching these quotes up
online to find the state, year, etc.
Notebook
 Lincoln quotes: Say What?! (see me for specifics on source details);
Emancipation Proclamation (full text searchable online)
Books
 Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: there are a few excerpts from the
book right on the first page
 Voices: all of Ch. 9, “Slavery and Defiance” (167-196), is useful, concentrating
on slaves’ experience, black and white abolitionists, and free blacks after the War
was over and during Reconstruction. There’s a very relevant Frederick Douglass
speech, “The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro” (183-186)
 Discovering the American Past: Chapter 8, “Slaves Tell Their Own Story,”
includes slave narratives and songs as well as excerpts from the autobiographies
of Frederick Douglass and Harriet Jacobs. Chapter 9, “Slavery and Territorial
Expansion,” is a collection of speeches from the House of Representatives
during the time of the Mexican War. Chapter 10, “The Price for Victory,” is about
African American troops in the War, including various points of view/regions.
Chatper 11, “Grant, Greeley, and the Popular Press,” is a set of political cartoons
about the issues in the election of 1872.
 Liberty for All?: There’s a unique Lincoln excerpt about the Declaration of
Independence and exceptions to it (69). Also check out the Table of Contents
and Index; this is a “textbook” about the Antebellum period.
 Eyewitnesses and Others: This is mostly primary sources. Check out the Table
of Contents (in chronological order) for what you need. Volume 1 goes up to and
through the Civil War (focus on 158-417). Volume 2 includes an account of what
it was like to teach freedmen/children in the South (15-19).
 Living History America: Lots of great stuff in here (check the Table of Contents,
in chronological order, and the Index) but one that stands out is a letter from a
Massachusetts 54th corporal who protests the $10/month (lower) pay (423-424).
Loose papers/handouts/copies (return to Mrs. Allen)
 John Brown documents: last speech, conversation with Frederick Douglass re:
Harpers Ferry, letter to John Brown while he awaited trial in prison
 Presidential speeches: See George Washington’s and Thomas Jefferson’s
words about the relationship between North and South
 Lincoln: Gettysburg address, inaugural addresses
Websites
 Africans in America website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/tguide/3tgfocus.html
(1817-1830) and http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/tguide/4tgfocus.html (1831-1865).
 Library of Congress Political Cartoons in U.S. History website:
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysourcesets/politicalcartoons/
 Granger Collection: Images, searchable by topic, century, region (North
America) and country (U.S.): http://www.granger.com/
 You can always Google what you’re looking for, too. See me if there’s something
you want and you’re not finding it online.