Bibliography
Remembering the Civil War
Ayers, Edward L. In the Presence of Mine Enemies: War in the Heart of America 1859
1863.W.W. Norton & Company, 2003.
This book provides a broad overview of politics, attitudes, and motivations of Civil War actors (ordinary citizens and elite members of the upper class) on both sides of conflict. Ayers' historical account is based on primary sources from two border towns, one North and one South.
Blight, David. “Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory.” Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, 2001.
This book discusses the issue of the American memory and the Civil War, most notably, the failure to reconcile the racism that persisted and intensified after the Civil War to prevent African Americans from fully accessing their civil rights and citizenship.
Blight, David. “Introductions: Why Does the Civil War Era Have a Hold on American
Historical Imagination?” Lecture presented at Yale University, New Haven, CT.
A lecture about the Civil War and its meaning in the American memory.
Creighton, Margaret S. “The Colors of Courage: Gettysburg's Forgotten History,
Immigrants, Women, and African Americans in the Civil War's Defining Battle.” New York: Basic Books, 2005.
This book provides insight into the many lives of women, immigrants, and African Americans who lived in Gettysburg, or were present during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Gettysburg: An American Story. Secondfilm LLC DBA Striped Ent. 2014; New York:
Infobase, 2014. Streaming video. Accessed July 21, 2021. https://fod-infobase-com.yale.idm.oclc.org/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=98527&xtid=60614
A comprehensive film of the Battle of Gettysburg, including its causes and the aftermath.
Civil War Primary Sources
Alleman (Pierce), Tillie. “At Gettysburg: What a Girl Saw and Heard of the Battle, a
True Narrative.” New York: W. Lake Borland, 1889.
https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/alleman/gettysburg/gettysburg.html
Tillie Pierce describes her experiences of the battle of Gettysburg when she was 15 years old. She recounts the “amusement” in seeing African American residents flee Gettysburg before the arrival of the Confederate army. She gives a detailed description of the destruction and human toll on soldiers, and how women assisted in the war effort.
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Davis, Jefferson. Papers. The Avalon Project, Yale University.
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/csa_m042961.asp
An outline of reasons the Confederacy gives for seceding from the Union and engaging in the Civil War.
Douglass, Frederick, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave.”
Boston: The Anti-Slavery Society, 1845.
https://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass/douglass.html
Students will read excerpts from this text to develop background knowledge on the American slave system. Students will also examine this text for author purpose and rhetoric, and how this text compares to other text types on the topic of slavery.
Douglass, Frederick, “Our Work is Not Done,” December 3, 1863. Teaching American
History. https://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/our-work-is-not-done/
Frederick Douglass’ speech to the Anti-Slavery Society in December 1863.
Edwards, William W. Papers. Locke W. Smith Jr. Collection, North Carolina Digital Collections.
https://digital.ncdcr.gov/digital/collection/p15012coll8/id/11246
A very detailed letter from a Confederate soldier about seeking medical treatment after being wounded at Gettysburg. He describes the devastation of killed and wounded soldiers on the battlefield. He also alludes to the “happiness” that will come with a Confederate war victory or the “destruction” that will come from a Confederate defeat.
Hodgman, Samuel Chase. Letters. Digital Public Library of America,
https://dp.la/item/badd0106bd03b6f4d593e3ca73b097b4
In this letter a Union soldier describes his unit’s fight against the Confederates.
Lee, Robert E. Papers. Washington and Lee University Manuscript Collections,
Washington and Lee University. https://dspace.wlu.edu/xmlui/handle/11021/21510
In this letter, Lee is responding to the Confederate president, to whom he offered his resignation after the Battle of Gettysburg. Jefferson Davis rejected Lee’s resignation.
Lincoln, Abraham. Manuscripts. Abraham Lincoln Papers, Library of Congress.
https://www.loc.gov/item/mal0907400/
A digitized copy of Lincoln’s April 15th proclamation on the state militia in response to the Southern rebellion.
Lincoln, Abraham. Papers. Albert H. Small Document Gallery, Smithsonian.
https://americanhistory.si.edu/documentsgallery/exhibitions/gettysburg_address_1.html
A digitized copy of Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address.”
Meade, George Gordon. Letters. Perseus Collection. Tufts University.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2001.05.0134%3Achapter%3D6
A collection of George Gordon Meade’s letters and correspondences between family and colleagues.
Civil War Secondary Sources
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopedia. "Battle of Gettysburg." Encyclopedia Britannica,
June 24, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Gettysburg.
A brief overview of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Gettysburg Daily. “Elizabeth Thorn.” Last updated May 9, 2008.
https://www.gettysburgdaily.com/elizabeth-thorn/.
Elizabeth Thorn lived at the Evergreen Cemetery in Gettysburg as the wife of the cemetery caretaker. Her husband was at war when the Battle of Gettysburg broke out. She dug nearly 100 graves while 6 months pregnant after the battle was over.
National Park Service. “Gettysburg: A New Birth of Freedom.” National Park Service.
Last modified July 23, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm
This website is a landing page for a number of videos describing Gettysburg as a national park, as well as the history of the Battle of Gettysburg and the ways in which the battle has been commemorated since its conclusion.
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). “Causes of the Civil War.” Last modified 2003
https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/causes-of-the-civil-war/
A video and brief explanation of some of the causes of the Civil War.
Weber, J. L. and Hassler, Warren W., Encyclopedia Britannica, "American Civil War."
Last modified April 5, 2021. https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War.
A brief overview of the Civil War.
Teaching Resources
Bair, Sarah D. and Ackerman, Kay. “Not Your Father’s Civil War: Engaging Students
through Social History.” Social Studies. Vol. 105, no. 5 (September/October 2014). DOI: 10.1080/00377996.2014.917066
This article defines and describes the purpose of social history in the classroom. The article also includes teaching activity ideas with primary sources.
Caplan, Nigel and Farling, Monica. “A Dozen Heads Are Better Than One:
Collaborative Writing in Genre-Based Pedagogy.” TESOL Journal, 8.3. (2016).
I have used methods for teaching writing from this book in many of my curriculum units. The method of teaching writing is based on collaborative writing activities and the scaffolded teaching of language necessary to produce written products in a particular genre.
Delaware Department of Education Delaware School Report Card. “Dickinson (John)
School Snapshot.” Last modified 2021.
https://reportcard.doe.k12.de.us/detail.html#aboutpage?scope=school&district=32&school=290
This source provides an overview, including demographics, of every public school in the state of Delaware.
Filkins, Scott. “Strategy Guide: Socratic Seminar.” ReadWriteThink.
https://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/socratic-seminars#research-basis
A brief overview of the Socratic Seminar protocol, with sample lesson plans.
Fisher, Douglas and Frey, Nancy. “Teacher Modeling Using Complex Informational
Texts.” The Reading Teacher, 69 (1), 63-69 (2015). Retrieved July 20, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24574715
This resource describes teaching modeling and provides case studies in using modeling to help students access complex texts.
Hall, Jacquelyn Dowd. "The Long Civil Rights Movement and the Political Uses of the
Past." The Journal of American History 91, no. 4 (2005): 1233-263. Accessed July 22, 2021. doi:10.2307/3660172.
Dowd describes how the American memory contributes to distortions in modern understandings of social movements, specifically the Civil Rights movement.
Google Arts and Culture. “Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (Interactive).”
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/lincoln-s-gettysburg-addresses/wReow-98
This interactive is visually appealing and demonstrates the multiple drafts that Lincoln wrote of the Gettysburg address. Some additional interesting facts are included in this visually pleasing timeline.
National Archives. “Document Analysis with Students.” Accessed June 10, 2021.
https://www.docsteach.org/resources/document-analysis.
This is a tool for developing a primary source analysis protocol with students.
National Park Service. “Gettysburg: A New Birth of Freedom.” National Park Service.
Last modified July 23, 2021. https://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm
This website is a landing page for a number of videos describing Gettysburg as a national park, as well as the history of the Battle of Gettysburg and the ways in which the battle has been commemorated since its conclusion.
University of Illinois Center for Academic Success. “What is Rhetoric?” Accessed July 20, 2021
https://www.uis.edu/cas/thelearninghub/writing/handouts/rhetorical-concepts/what-is-rhetoric/
This is a useful guide to rhetoric and author’s purpose, with clear definitions that could be used with students.
Wertsch, James V. & Henry L. Roediger III “Collective memory: Conceptual foundations
and theoretical approaches.” Memory, 16: (2008): 318-326, DOI: 10.1080/09658210701801434
This article describes the varied definitions of the term “collective memory” and aims to make conclusions about what defines collective memory and distinguishes it from other similar terms.
Wineburg, Samuel. “Unnatural and essential: The nature of historical thinking.”
Teaching History. (129), 6-11 (2007). Retrieved July 21, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43259304
Wineburg gives a definition of his idea of historical thinking, and includes a case study that shows how teaching students to think historically is a necessary part of understanding the past.
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