Voices from the Civil War

Explore the stories of Northerners and Southerners during the Civil War and their views of the conflict.

Guiding Questions

• How did the war transform the nation socially, economically, and politically?
• How did the Civil War impact the daily lives and personal experiences of different groups of people, and what can we learn from their firsthand accounts?
• How did individuals during the Civil War demonstrate civic virtues, and how do these examples inform our understanding of civic responsibility today?

Objectives

• Students will analyze multiple primary sources to describe the impact of the Civil War on individuals.
• Students will identify and analyze examples of civic virtues demonstrated by individuals during the Civil War and reflect on how these virtues apply to contemporary civic engagement.

Student Resources:

• Founding Principles and Virtues Handout
• Civic Virtues Handout
• Voices from the Civil War Primary Source Set
  • Wounded Soldiers in Hospital
  • Sullivan Ballou’s Last Letter, 1861
  • Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, 1885
  • A Woman’s Wartime Journal, Dolly Sumner Lunt, 1864
  • Hannah Johnson’s Letter to President Lincoln, 1863
  • Letter from J.O. Smith, 1862
• Voices from the Civil War Document Analysis Graphic Organizer
• Sticky notes or student devices
• Large paper or whiteboard for group discussions

Facilitation Notes

• Consider going through the Civil War Interactive Timeline and the Battles of the Civil War lessons before this one.
• Review the BRI’s Principles and Virtues handout prior to beginning the lesson so that students can have a better understanding of civic virtues.