CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION INFO
Check out the links below for more information...it might spark some ideas for additional credit pieces in your history packets. Be sure to look at the AC suggestions/questions for this unit.
GENERAL INFO
- Brief overviews and self-quizzes to review and test your knowledge of the time period
- Documenting the American South project at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- Civil War Literature Circles Virtual Museum
- Causes of the Civil War Virtual Museum
- One perspective on the causes of the Civil War
- A series of activities for students to learn more about the causes of the CW
- The text of South Carolina's declaration of secession
- A multitude of information about the causes of and events leading up to the CW (including flags, maps, charts, and timelines)
- Diaries, letters, and memoirs from the CW period
- History.com's Civil War site
- Info about the Mason-Dixon line
JOHN BROWN
- John Brown's descendants lived in Saratoga, California!!
- An image of John Brown's last letter
- The John Brown State Historic Site at the Kansas State Historical Society (interesting online exhibits)
- "A Plea for Captain John Brown," written by Henry David Thoreau
- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park site
- Lyrics to the song "John Brown's Body" (sung to the tune of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic")
- The story behind the composer of the the "Battle Hymn..."
LINCOLN/DOUGLAS
- Information from the National Park Service on the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, includes texts of each debate
ELECTION of 1860
- Platform of the Constitutional Union Party during the Election of 1860, and a campaign poster
- A basic overview of the Constitutional Union Party
- Presidential election data on 1860 and others at UC Santa Barbara
SECESSION & THE CONFEDERACY
- General info on the Confederate States of America (CSA)
- Uniforms of the Confederate Army/Navy
- Images from a Confederacy textbook written in 1863
- An alternative perspective on secession at the Middlebury Institute (modern secessionists??)
- Links to the Ordinances of Secession of various southern states
- Who are the Copperheads? View issues of the Copperhead newspaper The Old Guard (click on a year and an issue, then click where it says "Go To: First Page of this journal issue" to start viewing the images)
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
- Lincoln's biography at the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- View many of Lincoln's papers and important documents at the LOC--scroll down on that page for more options
- The Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois
- Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices in Springfield, IL
- The Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne, Indiana (and info on Lincoln myths)
- A collection of photographs of Lincoln
- The Lincoln Log: A Daily Chronology of the Life of Abraham Lincoln at Brown University
- The story of John Summerfield Staples
- Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital in Lincoln, Illinois
- Video about Lincoln's homestead in Kentucky
- Stop-motion video of an artist's recreation of Lincoln's portrait...entirely out of pennies!
- Lincoln Home National Historic Site and Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site at the NPS
- Other places of Lincoln history are Knob Creek, New Salem State Historic Site, and Petersburg (IL)
- The Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project at Northern Illinois Unviersity
- The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois
- What do Lincoln Logs and Log Cabin Syrup have to do with Lincoln?
EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION & GETTYSBURG ADDRESS
- The Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation DID NOT free the slaves
- The Emancipation Proclamation freed only SOME slaves...sort of, but not really
- The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the U.S.
- Read about Watch Night and the "myth" about it
- View one of the original handwritten versions Gettysburg Address at footnote.com and the official exhibit at the LOC
- The invitation received by Lincoln for attending the dedication at Gettysburg
- The New York Times newspaper article reporting on Lincoln's address at Gettysburg
- Listen to several notable Americans read the Gettysburg Address...even Sam Waterston from Law and Order
- Who was William R. Rathvon? The only person who lived to make an audio recording of his personal experience hearing Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address. He was also a Christian Scientist.
- More info on WR Rathvon at NPR and at Time Magazine (from 1951!)
- Overview of the Battle of Gettysburg
- Maps and info about the Battle of Gettysburg
- Gettysburg National Military Park site at the NPS
- Gettysburg: Day 2 The Battle in Miniature by Dennis Morris
- Images of the memorials at Gettysburg
- Article comparing President Obama's campaign to aspects of Lincoln's presidency
- Article celebrating the 145th anniversary of the G'burg Address
MATTHEW BRADY & CIVIL WAR PHOTOGRAPHY
- Biography of and photos by photographer Matthew Brady
- Exhibition of Brady's works at the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian
CIVIL WAR BATTLES & BATTLEFIELD CONDITIONS
- Stonewall's Surgeon is a "biographical website devoted to Doctor Hunter Holmes McGuire"
- Casualty statistics for Antietam--scroll down for comparisons to other battles and wars
- Map of the Battle of Antietam and the Antietam National Battlefield site at the NPS
- Images of the battle dead at Antietam--warning, some are graphic b/w images--scroll down on the page to view the gallery
- Archive of Antietam battleground website--click on the links for A LOT of images and info
- The National Museum of Civil War Medicine site in Frederick, Maryland
- Images of Civil War battlefields at the PBS Civil War website
- Who were the Zouaves??
- Listen to Podcasts of visits to Civil War battlefields, narrated by historians at the National Park Service
- History Channel's preview for the special on Sherman's march to the sea
- The March to the Sea historical road marker in Morgan County, Georgia
- Check out the schedule for Sherman's March and photos of the places Sherman's men destroyed
- The site of the final Confederate offensive in the Civil War in Bentonville, NC--part of Sherman's march to the sea
- North Carolina Civil War battle maps and historical sites
- The CSS Shenandoah was the final Confederate ship to surrender after the war ended
- Info about the CSS Alabama crew
MUSIC
- Band music of the Civil War era at the LOC
- NegroSpirituals.com - a site dedicated to preserving this unique form of American song
ANDREW JOHNSON
- General info about Andrew Johnson's impeachment
- Andrew Johnson's biography at Senate.gov, and his obituary at NYTimes.com
- Transcripts of the impeachment documents from the House of Representatives
CONFEDERATE CONCENTRATION CAMPS
- Who was the infamous Henry Wirz? Find out here and here
- Info on Andersonville Prison--a Confederate prisoner of war camp
WOMEN IN THE WAR
- Clara Barton helped establish the National Cemetery at Andersonville in August, 1865, and the American Red Cross
- Nurses in the Civil War site
CIVIL RIGHTS & RECONSTRUCTION
- Info on and photos related to the Freedmen's Bureau at the National Archives
- Education and the Freedmen's Bureau during Reconstruction - from the State of Georgia
- Sample voter registration form from Montgomery Country, Alabama--hover over the notes for explanations of why some parts were potentially dangerous for black applicants
- Examples of questions asked on Alabama literacy tests--if you couldn't answer them all correctly, you couldn't vote
- Civil Rights Movement Veterans site - a lot of interesting info and images