Beautiful Feet Books Blog: Civil War Resources

Monday, May 06, 2013

Civil War Resources

Today I'm excited to share with you some special resources for teaching your students about the American Civil War. This is an historical period that still captures students' imaginations and is still fodder for debate. I remember growing up in California the Civil War simply seemed to me to be an extremely important event in our nation's history. I thought it was over, "done and dusted" as they say. And then I did an internship in Atlanta, GA and learned that in some parts of the South, the Civil War is still a very near and dear topic of conversation and contention! It showed me how history does have distinct consequences and how it shapes our perspectives and feelings about who we are and what we believe.

For teachers and parents looking to open up the world of a divided America, there are many wonderful on-line resources to help you in your quest. Here are a sampling of my favorites:

The New York Times Interactive Civil War Timeline: This collection of chronologically organized original source documents includes photographs, period comics, letters from famous authors including Herman Melville, and much much more. It helps frame the development of the division between North and South and the events leading up to the war. Below the timeline you will find links to various other topics including:

A Map of American Slavery

A Photo from Lincoln's Inauguration

An explanation of the Battle of Bull Run

Even a pictorial history of President Lincoln's beard!

The folks at history.com have set up an entire website with some wonderful info graphics to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. The website has sections on the soldiers, how the war was financed, weaponry, battles, and much more. The information on this website is often very sobering as it makes clear the very high human cost of war.