Test Day - Wednesday, December 17

Today you wrote the first part of your blog test on the Revolutionary war and the period up to the Civil War.

On Thursday, you will write your Civil War test.

Testing and More Testing - Wednesday, December 10

There will be a blog test for the period covering the Revolutionary War to the beginning of the Civil War on Wednesday, December 17. Following that, there will be a Civil War test on Thursday, December 18.

As well, we agreed to Friday, January 9th as a due date for the Civil War essay.

Civil War Essays - Monday, December 8

As discussed in class, you are expected to write a 5 - 7 page research paper covering some aspect of the Civil War that will involve primary historical documents.



Browse the Valley of the Shadow Archive to help you decide the topic for your paper.



http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/choosepart.html



You may use the page below to help you decide on a topic if you like.



http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/teaching/vclassroom/vclasscontents.html#topics
Here are some primary sources for you to use:

http://www.awod.com/gallery/probono/cwchas/firstper.html

Other possible essays:



Was the Civil War inevitable?



Shelby Foote has said the Civil War changed the United States from an "are" to an "is"; as in prior to the conflict, people would say, "The United States are..." and after the conflict they would say, "The United States is..." Agree or disagree with this assessment.



Explain how the South was able to win the war through to 1963. Were the Confederacy's generals so much superior to the Union's? How was the North unable to exploit it's numerical, financial, and technological superiority?


Compare a civil war personality with another historical figure of another era.


Who should get the blame or the credit for military victory at Gettysburg?


How would North America have been changed had the South won its independence?



Any other topic as approved by me. Please ensure that your topic has enough material to allow you to write a substantive paper. Also make sure your topic has a research question to it that allows you to justify a position rather than tell about something.

You may also write a researched short story, much like the novel, "Shiloh," by Shelby Foote.

Civil War - Monday, December 8

We have completed our study of the Civil War period. Continued below you will find the supplemental material that we covered in class:


First Manassas/Bull Run:

http://www.historyanimated.com/BullRunAnimation.html


Birth of the Rebel Yell:


One of the first accounts of the yell was given at the battle of First Battle of Manasses (Bull Run) during then Brig. General Thomas Jonathan Stonewall Jackson's assault at Henry House Hill where the order was given during a bayonet charge to "yell like furies", and was instrumental in routing the Federal forces under General Irvin McDowell back to Washington D.C.

“Then arose that do-or-die expression, that maniacal maelstrom of sound; that penetrating, rasping, shrieking, blood-curdling noise that could be heard for miles and whose volume reached the heavens–such an expression as never yet came from the throats of sane men, but from men whom the seething blast of an imaginary hell would not check while the sound lasted.” -Colonel Keller Anderson of Kentucky's Orphan Brigade

Zouaves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zouave#Zouaves_of_the_United_States_of_America_and_of_the_Confederate_States

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

http://learn.bowdoin.edu/joshua-lawrence-chamberlain/overview/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Chamberlain





Military Drill (Including moving from Column of Fours to Line of Battle)





http://www.public.asu.edu/~roblewis/ACW/hardee%20toc.htm





Fredericksburg





http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/civilwar/p/fredericksburg.htm





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fredericksburg





Irish Brigade





http://irishvolunteers.tripod.com/irish_brigade_history.htm





http://88ny.net/Battles.htm





http://www.28thmass.org/history.htm





A Civil War Christmas


http://www.awod.com/gallery/probono/cwchas/fredxmas.html

http://www.premiumchristmastree.com/a39/Christmas-During-the-Civil-War/article_info.html

William Pendleton --Artillery Chief of the Army of Northern Virginia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_N._Pendleton

Civil War Music

http://www.civilwarmusic.net/

Origin of the Term "Dixie" to Describe the South

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_(song)





The Emancipation Proclamation



http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/





Symbolism of the Pineapple



http://www.mindspring.com/~sixcatpack/pineappl.htm



Chancellorsville



http://www.civilwaranimated.com/index.php/chancellorsville-east-35



Gettysburg



http://www.civilwaranimated.com/index.php/gettysburg-east-50

http://www.usa-civil-war.com/Gettysburg/g_view_f.html

Iron Brigade

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_Brigade


Artillery Drill

http://www.melfisher.org/cannonsurvey/firing.htm

http://www.nps.gov/archive/vick/interp/lhcannon.htm


1863-1865 Timeline

http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/e-gov/e-politicalarchive-CivilWar2.htm

Gods and Generals - Thursday, November 20

After a brief introduction, we have started watching Gods and Generals, the story of the Civil War up to Gettysburg.

We are using the film to go through a chronology of the war that will be supplemented in class with other material. Today we covered the following topics:

• Battle Flags

http://www.oldstatehouse.com/collections/flags/

• Robert E. Lee

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Lee

• Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson

http://www.civilwarhome.com/jackbio.htm

• The Black Flag

The Black Flag was flown by certain irregular Confederate Army units to symbolize that they would neither give, nor accept quarter; symbolizing the opposite of the white flag of surrender.

• Dates of Secession

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215469/secession.htm

From Revolution to Civil War - Wednesday, November 19

The following is a recap of the presentations made regarding the eras leading up to the Civil War. Your essays for this section of the course are due on Friday, November 21.

1782-1788 - The formative years following the birth of a nation...

Key events:

• The Treaty of Paris http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/ar/14313.htm
• Drafting and Debate Concering the Constitution http://www.foundingfathers.info/federalistpapers/fedindex.htm (Federalist Papers)http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.overview.html (US Constitution)

http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop.html (Constitutional Topics)

• Creation of Washington, D.C. out of Maryland http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C.

1789-1800 - Federalists vs. Jeffersonian Republicans

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/peopleevents/pande05.html (overview of differences between the two parties)

http://www.slashdoc.com/documents/86951 (interesting yet unsourced article illustrating the influence of each party's ideas on the other)

1801-1811 - Expansion and Isolation

http://www.monticello.org/jefferson/lewisandclark/louisiana.html (the art of the deal - the Louisiana Purchase)

http://www.monticello.org/library/pdfs/Elon1999Cieslak.pdf (analysis of the effects of the Louisiana Purchase)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesapeake-Leopard_Affair (summary of the Chesapeake Affair)

1812-1823 - Foreign War and Domestic Compromise

http://www.historycentral.com/1812/ (War of 1812)

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761567179/embargo_act.html (Embargo Act)

http://law.jrank.org/pages/11710/Missouri-Compromise.html (Missouri Compromise)

1824-1837 - The "Corrupt Bargain" and the Rise of Strong Political Parties

http://history1800s.about.com/od/leaders/a/electionof1824.htm (the election of 1824 and its effects)

1838-1849 - Manifest Destiny, Manifest Disunity

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/texas/annexation-texas.htm (annexation of Texas)

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/mexican-war/war.htm (Mexican-American War)

http://everything2.com/e2node/Rise%2520Of%2520Sectionalism (Rise of Sectionalism after Mexican-American War)

1850-1860 - Compromises Compromised

http://americanhistory.about.com/od/beforethewar/g/compromise1850.htm (Compromise of 1850)

http://americancivilwar.com/colored/dred_scott.html (Dred Scott decision)

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/iron/ (the transcontinental railroad)

http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/Background/BackgroundElection.html (the election of 1860)

Key Events in the Revolutionary War - Wednesday, November 19

The next few blog entries will serve to update the records regarding the work we have been engaged in.

To begin, we discussed key events of the Revolutionary War....Here is a collection of student responses:

1. Americans and French signed the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce on February 6 1778. This helped even the military might of the U.S to evenly match Britain’s.
2. The Battle of Freeman's Farm on September 19 and the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7 were also important, as the former saw the British suffer higher than expected casualties, showing Americans would fight hard and the latter was a demoralizing rout which raised the confidence and spirits of Americans. .
3. The Battle of Saratoga which took place in September and October of 1777, was a major victory for the Americans, they surrounded 9000 British troops and captured them; this was a major loss for Britain.This was called the turning point of the revolution, as France and Spain supported America thereafter. The European powers wanted to weaken Britain and to get revenge for former losses. They supplied the Colonists with troops, money, observers, naval support, uniforms, arms and ammunition and supplies. Spain opened up a different war front against England to distract them from the Colonies
4. The Battle of Quebec was mainly a diversionary battle, but caused Benedict Arnold to betray America. Benedict Arnold was expecting to be promoted and receive excess recognition but was not as he expected and betrayed the Americans to join the British.
5. On the first day of 1776 George Washington flew the first colonial flag, sewn by Betsy Ross. It had thirteen red and whites stripes which to represent the thirteen colonies.
6. Fort Ticonderoga: In 1775 Ethan Allan led an assault on the Fort Ticonderoga with about 170 of his Green Mountain Boys. It was significant because it helped the Americans later on in the Battle of Saratoga.
7. The Second Continental Congress: They wrote the Declaration of Independence which was their way of saying that they were separating from England.
8. Lexington and Concord:PAUL REVERE’S RIDE April 18th 1775
-warned the Colonists of the British’s planned ‘sneak attack’
-town was evacuated, militia was able to move out and meet the British
-if there had been no warning, many more people would have killed; it could have drastically changed the outcome of the revolution
--First shot of the American Revolution an "accident"
-Official start of the war
9. Battle of Bunker Hill:
-Americans captured hill and killed many British soldiers before they were chased down the hill
-First official battle of the war
-Proved that the Americans were going to put a fight to the British and that this was not going to be short war
10. Battle at Kings Mountain:
-British had control of the south before this battle
-The Americans won this battle and it turned the tide to their favor in the south
-This battle eventually led to the Patriots winning the war
11. Battle of Yorktown:
-British were in Yorktown and the Americans put a siege on the town
-Cornwallis eventually surrendered and the Americans won the war
-It was the final battle of the American Revolution
12. WINTER AT VALLEY FORGE Winter of 1777-1778
-horrible conditions – lack of supplies, freezing and wet weather, disease rampant
-surviving it together gave the soldiers a sense of unity; also raised moral in future: “We survived Valley Forge, we can live through this.”
-there was really nothing to do but drill, so they became far more skilled and organized
13. Articles of Confederation
Completed in 1781, suggested in 1777, and was the governing constitution of alliance of 13 colonies
established the new government that united colonies officially, forced them to take full responsibility
14. WASHINGTON CROSSES DELAWARE December 25th 1776
-British troops were coming close to eliminating resistance in the North (attacking Boston and New York)
-Colonists took advantage of this chance to surprise the British (no-one fought during winter)
-they took 900 prisoners and turned the war in their favour in that one rush
15. Siege of Boston (1775)- While trying to take over Boston, Americans stood in Dorchester Heights were they were able to hit any British ship in the harbor forcing the British to retreat.
16. Battle of Brooklyn Heights: Started what seemed the end of the war. Washington divided his soldiers between Manhattan and Long Island (20,000). The newly release Declaration of Independence read to soldiers. British drive Americans back to Brooklyn Heights. The Americans lose New York in a massive retreat. Routed to the Delaware River by Lord Cornwallis.