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The American Civil War (http://www.us-civilwar.com/)
The site contains balanced, substantive coverage of the
Civil War, including its causes, famous battles, and leaders.
The content is appropriate for secondary level students,
but the sections on food, music, and "fascinating
facts" of the war would interest younger learners
as well. For the teacher or student, this is a great place
to find the "basics."
The American Civil War Homepage
(http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/)
This Web site provides a link to excellent primary materials,
including documentary records from the Congressional Globe
featuring the proceedings of the U.S. Congress from 1833-73.
A subject index makes it easy to access a whole range
of issues that were the subject of either Senate or House
debates in both the pre and post Civil War period. The
documents are reproductions of the actual pages, so the
reading may be slow going. This site also has a rich Civil
War music section, providing the lyrics to many popular
tunes of that period, along with various other primary
sources—letters, regimental histories, and biographies.
One section allows the user to access documentary information
by state, which would be useful for teachers or students
with a regional interest.
The Civil War at the Smithsonian (http://civilwar.si.edu/home.html)
Produced by the National Portrait Gallery, this site has
an extensive image collection of Civil War artifacts.
With background information included, the visitor can
find anything from Abraham Lincoln’s beaver top
hat to examples of uniforms and weapons, or even Confederate
postage stamps. Featured also is an impressive array of
portraiture, sculptures, and photographs. This site will
provide rich material for teachers or students incorporating
art into the history content.
Civil War Treasures (from the New York Historical
Society) (http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpcoop/nhihtml/cwnyhshome.html)
The images of this digital collection are from the New
York Historical Society’s archive of the Civil War.
It includes recruiting posters, stereographic views, photography
showing the war’s impact on both sides, and drawings
and writings by everyday soldiers. The Civil War recruiting
poster collection, which provides such a flavor of this
Civil War communications medium, is well worth the visit
to this site by teachers and students alike. The soldier’s
letters are photographic with no accompanying typed text,
so while very authentic, they are sometimes a bit difficult
to read.
EDSITEment's Civil War Page
(http://edsitement.neh.gov/edsitement-lessons-slavery-crisis-union-civil-war-and-reconstruction)
The National Endowment for the Humanities EDSITEment website has over 33 lessons on causes, the course and the consequences of the Civil War. Each lesson is written by a history or government teacher and is built around critical analysis of primary sources including documents, speeches, images and photographs drawn from vetted websites. Students can examine the causes of the war through multimedia lessons on slavery, sectionalism, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and its repeal in the 1850's, the rise of Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party and his election as president in 1860. They can survey the strengths and weaknesses of the North and South on the eve of the war, the military leaders of the Union and the Confederacy, and the key battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The great political speeches of Lincoln's presidency such as the First Inaugural, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, and the Second Inaugural and the politics behind these speeches can be studied in depth. Finally, the aftermath of the war and social, political and economic problems of Reconstruction are covered in three lessons.
The Hargrett Library Rare Map Collection (Civil
War) (http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/civil.html)
This Web site features very specialized period maps, including
various Civil War battle maps, including the Gettysburg
Campaign, the action at Manassas (Bull Run), and Sherman’s
March through Georgia. However, the collection "heavily
emphasizes the state of Georgia and the surrounding region."
The maps may be printed for educational purposes. Those
interested in a more general Civil War search can click
onto convenient links provided at this Web site.
Library of Congress/American Memory Learning Page
(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/index.html)
The Library of Congress has a historical collection called
American Memory that offers 7 million items from some
100 historical collections. This Learning Page site was
created specifically to assist educators as they use the
American Memory collection to teach about American History
and culture. If you have never visited this Web site,
click on "Getting Started" and then "Site
Map" to get oriented. In addition, user-friendly
"pathfinders" make it easy to access this amazing
array of collections, including those related to a study
of the Civil War. Lesson plans are available to support
the use of many of these resources in the classroom.
Lincoln’s Papers: Mr. Lincoln’s Virtual
Library
(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/alhome.html)
As an excellent example of the collections found at the
Library of Congress site, (see above), this site features
two collections that shed light on the life of Abraham
Lincoln. One is The Abraham Lincoln Papers, containing
20,000 documents, most acquired during Lincoln’s
presidency. The second is from the "We’ll Sing
To Abe Our Song" collection, including more than
200 sheet-music compositions that feature Lincoln and
the war as reflected in popular music. Both collections
can be accessed at this web address.
The National Archives American Originals: Civil
War Collection
(http://www.archives.gov/exhibit_hall/american_originals/civilwar.html)
This is a digital collection of several documents from
the Civil War/Reconstruction Era, including the Dred Scott
decision, a communication from Robert E. Lee relating
to John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, a
telegram from President Lincoln to General Grant during
the Petersburg siege, and a parole document for General
Lee. Each document is preceded by a brief introduction
to establish a historical context.
The National Archives: Digital Classroom Lessons on the
Civil War
(http://www.archives.gov/digital_classroom/index.html)
This site provides teachers with well-developed lessons
to accompany an impressive array of primary documents.
Click on "Teaching with Documents," then scroll
the index to "Civil War and Reconstruction."
There you will find a Matthew Brady Photograph Collection,
documents relating to equal rights for Black Soldiers
in the Civil War, and letters, photos, and telegrams about
factors affecting the conduct and outcome of the Civil
War.
Selected Civil War Photographs (from the Library of Congress)
(http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html)
Featuring the Print and Photography Section of the Library
of Congress, this site offers a rich compendium of photographs,
including the works of Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardiner.
Bibliographic information, along with any copyright or
publishing restrictions, is provided for each photo. Collection
contents can be easily accessed through a subject index,
and printer copies would enhance both teachers’
lessons or students’ projects. Excellent quality
photographic prints can be ordered from the Library of
Congress, though there is a charge, and delivery takes
up to six weeks.
The United States Civil War Center (http://www.cwc.lsu.edu)
This site acts as an "information clearinghouse"
for topics related to the Civil War. It includes special
projects developed on a yearly basis, such as "Louisiana
Soldiers Database," or a "Collection of Children’s
Books about the Civil War." The index includes a
huge range of subjects from diplomacy and foreign involvement
in the Civil War, battle casualties, civil war memorials,
monuments, and parks, even topics of special interest
such as boxing and/or tobacco use in the Civil War."
The site features a collection of founding documents for
both the USA and CSA, including the U.S. and Confederate
Constitutions, and the "Official Documents of the
War of the Rebellion."
The Valley of the Shadow (http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/vshadow2/)
A University of Virginia project that analyzes the Civil
War from the viewpoint of citizens in two counties, one
Northern and the other Southern, this site invites the
teacher to involve the class in a conceptually strong,
thorough, and sophisticated unit of study. In addition
to the project, the site offers additional ways to use
excellent resources (photographs, census records, newspapers,
letters, and diaries) to extend learning about the Civil
War. A teacher wishing to use this project needs access
to a networked computer lab in which students can work
in groups of no more than three or four. Teachers need
to allow lead-time to acquaint themselves, and then their
students, with how the information supporting the project’s
objectives is arranged. This would be excellent for a
case study approach to instruction.
Women Soldiers in the Civil War
(http://www.nara.gov/publications/prologue/women1.html)
This is a single Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives
article about female soldiers in both the Union and Confederate
armies during the Civil War. The story relates that women
soldiers, who hid their gender and enlisted in the army,
fought along side male soldiers, and suffered the same
hardships, as did their male counterparts. This would
be an ideal article to support a lesson about the roles
of women in the Civil War.
--Annotations by Rachel
Thompson
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