Middle School Programs Building Healthy Core Learning th 8 Grade Social Studies, Unit 7
8th Grade UNIT 7 OVERVIEW: The Civil War Unit Outcomes
Key Vocabulary
At the end of this unit, your student should be able to: Determine the events and innovations that led the South to become more dependent on slavery. Assess the reasons for North Carolina’s choice to secede and join the Confederate States of America. Evaluate the Congressional decisions of the first half of the 19th century that contributed to the political tensions that ultimately led to secession and war. Evaluate the Emancipation Proclamation in terms of Lincoln’s goals for delivering the speech and its effectiveness in reaching those goals. Evaluate the differences between Northern, Western, and Southern economies and their corresponding impact on the decision to secede from or remain loyal to the Union.
Terms to deepen the student’s understanding Missouri Compromise Gettysburg Address Kansas-Nebraska Act Emancipation John Brown’s Raid Proclamation Abolitionist Appomattox Abraham Lincoln Courthouse Secede Radical Republicans Fort Sumter Harriet Tubman Civil War Frederick Douglass Jefferson Davis Sojourner Truth General Robert Lee Andrew Johnson General Ulysses Grant John Wilkes Booth Battle of Gettysburg 13th – 14th – 15th Amendments
Key Standards Addressed
Connections to Common Core/NC Essential Standards 8.H.3.2 - Explain how changes brought about by technology and other innovations affected individuals and groups in North Carolina and the United States (e.g. advancements in transportation, communication networks and business practices). 8.G.1.1 - Explain how location and place have presented opportunities and challenges for the movement of people, goods, and ideas in North Carolina and the United States. 8.G.1.3 - Explain how human and environmental interaction affected quality of life and settlement patterns in North Carolina and the United States (e.g. environmental disasters, infrastructure development, coastal restoration and alternative sources of energy). 8.C&G.1.4 - Analyze access to democratic rights and freedoms among various groups in North Carolina and the United States (e.g. enslaved people, women, wage earners, landless farmers, American Indians, African Americans and other ethnic groups). 8.E.1.1 - Explain how conflict, cooperation, and competition influenced periods of economic growth and decline (e.g. economic depressions and recessions). 8.C.1.2 - Summarize the origin of beliefs, practices, and traditions that represent various groups within North Carolina and the United States (e.g. Moravians, ScotsIrish, Highland Scots, Latinos, Hmong, Africans, and American Indians)
Where This Unit Fits Connections to prior and future learning Coming into this unit, students should have a strong foundation in: The events and innovations that contributed to growing tensions between the North and South prior to the Civil War. The realities of slavery and slave life. The sequence of governmental compromise (1850, Fugitive Slave Law, Missouri Compromise and Kansas Nebraska Act) around the issue of slavery. The discrepancies in Congressional spending surrounding the development of infrastructure in the North and the South. This unit builds to the following future skills and concepts: Constructing charts, graphs, and historical narratives to explain particular events or issues. Summarizing the literal meaning of historical documents in order to establish context. Using primary and secondary sources to interpret various historical perspectives. Using historical inquiry to evaluate the validity of sources used to construct historical narratives.
Middle School Programs Building Healthy Core Learning th 8 Grade Social Studies, Unit 7
8th Grade UNIT 7 OVERVIEW: The Civil War Additional Resources
Materials to support understanding and enrichment DiscoveryEd Board: The Civil War US History: Pre-Columbian to the New Millennium The Emancipation Proclamation The Gettysburg Address President Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address The 13th Amendment The 14th Amendment The 15th Amendment Learn NC Digital Textbook: The Civil War
“Learning Checks” Questions Parents Can Use to Assess Understanding Besides racism, why were southern states so adamant about maintaining slavery? How did North Carolina’s location influence its decision to secede? Why was the issue of admitting new States as either “Slave States” or “Free States” so contentious? How did infrastructure help the Union Army? What were Lincoln’s goals in writing the Emancipation Proclamation and was he successful in reaching them? How did the debate over slavery dominate American political decisions for half a century and culminate in the Civil War? Why were different economies successful in certain areas of the United States but not in others? How did regional differences lead to conflicts?
