Unit
Chapter 8: 1860-1877
Guiding question
Invites students to explore if the Civil War helped create a more perfect Union.
Chapter 8 of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, BRI’s U.S. History Curriculum Resource, invites students to explore if the Civil War helped create a more perfect Union. Discover our suggested sequence for Chapter 8.
Teacher resource
Chapter 8: 1860-1877 Inquiry Organizer
Did the Civil War help create a more perfect Union?
Lessons
Use this Lesson once students have a strong understanding of the rights of African Americans both before and after the passing of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. It would also be helpful for students to have read the O. O. Howard and the Freedmen’s Bureau and The Ku Klux Klan and Violence at the Polls Narratives.
Use this Lesson in conjunction with the Abraham Lincoln and Emancipation Decision Point to have students analyze Abraham Lincoln's rhetoric throughout his presidency.
Use this Lesson alongside The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Decision Point to introduce students to the concept of impeachment and how it has been used throughout U.S. history.
Unit resources
The injustice of slavery drove a division in the United States during the initial decades of the nineteenth century. But to what extent was slavery the fundamental cause of sectional differences that culminated in the Civil War? Brooks D. Simpson and John C. Waugh debate this challenging topic.
Did Lincoln exceed his powers while leading the country through the turmoils of the Civil War? Mackubin Owens and Allen Guelzo debate this issue.
Reconstruction witnessed some successes in bringing equality, liberty, and justice for African Americans. Brooks D. Simpson and John C. Waugh explore the lasting impact of Reconstruction policies on American principles.
Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.
Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.
Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.
Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.
Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Use this primary source text to explore key historical events.
Use this primary source imagery to analyze major events in history.