Causes of the Civil War

References:

Books & Media

Altman, Susan. Extraordinary Black Americans: From Colonial to Contemporary Times. Chicago, Illinois: Children’s Press, 1989.

Anderson, Dale. The Causes of the Civil War. Cleveland: World Almanac Library, 2004.

Boyd, Candy Dawson et al. Virginia. Glenview, Illinois: Scott Foresman, 2003.
This is the history text book used by fourth graders throughout the Alexandria school district.

Epperson, James F. Causes of the Civil War. Stockton, NJ: OTTN Publishing, 2005.
Short and concise, this intermediate-level book can be read aloud to the students to provide them with the knowledge and understanding of the Civil War’s causes.

“John Brown’s Holy War” 90 minutes. PBS: American Experience, 1999 . DVD.
I have not actually viewed this film yet. However, I do know that PBS films are of excellent quality. Given that the viewing time is 90 minutes, I will need to be sure to limit the viewing to key portions which are most important to the fourth graders’ understanding of John Brown and how his raid moved the North and the South closer to war.

Stampp, Kenneth M. Causes of the Civil War: Revised Edition. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992.
A compilation of historians’ viewpoints regarding the causes of the Civil War. This book, edited by Stampp, will add depth to my knowledge of the Civil War’s causes and enable me to teach the unit more effectively.

“The Causes of the Civil War” 29 minutes. United Learning: The American Civil War Series, 1996. Videocassette.
Explores the causes of the Civil War including the economic differences, the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law, the Dred Scott decision, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, John Brown’s raid, and Lincoln’s election. I love this film because everything is on point, and it is relatively easy for fourth graders to understand.

Stowe, Harriet Beecher Uncle Tom’s Cabin. New York : Oxford University Press, 2002.
Excerpts can be read to students as part of a read aloud to familiarize students with a book which stirred up much controversy during the antebellum years.

Websites

http://www.answers.com/topic/civil-war-1
This site offers several definitions and an comprehensive analysis and discussion of what constitutes a civil war.

http://www.eldreds.com/sales/detail.php?itemID=83644
Woodcut, published in 1831, which depicts the massacre by Nat Turner and his followers.

http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/xml_docs/valley_news/html/topics.html
By clicking on the “Politics” bullets under Augusta and Franklin Counties, one can gain access to newspaper accounts of (with varying reactions to) John Brown’s Raid and Lincoln’s election.

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/subtitles.cfm?titleID=58
An excellent site containing links to many secondary sources which provide numerous background readings on the causes of the Civil War.

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/teachers/module9/mod_primary.html
An excellent site which provides links to a number of primary sources ranging from letters expressing the views of U.S. Representatives on the Compromise of 1850 to Jefferson Davis’s letter to the governor of South Carolina regarding plans to overtake Fort Sumter.

http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/2Slavery/SlaveryLevelOne.htm
This site provides three political cartoons and an editorial relating to John Brown’s raid and its aftermath.

http://arcweb.archives.gov/arc/arch_results_detail.jsp?&pg=1&si=0&nh=1&st=b
This site gives us the actual resolution -- popularly known as the Compromise of 1850 -- which was introduced in Congress by Henry Clay on January 19, 1850. Unfortunately, as with all documents obtained through the National Archives -- it must be ordered, and it may involve a fee.

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=rbpe&fileName=rbpe06/rbpe065/
06500500/rbpe06500500.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?rbpebib:4:./temp/~ammem
_9vhV::&linkText=0
This site is a link within the American Memory website. It provides us with the document containing the exact words used by John Brown in his address to a Virginia court after receiving his death sentence.

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=rbpe&fileName=rbpe33/rbpe337/
33700200/rbpe33700200.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?rbpebib:3:./temp/~ammem
_veGx::&linkText=0
This site spells out the terms of the Fugitive Slave Law as spelled out in a broadside believed to be from Hartford, CT sometime during the 1850s. I especially like the synopsis at the end of the broadside because of the way it converts the legalese into layman terms.

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/
This site provides information relating to documents, essays, biographies, and U.S. presidents.

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/D/1826-1850/slavery/confes02.htm
This site provides the confession of Nat Turner.

http://www.presidentelect.org/e2004.html
This site provides the results from the 2004 election.

http://www.presidentelect.org/e1860.html
This site features a map and a history of the 1860 presidential election.

http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2004/pages/results/president/
The CNN site provides information on the results for the presidential election of 2004.