Unit Topic:Road to the U.S. Civil War
Lesson Creator: Angela Smith
Lesson Topic: U.S. Presidential Election of 1860and Secession of the Southern States
Grade Level:7-12
Lesson Overview:
The students will examine primary sources, secondary sources, and video clips which will provide them with information about why and how the South moved toward secession before, during, and after the U.S. Presidential election of 1860. These analyses will help them evaluate the reasons behind the South's decision to secede from different perspectives.
Objectives:
Students will be able todetermine the influence of the U.S. presidential election of 1860 on the secession of the Southern states by analyzing political cartoons and primary source documents, connecting prior knowledge to newly acquired knowledge, predicting outcomes, and drawing logical conclusions.
NJ Standards:
6.1.8.D.5.a- Prioritize the causes and events that led to the Civil War from different perspectives.
6.1.8.D.5.b- Analyze critical events and battles of the Civil War and determine how they contributed to the final outcome of the war.
Common Core:
RH.11-12.2.-Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide
an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.
RH.11-12.5-Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is structured, including how key
sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text contribute to the whole
Essential Question/Guiding Question/Issue:
How did the U.S. Presidential Election of 1860 influence the secession of the Southern states? Should the Southern states secede from the Union?
Step-By-Step Procedures/Pacing:
Day 1:
1. Students will view a photograph of Abraham Lincoln taken by C.S. German in the spring of 1861 (found at as opposed to a photograph taken by Alexander Gardner on February 5, 1865 (part of the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Picturing America series found at Students will identify 2-3 ways in which President Lincoln has stayed the same and changed physically over four years time as well as why this has occurred.
2. Students will read text presented in David Colbert’s 10 days: Abraham Lincoln and Steven Sheinkin’s Two miserable presidents: Everything your schoolbooks didn’t tell you about the Civil War. The information presented in both of these books will provide the students with background knowledge related to the times leading up, including, and following the U.S. presidential election of 1860. They will complete a graphic organizer in order to summarize the information gained.
3. Students will view the electoral map related to the election. We will discuss and analyze the results of the election. Then, in order to assess what the students have learned, they will complete a 3-2-1 exit ticket: 3 things that they learned, 2 interesting things, and 1 question that they still have.
Days 2-4:
Guiding Question: Should the southern states secede from the Union?
1.Students will be shown appropriate video clips related to the election of 1860 from one of the videos mentioned below.
2.Students will be placed into groups of 3-4 students. They will be given a set of primary sources representing related to whether the South should secede from or remain part of the Union. These primary sources can include political cartoons, images, letters, and/or speeches. They will be based on either one perspective (Union/North) or the other (South). Each group will appoint a materials manager, spokesperson, and timekeeper as part of this activity.
3.Each student will complete one political cartoon analysis sheet and one written document analysis sheet. Then, they will combine their information in the graphic organizer provided.
4.Each group’s spokesperson will present their findings as to what action the Southern states should take based on his/her group’s perspective. We will discuss and debate these issues based on the evidence presented in their primary sources and perspectives.
5.Each group will complete the following exit ticket: Propose a way in which the Union could be preserved according to your group’s perspective. Make sure that it is realistic based on the times in which they lived.
Days 5-6:
1.We will review the exit tickets from the previous class. Students will rank the proposals in the order in which they think that they are the most realistic.
2.Students are to read the article “1860: The Road Not Taken,” found in the October 2004 issue of Smithsonian Magazine. As they are reading, have students complete the following text rendering activity:
Set Up
Take a few moments to review the article “1860: The Road Not Taken,” found in the October 2004 issue of Smithsonian Magazine. Then, highlight a sentence, a phrase, and a word that you think represents how or why the presidential election of 1860 influenced the Southern states to secede from the Union.
Steps
1. First Round: Each person shares a sentence that you think represents how or why the presidential election of 1860 influenced the Southern states to secede from the Union.
2. Second Round: Each person shares a phrasethat you think represents how or why the presidential election of 1860 influenced the Southern states to secede from the Union.
3. Third Round: Each person shares the wordthat you think represents how or why the presidential election of 1860 influenced the Southern states to secede from the Union.
4. The group discusses what they heard and what it says about how or why the presidential election of 1860 influenced the Southern states to secede from the Union.
5. The groups share the words that were mentioned and any new insights with the whole class.
6. The whole class reviews the text rendering process.
Note: The amount of time needed to complete this activity will be based upon the depth and breadth of primary and secondary sources which the instructor desires to use. Also, the grade and ability levels of students should be considered in choosing appropriate primary sources.
Assessment: Graphic Organizers and Document Analysis Sheets
Extension:
Students can use one of the following methods to demonstrate their knowledge:
Choose a perspective:
- Promote the preservation of the Union or
- Support Southern secession from the Union.
Then, create one of the following suggested assignments:
- Pamphlet
- Poster/Broadside
- Political Cartoon
- Persuasive Speech/Letter
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Photo Story3/Multimedia Presentation
- Newspaper Article
Materials and Equipment Needed:
Computer/Laptop with Projector/SmartBoard/Prometheum Board
Internet Connection
Highlighters
Graphic Organizers and Rubrics
Print Materials:
Colbert, D. (2009). 10 days: Abraham Lincoln. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks.
Donald, H.D. (2004, October). 1860: The road not taken. Smithsonian, 54-56.
Sheinkin, S. (2008). Two miserable presidents: Everything your schoolbooks didn’t tell you about the Civil War. New York: Roaring Book Press.
Video Resources:
Abraham Lincoln: A New Birth of Freedom (Judith Leonard Productions)
Abraham Lincoln: Preserving the Union (A & E Biography)
The Civil War: Episode 1- The Cause (PBS- Ken Burns)
Save Our History: Fight for Honor- Great Civil War Battlefields (History Channel)
Electronic Resources:
Abraham Lincoln: First Inaugural Address
Abraham Lincoln to John A. Gilmer, Saturday, December 15, 1860 (Letter- Lincoln will not issue statement to reassure the South)
A Cure for Republican Lockjaw (Political Cartoon)
Congressional Surgery. Legislative Quackery (Political Cartoon)
Declaration of Causes of Seceding States (Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas)
Declaration of Immediate Causes which May Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union," 24 December 1860 found at:
Digital History- Secession and the Civil War
The Dis-united States. Or the Southern Confederacy. (Political Cartoon)
The Hercules of the Union, slaying the great dragon of secession(Political Cartoon)
“House Divided” speech- June 16, 1858
Speech before the Republican State Convention- Springfield, IL
The Folly of Secession (Political Cartoon)
Julia Matie to Mrs. A. M. Thomas, Tuesday, January 08, 1861 (Opposes Lincoln's inauguration. Addendum written by B. Todd, May 13, 1863.)
John A. Gilmer to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, December 10, 1860 (Letter urges Lincoln to issue a statement in order to prevent secession)
Nathan Sargent to Abraham Lincoln, Wednesday, December 12, 1860 (Reports on Opinions of Congressmen regarding secession)
"An Ordinance to dissolve the Union between the State of South Carolina and other States," or the South Carolina Ordinance of Secession, 20 December 1860 found at:
Speech of B.F. Perry of South Carolina in the National Democratic Convention at Charleston, SC, 1860, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina.
Strong's dime caricatures. No. 1, Domestic troubles (Political Cartoon)
Strong's dime caricatures. No. 2, Little Bo-Peep and her foolish sheep (Political Cartoon)
Strong's dime caricatures. No. 3, South Carolina Topsey in a fix (Political Cartoon)
Strong's dime caricatures. No. 4, "The schoolmaster abroad" at last (Political Cartoon)
270 to Win- Election of 1860