Social Studies Collection

Civil War

Teaching a Defining Conflict

One hundred and fifty years after shots fired at Fort Sumter ignited the Civil War, a growing number of teachers are digging directly into primary sources and using technology to help their students better understand the conflict and bring it to life. That approach may be especially important when it comes to the Civil War, educators and historians say, since public debates about its meaning are alive and well, and young people may be exposed to misinformation that original sources can dispel in compelling ways. More on the Civil War: • Watch a student-produced video of a reenactment. • Access dozens of primary sources.

A statue of Abraham Lincoln when he was nine years-old sits in front of Lincoln's boyhood home in Indiana, in this scene at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Ill. The complex houses one of the world's largest collections of Lincoln documents and artifacts, from letters he wrote as a young lawyer to an original copy of the Gettysburg Address.
A statue of Abraham Lincoln when he was nine years-old sits in front of Lincoln's boyhood home in Indiana, in this scene at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Ill. The complex houses one of the world's largest collections of Lincoln documents and artifacts, from letters he wrote as a young lawyer to an original copy of the Gettysburg Address.
Seth Perlman/AP-File
Education Funding Federal History-Grant Program Takes Budget Hit for Fiscal 2011
The Teaching American History grants program could see its budget cut from $119 million in fiscal 2010 to $46 million in the current year.
April 19, 2011
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2 min read
The Fort Sumter "Storm Flag," lowered by Major Robert Anderson on April 14, 1861, when he surrendered Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., at the outset of the American Civil War.
The Fort Sumter "Storm Flag," lowered by Major Robert Anderson on April 14, 1861, when he surrendered Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., at the outset of the American Civil War.
National Park Service
Curriculum Schools Walk Into Touchy Territory With Civil War
As the U.S. commemorates the war's 150th anniversary, debates about the conflict persist and misinformation still thrives.
April 19, 2011
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7 min read
The Fort Sumter "Storm Flag," lowered by Major Robert Anderson on April 14, 1861, when he surrendered Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., at the outset of the American Civil War.
The Fort Sumter "Storm Flag," lowered by Major Robert Anderson on April 14, 1861, when he surrendered Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, S.C., at the outset of the American Civil War.
National Park Service
Curriculum Schools Walk Into Touchy Territory With Civil War
Even 150 year after the war, debates about the conflict persist and misinformation still thrives.
April 18, 2011
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10 min read
Antonio Aquino, right, and Angel Aviles lead a line of 6th graders from Stonewall Jackson Middle School, in Manassas, Va., as they reenact 1861 military life at the Manassas National Battlefield Park.
Antonio Aquino, right, and Angel Aviles lead a line of 6th graders from Stonewall Jackson Middle School, in Manassas, Va., as they reenact 1861 military life at the Manassas National Battlefield Park.
T.J. Kirkpatrick for Education Week
Curriculum Primary Sources Breathe Life Into Civil War
With the help of technology, teachers are moving beyond textbooks and digging directly into primary sources to help their students better understand the past.
April 15, 2011
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11 min read