This Web Quest focuses on students exploring
the different perspectives of the American Civil War, and several different writing pieces.
Introduction
There are many causes of the American Civil War. The leading
cause resulted in the tension between the North and the South over the issue of
slavery. The other main causes are the Compromise of 1850, the differences
between the Northern and the Southern economies, the argument of the legality
of slavery and states rights, and Secession. In this WebQuest you
will listen and read about the treatment of slaves, how the Southern plantation
owners felt over slavery and its impact in their economy, and the position that
the North and South held on the resulting causes of the Civil War. This
WebQuest will take you approximately 2 to 3 class periods. As you are
completing the WebQuest, imagine if you had to live during the 1860's. Think
about all the possible perspectives that were held at that time period.
Task
Imagine you’re living through the beginning of the Civil War.
Your task will be to complete three different processes and have three
different writing pieces where you are exploring the different
perspectives of the causes of the Civil War. In this WebQuest you will
complete:
1. A Title page
2. A Introduction
3. A Journal entry
4. A news
article
5. A chart
explaining the North and the South’s differences
6. A Conclusion
Process
Introduction
Begin by completing A great introduction to the topic. Click on this link:
This is a site commemorating the 150th anniversary of
the civil war as done by the History Channel.
It is a top notch resource. There
are 7 different major links that are on this site. Explore all of them, and their sub links as
they will do a tremendous job explaining the civil war to you. When you have completed this task, create a
cover page with name, class, and topic on it.
Make it creative. Then create a 3
to 5 paragraph introduction to your project with this site as the sole
source.
Process 1:
Slavery was a major cause of the Civil War. It was an
uncontrollable conflict between the North and South. In the West, the United
States was expanding, and questions over the territories becoming a slave
or fee state caused conflicts in Congress.
Northern opposition to slavery caused the South to fear a threat
to them owning slaves and their economy (slave based Plantation systems).
Abolition movement (group of people who considered slavery to be morally wrong)
was growing strong in the North. Southerners found slavery
profitable and considered slavery to be good.
Approximately a ¼ owned slaves, and a ½ of the families owned
fewer than 5 slaves. Most Southerners who did not own slaves supported
slavery because they believed the Southern economy would collapse without
slaves and Blacks were inferior to whites.
Assignment: Imagine you
were a slave during the 1800's, and the horrible treatment you would face. Use
your previous knowledge on slavery and the following Web sites to write a
journal entry where you are pretending to be a slave. This journal should be
about 1 page in length. Include the
following criteria:
1. How slaves
were treated by their masters?
2. What
different things slaves faced?
3. Describe
working and living conditions?
4.
Describe slaves’ lives outside of working on the plantations?
Web sites:
Process 2
The South’s population in
1860 was approximately 12 million, with about 4 million enslaved
people. Most people lived on farms in spread-out communities, lived on
self sufficient plantations, and cities were trading centers. The economy
was based on agriculture, supported by slave labor, and the growth of cash
crops such as cotton, tobacco, and sugar. Large plantation owners
controlled much of the Southern traditional and conservative society.
Assignment: Imagine
you were plantation owner during the 1800's, and you are defending the need for
slavery and how abolishing slavery would negatively affect the
South’s economy. Use your previous knowledge on the South’s economy in the
1800’s and the following Web sites to write a news article explaining why
slavery should still be used. This article should be 1-2 pages in length. Include the following criteria:
1. Why
Southerners believed slavery was okay?
2. Describes
the South’s economy in the 1800’s.
3. How the
South’s economy would be affected if slavery was abolished?
Web sites:
Process 3
The following are Causes of the Civil War:
Slavery: The
North and South argued over the morality of slavery, and the treatment of
slaves.
Compromise of 1850: This
was a group of acts that were passed to settle the slave question and give
satisfaction to both the North and South. Henry Clay proposed that One,
California be admitted as a free state (slavery not permitted); Two, Utah and
New Mexico would use Popular Sovereignty (decide to be either a free or slave
state); Three, The US would allow slavery to continue, but would abolish the
slave trade in Washington, DC. Four, A stricter fugitive slave law that would
require Northerners to return escaped slaves back to their owners.
Legality of Slavery: The
North and South continually argued over the legality of slavery. The North
feared it might bring competition between slave laborers and wage earners, or
would threatened to reduce status of white workers. They also supported the
Wilmot Proviso. In the South, whites feared a social and economic revolution if
slavery was not legalized, and believed slaves as property were protected by
the Constitution. They were against the Wilmot Proviso.
Secession: In
December 1860, South Carolina seceded, and was the
first state to secede. In January 1861, Mississippi , Florida , Alabama , Georgia ,
andLouisiana seceded. On February 4, 1861 representatives met in Montgomery , Alabama and
established the Confederate States of America . The
President elected was Jefferson Davis (of Mississippi ) and
Vice President elected was Alexander H. Stephens (of Georgia ). On
March 2, 1861, Texas seceded.
Economies: The
North’s economy was based on manufacturing, producing textiles, ships, iron, and
lumber, and foreign trade. The South’s economy was based on agriculture, slave
labor, and the growth of cash crops.
States Rights: The
North and South argued over how much control the federal government had over
the states.
Your Assignment is
to create a chart that explains what the North and South’s position
was on EACH of the
above causes of the Civil War. Use the following Web sites to complete
the assignment and the chart example.
Chart Example:
North
|
South
|
|
Compromise
of 1850
|
||
Slavery
|
||
Secession
|
||
Economies
|
||
Legality
of Slavery
|
||
States
Rights
|
Web sites:
Evaluation
Evaluation
on the task and assignments of the:
Which
side would you have chosen during the Civil War? WebQuest
3-Excellent
|
2-Satisfactory
|
1-Unsatisfactory
|
|
Slave Journal Entry
|
Creative, clear descriptions,
includes an accurate explanation of the specified criteria, and has specific
references from the given Web sites
|
Minimum explanation on the
specified criteria, and references to the given Web sites.
|
Did not follow the specified
criteria, provides no references to the Web sites, no explanation, and is
unclear.
|
Southern
Plantation
Owner News Article
|
Creative, clear descriptions,
includes an accurate explanation of the specified criteria, and has specific
references from the given Web sites
|
Minimum explanation on the
specified criteria, and references to the given Web sites.
|
Did not follow the specified
criteria, provides no references to the Web sites, no explanation, and is
unclear.
|
North
and South position on the Causes
|
Chart Clearly explains what the
North and South positions were on the Causes of the War, and uses specific
references from the given Web sites.
|
Chart has Minimum explanation
on the North and South’s positions on the Causes of the Civil War, and uses
minimum references from the given Web sites.
|
Chart does not accurately explain
the positions of the North and South, provides no explanation, there are no
references from the Web sites, and is unclear.
|
Conclusion
This WebQuest was to help you understand a variety of
perspectives from that of the North and the South over the resulting causes of
the American Civil War. It was also to help you be able to describe the life of
a slave, and explain the Southern mentality about slavery and their economy.
Just to remind you, the North’s cause was to keep the nation together and to
abolish slavery, while the South’s cause was to keep their economy strong and
keep their cheap work force intact. Which side would you have chosen to fight
for? In a one page summary, tell me which side you would have been on and why?
The
Union Army or The Confederate Army ??
