African American | EDSITEment

Lesson 1: On the Eve of War: North vs. South

Created July 17, 2010

This lesson will examine the economic, military and diplomatic strengths and weaknesses of the North and South on the eve of the Civil War. In making these comparisons students will use maps and read original documents to decide which side, if any, had an overall advantage at the start of the war.

Lesson 2: The Battles of the Civil War

Created July 17, 2010

Through the use of maps and original documents, this lesson will focus on the key battles of the Civil War, Gettysburg and Vicksburg and show how the battles contributed to its outcome. It will also examine the "total war" strategy of General Sherman, and the role of naval warfare in bringing about a Union victory.

Lesson 4: The Second Inaugural Address (1865)—Restoring the American Union

Photograph of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural. Lincoln is at the very center of the picture surrounded by dignitaries.

The newly re-elected Abraham Lincoln sought to unite the American people by interpreting the waning conflict as a divine judgment upon both sides of the war. This lesson will examine Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address to determine how he sought to reunite a divided country through a providential interpretation of the Civil War.

Lesson 2: The First Inaugural Address (1861)—Defending the American Union

Photo of Lincoln’s first Inauguration, March 4, 1861. The Nation was on the brink of war.

Abraham Lincoln felt that the attempt of seven states to leave the American union peacefully was, in fact, a total violation of law and order. This lesson will examine Lincoln's First Inaugural Address to understand why he thought his duty as president required him to treat secession as an act of rebellion and not a legitimate legal or constitutional action by disgruntled states.

Lesson 3: The Gettysburg Address (1863)—Defining the American Union

Photo of Lincoln at Gettysburg dedication. Lincoln is highlighted in this image in the middle of the crowd at the dais.

This lesson will examine the most famous speech in American history to understand how Lincoln turned a perfunctory eulogy at a cemetery dedication into a concise and profound meditation on the meaning of the Civil War and American union.

Lesson 1: Fragment on the Constitution and Union (1861)—The Purpose of the American Union

Library of Congress image of 1860 campaign illustration of Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln

How did Abraham Lincoln understand the relationship between principles of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution? In this lesson students will examine Lincoln's "Fragment on the Constitution and Union" a brief but insightful reflection on the importance of the ideal of individual liberty to the constitutional structure and operation of the American union written in the last days of December 1860 when his election as president had brought the crisis of the American "house divided" to a head.

Lesson 3: African-Americans and the New Deal's Civilian Conservation Corps

Barracks Door, Civilian Conservation Corps.

The Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal recovery and relief program provided more than a quarter of a million young black men with jobs during the Depression. By examining primary source documents students analyze the impact of this program on race relations in America and assess the role played by the New Deal in changing them.

Jacob Lawrence's Migration Series: Removing the Mask

In this lesson, students analyze Jacob Lawrence’s The Migration of the Negro Panel no. 57 (1940-41), Helene Johnson’s Harlem Renaissance poem “Sonnet to a Negro in Harlem” (1927), and Paul Laurence Dunbar’s late-nineteenth-century poem “We Wear the Mask” (1896), considering how each work represents the life and changing roles of African Americans from the late nineteenth century to the Harlem Renaissance and The Great Migration.

The Election of Barack Obama 44th President of the United States

Barack Hussein Obama, 44th President of the United States (2009 to present).

In this lesson, students put Barack Obama’s election as the first African American President of the United States in historical context by studying two of his speeches and reviewing some of the history of African American voting rights.

Romare Bearden's "The Dove"—A Meeting of Vision and Sound

By examining The Dove by artist Romare Bearden, students will learn to appreciate the artistic and intellectual achievement of Black artists in America in the first half of the 20th century. By listening to music, students will see how art and music intersect to tell us a story. They will relate that story to their own lives.

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