Unit Topic: Civil War
State Standard(s)
Essential Standards
Vertical Alignment
Coming into this unit, students should have a strong foundation in:
Essential Understanding(s)
The students will understand that...
Essential Questions (s)
Essential Vocabulary
Students will know...
State Standard(s)
Essential Standards
- 8.H.3.2 - Explain how changes brought about by technology and other innovations affected individuals and groups in North Carolina and the United States (e.g. advancements in transportation, communication networks and business practices).
- 8.G.1.1 - Explain how location and place have presented opportunities and challenges for the movement of people, goods, and ideas in North Carolina and the United States.
- 8.G.1.3 - Explain how human and environmental interaction affected quality of life and settlement patterns in North Carolina and the United States (e.g. environmental disasters, infrastructure development, coastal restoration and alternative sources of energy).
- 8.C&G.1.4 - Analyze access to democratic rights and freedoms among various groups in North Carolina and the United States (e.g. enslaved people, women, wage earners, landless farmers, American Indians, African Americans and other ethnic groups).
- 8.E.1.1 - Explain how conflict, cooperation, and competition influenced periods of economic growth and decline (e.g. economic depressions and recessions).
- 8.C.1.2 - Summarize the origin of beliefs, practices, and traditions that represent various groups within North Carolina and the United States (e.g. Moravians, Scots-Irish, Highland Scots, Latinos, Hmong, Africans, and American Indians)
Vertical Alignment
Coming into this unit, students should have a strong foundation in:
- The events and innovations that contributed to growing tensions between the North and South prior to the Civil War.
- The realities of slavery and slave life.
- The sequence of governmental compromise (1850, Fugitive Slave Law, Missouri Compromise and Kansas Nebraska Act) around the issue of slavery.
- The discrepancies in Congressional spending surrounding the development of infrastructure in the North and the South.
Essential Understanding(s)
The students will understand that...
- 8.H.3.2 - The South became more dependent on slavery as new technology added to its efficiency.
- 8.G.1.1 - North Carolina's location impacted their side for the Civil War.
- 8.G.1.3 - The location of infrastructure gave an advantage to the Union Army.
- 8.C&G.1.4 - Though it did not free any slaves, the Emancipation Proclamation reinforced Lincoln's presidential powers, offered an olive branch to those individuals and States willing to seek a peaceful resolution, and set the stage for the freedom of American slaves in the North and the South.
- 8.C&G.1.4 - Longstanding political, economic, and social issues surrounding the use of slaves led to conflict and compromise as the United States spread westward.
- 8.E 1.1 Southern and western economies were successful in part due to slavery and cheap raw materials while Northern states relied more on immigrant labor and industrial production.
- 8.C 1.2. Regional differences in economic industries manifested in conflicting social systems.
Essential Questions (s)
- 8.H.3.2 - Why was slavery important to the southern states?
- 8.G.1.1 - How did North Carolina's location influence its decision regarding whether or not to secede?
- 8.G.1.3 - How did the nation's investment in infrastructure during the first half of the 19th century help the efforts of the Union Army?
- 8.C&G.1.4 - What were Lincoln's goals in writing the Emancipation Proclamation? Was he successful in reaching them?
- 8.C&G.1.4 - How did the debate over slavery dominate American political decisions for half a century and culminate in the Civil War?
- 8.E.1.1 - Why were different regions of the United States reliant upon different economic resources? How did these economic resources dictate political decision-making?
- 8.C.1.2 - How did economic differences lead to societal conflicts?
Essential Vocabulary
Students will know...
- A series of actions by supporters of each side drive the two further and further apart, until South Carolina finally secedes from the Union.
- The Civil War begins, albeit slowly at first, with very little fighting and states taking time to decide which side to support.
- Abolitionist advocated and supported the abolition (end) of slavery in the U.S.