#400 Unit introduction / Understanding the Civil War

Debrief on the Cemetery Project.

Anticipate our next unit:

• One important fact you already know about the Civil War?
• One question you have about the Civil War?

Major understandings for unit 4:

• Was fought over slavery, which was a social, political, and economic system of racial oppression.
• Redefined the idea of “freedom.” While this was especially true for African-Americans, the outcomes have had profound implications for all Americans.
• Made Americans intimately familiar with death and suffering.
• Was shaped by individuals: both in the way they framed the conflict between North and South and in determining the outcome.

The first of these major understandings, which we will discuss in greater depth tomorrow, has to do with slavery.

Context-setting:

• Study of the Civil War is often broken up into three periods:
  
  • Antebellum (Latin: “before the war”). In this period we will be most interested in the causes of the conflict and how different individuals sought to resolve the growing tensions over slavery. The important turning points transitioning from the pre-war to war period are the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in November 1860 and the secession of South Carolina from the Union just weeks later.
  • Civil War (1861-1865). Fighting lasted from April 1861 when South Carolina’s forces attacked Fort Sumter to General Lee’s surrender and April 1865. The battle at Gettysburg, Penn. (1–3 July 1863) and the siege at Vicksburg (18 May 18–4 July 1863), Miss. are often seen as two of the key turning points in the war.
    
  • Reconstruction (1865-1877). Following the war, a variety of steps were taken to reintegrate Southern states into the Union. This process was uneven and veered between military occupation and defense of civil rights for former slaves on one hand and reassertion of white supremacy on the other. It ended following a political compromise that resolved the contested results of the 1876 presidential election.

Briefly explain “Cast of Characters” assessment for this unit (5 minutes)

• You will be assigned a role for the remainder of the unit
• Throughout the unit, we will dedicate class time to individual writing on your character’s position on certain questions from that class’ specific topics.
• For example:
  • Ester May. Among the founders of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, Ester was a leading Quaker abolitionist. She was particularly close with Lucretia Mott and shared her commitment both to black abolitionism and women’s rights.
• At the end of the unit, we will devote time to editing and refining these responses, and they will constitute the major assessment for this unit.
• Select a character.
  

Homework: Assignment #401