The Road to the Civil War
What started the Civil War? This is a question often discussed by historians, but it does not have an easy answer. Several key events helped drive the US to war, but there is no one event that is completely responsible. What is important in this discussion is the analysis of different perspectives that caused the country to split in two. This curriculum web attempts to view three key factors that helped lead to the Civil War from a variety of perspectives.
You should begin by viewing the Fugitive Slave Law page that includes a simple WebQuest asking the reader to decide if this law benefitted abolitionists or not. Next, you should view the John Brown page for a presentation about this controversial abolitionist with an online quiz. Finally, you should view the Bleeding Kansas page to role play as either a pro-slavery settler or an anti-slavery settler in Kansas.
After you have completed these activities, please make sure you view the Assessment Plan for a final project. A checklist there will ensure you have completed all required activities for the unit.
Teachers- Check out the Curriculum Goals page for more teacher-specific information on this unit.
Copyright 2007 Joshua Rychlicki