Topic #13 Overview Sheet
 
  Assignment #1
 

Sources:
 

Questions:
  1. Explain the various interpretations that historians have advanced to explain why the Civil War took place.
  2. How have these interpretations followed the general outlines laid down by Senator William H. Seward in 1858?
  3. Create a CHART which analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the North and the South in terms of their readiness for war.
  4. How did the Republican Party act to expand the American economy during the war?  To which pre-war party was their program similar?  Why were they able to enact it, whereas the previous party had not been successful?
  5. How did the Union propose to finance the war?  How successful was this?  What was the effect on the economy?
  6. How did the Union propose to raise troops?  To what extent was it forced to use conscription?  How did the nation react to this method?
  7. What was Lincoln's view of the extent of presidential war powers? 
  8. Who were the opponents war in the North?  How did Lincoln use his powers against them?  What was the outcome?
  9. For what reason was the "Union Party" created?  Who were its candidates?
  10. What were the two factions trying to control the Republican Party?  What were their goals?  Which group did Lincoln support?
  11. How was this split in the Republican Party revealed in the debate over what to do about slavery?  What action did each faction propose?  What was Lincoln's response to each faction?
  12. What factors, other than political pressure, brought about the Emancipation Proclamation?  What did the proclamation really accomplish?
  13. What role did African Americans play in support of the Union cause?
  14. What impact did the Civil War have on the Northern industrial economy?  on women in the North?
  15. What part did women play in the Union war effort?
 

Terms:
 
  Assignment #2
 

Sources:
 

Questions:
  1. What were the origins of the Confederate government?  How did its constitution differ from that of the United States?
  2. What problems did the new leaders of the Confederacy face?
  3. How did the Confederacy attempt to finance the war?
  4. How did the Confederacy propose to raise troops for the war?  How did these plans compare with those of the Union?  How successful were they?
  5. Why was states' rights the "great dividing force" i the Confederacy's war effort?  What caused this division?  What was the effect?
  6. How did the Civil War "transform" Southern society?  How was this transformation like that which took place in the North?  How was it different?
  7. What impact did the war have on the lives and circumstances of women?  of slaves?
  8. Explain the 19c worldwide movement to create large, consolidated nations.  How did the American Civil War fit into this movement?
  9. What does the popularity of baseball indicate about America at the time of the Civil War?
  10. Why was Lincoln more successful at organizing a command system than Davis?
  11. What role did Lincoln propose for the United States Navy?  How did the Confederacy attempt to overcome this naval advantage?
  12. What were the foreign-policy objectives of the Union and of the Confederacy?  How did each attempt to achieve these objectives?  Which was most successful and why?
  13. How did the West play a continuing political, diplomatic, and military part in the conflict?
 

Terms:
 
  Assignment #3
 

Sources:
 

Questions:

  1. How did advances in the effectiveness of arms and artillery change the way soldiers in the field fought?

  2. What was the response of the border states to the outbreak of war?

  3. Why was the outcome of the First Battle of Bull Run [First Manassas] such a shock?  What did it reveal about the possibility of an early end to the struggle and about the readiness of the two sides for a major conflict?

  4. What were the strengths and weaknesses of General George McClellan's military leadership?  of General Robert E. Lee's military leadership?

  5. What was the Union plan for the conquest of the West?  How did the Confederates propose to defend this area?

  6. How did the battle of Shiloh change Grant's thinking about his military plans?

  7. Why was the Battle of Antietam considered to be one of the turning points in the war?

  8. Why was 1863 the "Year of Decision?"

  9. What was Grant's grand strategy for 1864?  What were his objectives?

  10. How was the Confederacy finally defeated?  In what way did the Union forces destroy the South's will to carry on the fight?
 

Terms:
 
                
Quizzes:
  1. Textbook Quizzes --> chapter 14
  2. My Quizzes -->  A   B

    3.  
Outlines / Lecture Notes / Review Sheets:

  1. Giant AHAP Review Sheet by a student from the class of '04, Horace Greeley HS

  2. Prof. David McGee (Central Virginia Community College) lecture notes on:
         * The Civil War (Through 1862)
         * The Civil War -- The Home Front
         * The Civil War -- The Bloody War

    3.

  3. Timeline- 1751 to 1800

  4. Note Cards -->  601-650

  5. Presidential Election Data --> 1860     1864

  6. Cram Sheet --> James Buchanan Through Andrew Johnson

  7. "Key Events and Battles of the Civil War" - chart

 


   
 

Ten Commandments of Good Historical Writing

College Board A. P. U. S. History Main Page (.pdf file)