Background Information and Guide for K-12 Field Trip
Theme: Civil War and Secession
House Museum: Aiken-Rhett
Grades: 3-8
The Civil War started in Charleston first when the Ordinance
of Secession was signed in 1860 in the heart of down town,
and second when the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter in
the harbor. In this program, students will learn about the
causes of the Secession and some of the major battles in the
war that took place in Charleston. The Aiken-Rhett house is
the perfect backdrop as the house still has its original slave
dwellings and the family has ties to both the Confederacy and
the Union. This program is suitable for 3rd grade, 4th grade, 5th
grade, or 8th grade.
Before You Visit
The Aiken-Rhett House was built in 1820, right in the middle of the Antebellum Period and the
same family lived in it for 142 years. The house is often called an “urban plantation” because of
its size, amount of residents, and livestock on the property. William Aiken Jr., a successful
businessman, rice planter, politician, and governor of South Carolina, used this house as his
primary residence with his wife. This house represents many of the things that characterized the
Antebellum era which led to secession and Civil War: free vs. enslaved, urban vs. plantation
living, national government vs. states’ rights, and fine living vs. living with nothing. The house
still has its original outbuildings including slaves’ quarters which further illustrate the rising
tensions of the period. Before the trip, ask students to think about some of the themes of the
period and what life was like in Antebellum Charleston and the South as a whole. Who were the
different people living here and how did they interact? What were some of the factors that led to
South Carolina seceding from the
Union?
During the Visit
Students will arrive at the Aiken-Rhett
House and learn about the house’s
residents and the role they played in
shaping the Antebellum South and how
they were similar to other families
during the time. The tour will start in the main house where the Aikens will be discussed and
students should pay careful attention to indicators of social class and why there would be unrest
brewing in the state. Members of the Aiken and Rhett families were involved in both the
Confederate and Union causes during the Civil War. Next, the group will continue into the
slaves’ quarters and hear about the development of slavery in South Carolina and how
economically dependent planters and farmers were on their labor and how this differed from
what it was like in other parts of the country.
Students should be looking for clues in and
around the house and outbuildings to tell them
how all of the occupants lived and worked in
the space and what these facts can tell us about
rising tensions in the state and country. After
the tour, the group will participate in a hands
on activity and lesson. Younger groups will
talk about the reasons for South Carolina’s
secession from the union and the different
people participating in the Civil War by
dressing up like famous South Carolinians and acting out events that took place in South
Carolina. Skits will include the Secession Convention, firing on Fort Sumter, Union blockade,
the Hunley, and Sherman’s march through the south. Older grades will participate in a secession
debate and be split into groups of unionists, cooperationists, and secessionists. They will think of
some of the arguments each group had on the issues of states’ rights and slavery and perform this
debate with the class to evaluate how these arguments contributed to South Carolina’s secession.
Students will finish their visit by commenting on how the Aiken-Rhett House illustrates one of
the social groups responsible for secession and noting how the family participated in the Civil
War.
After the Visit
Encourage students to think about how one family such as the Aikens had such a large impact on
the government of South Carolina. This one family held many slaves and was dependent on their
labor for tending crops in their fields. How did this family’s story differ from other families
living in South Carolina who may not have had slaves and wanted to free them? Did the entire
state want to secede from the Union or just the Charleston area? How did the arguments of
unionists, cooperationists, and secessionists sent the
country to war? What kind of impact did the Civil War
have on South Carolinians in each social class? Have
students use the information they learned on their tour of
the Aiken-Rhett House help answer some of these
questions. Additionally, have students take what they
learned in their hands on activity and write a report on it.
Younger students can turn their worksheet on the events
and people of the Civil War into a poster presentation for
their class. Older students can do research on political
cartoons from the 1800s and write about how the media
can shape people’s thinking and perceptions of a political or economic issue. They can find
images illustrating the arguments of unionists, cooperationists, and secessionists on the issues of
states’ rights and slavery and conclude by examining the ways that these arguments contributed to
South Carolina’s ultimate secession from the union ending the Antebellum Era.