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Unit Plan
Other

North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources: Civil War Sesquicentennial

For Students 9th - 10th
North Carolina is rich in Civil War history. The Department of Cultural Resources has compiled this digital library of primary source documents to and from soldiers in honor of the sesquicentennial of the war.
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Handout
Other

Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy: Civil War Diplomacy

For Students 9th - 10th
An article by noted historian, Kinley Brauer, discusses the role of foreign policy for both the North and the South in the Civil War. An interesting, and often forgotten, aspect of the war.
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Online Course
Cosmo Learning

Cosmo Learning: The Civil War and Reconstruction Era, 1845 1877

For Students 9th - 10th
In this course Professor David Blight explores the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War, from the 1840s to 1877 through twenty-seven video lectures. The primary goal of the course is to understand the multiple...
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Article
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

Teaching History: Beyond the Textbook: Causing the Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
An essay that looks at other, more complex reasons for the outbreak of the Civil War, beyond the traditionally accepted ones related to the Northern industrial economy versus the Southern agricultural one.
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Article
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: Civil War Introduction

For Students 9th - 10th
Article introducing the Civil War. The author provides background information on the debates between the North and South eventually leading to war.
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Unit Plan
CPALMS

Florida State University Cpalms: Florida Students: What Caused the Civil War?

For Students 7th
A tutorial that looks at the main causes of the American Civil War. A PDF file of the tutorial is available.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: Civil War@smithsonian

For Students 9th - 10th
Access to the Smithsonian's extensive collections that document the American Civil War.
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Online Course
Yale University

Yale University: Open Yale Courses: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1845 77

For Students 9th - 10th
Twenty-seven university-level lectures on the causes, course, and consequences of the American Civil War. Available in audio, video, or text format.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction Gettysburg

For Teachers 5th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the Battle of Gettysburg and President Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Activity
Curated OER

National Park Service: The Civil War: 150 Years

For Students 9th - 10th
To commemorate the sesquicentennial observances of the American Civil War, the Park Service has provided information on the legacy of the War: Then and Now. Each date of the War has supporting documents and is compared to the legacy or...
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Graphic
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: Torn in Two: Mapping the American Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
This exhibition tells the story of the American Civil War both nationally and locally in Boston, Massachusetts, through maps, documents, letters, and other primary sources.
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Slavery, Civil War & Reconstruction the Generals of the Civil War

For Teachers 5th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about four Civil War generals: Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson, and William Tecumseh Sherman. A question sheet is available to help students build skills...
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Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction Slavery in the Territories

For Students 5th
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the Congressional disagreements about slavery in the territories before the Civil War. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
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Article
University of Groningen

American History: Essays: Impact of Dred Scott: The Road to Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
After the Dred Scott decision by the US Supreme Court, the friction between the North and South over slavery escalated, and the North began to fear that they might not be able to prevent slavery from spreading into their states. The Dred...
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Handout
CommonLit

Common Lit: Text Sets: The Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
This is a collection of 29 Grade-Leveled texts (6-12)on the topic The Civil War. The American Civil War lasted for only 5 years but divided the country along bitter lines as the North fought to keep southern states from seceding from the...
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Handout
History of American Wars

History of American Wars: What Caused the Civil War?

For Students 9th - 10th
A timeline from the 17th to the 19th century showing the evolution of the slavery issue in the United States, leading eventually to the Civil War.
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Handout
American Battlefield Trust

American Battlefield Trust: Civil War: Trigger Events of the Civil War

For Students 9th - 10th
A list with descriptions of the major events that led up to the outbreak of the Civil War.
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PPT
Sophia Learning

Sophia: Causes of the Civil War

For Students 6th - 8th
Through a comprehensive powerpoint presentation, students will learn details of the five main causes of the Civil War in the United States.
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Unknown Type
Louisiana Department of Education

Louisiana Doe: Louisiana Believes: Us History: Grade 7: Sectionalism Prior to the Civil War

For Teachers 7th - 8th
This sample task contains a set of primary and authentic sources about how the differences between the North and South deepened the feelings of sectionalism leading up to the Civil War.
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Professional Doc
Books in the Classroom

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site: Civil War in Children's Literature

For Students 3rd - 8th
This page from Carol Hurst's Children's Literature offers book reviews and planning help for an upper elementary unit on the Civil War. Includes information on books for teachers, books for students, easy-purchase links, and links to...
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Article
A&E Television

History.com: How Civil War Medicine Led to America's First Opioid Crisis

For Students 9th - 10th
During the Civil War, military hospitals considered opioids to be essential medicine. Doctors and nurses used opium and morphine to treat soldiers' pain, stop internal bleeding and mitigate vomiting and diarrhea caused by infectious...
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Website
National Humanities Center

National Humanities Center: Teacher Serve: 19th Century: Religion in the Civil War: The Northern Perspective

For Students 9th - 10th
An interesting look at the religious beliefs of Northerners during the Civil War. Essay discusses the main tenets of belief that basically culminated in the conviction that God wouldn't let the North win until it ended slavery. Includes...
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Unit Plan
PBS

Wnet: Thirteen: Freedom: A History of Us: A War to End Slavery Webisode 6

For Students 9th - 10th
A wonderful, interactive site covering many aspects of the Civil War. See photographs, primary sources, and find interesting tidbits about the war. Included are links to lesson plans, teacher guides, resources, activities, and tools.
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Lesson Plan
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: A House Divided: Slavery and the Civil War [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
In this lesson, 8th graders look at how slavery contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War, at Abraham Lincoln's efforts to save the Union, and at what impact the Emancipation Proclamation had on the North's view of the war. Includes...

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