UNIT IX THE DRIFT TOWARD DISUNION

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I.          King Cotton

Text 379-386; Spirit 384-385 (Robinson), 385-386 (cartoon), 401-402 (Hammond)

What arguments did southerners use to justify and continue the institution of slavery?  Which are the strongest?

II.        “I Will Be Heard!”: The Rise of Radical Abolitionism

            Text 386-387, 390-393; Spirit 390-391 (Garrison), 391-393 (manifesto)

Are the arguments of the abolitionists too extreme for their day?  Explain your position.

III.       Anti-slavery attack and the Southern Response

Text 437-440 (first paragraph), Spirit 399-400 (Helper), 400-401 (Bullock), 451-453 (Stowe), 453-454 (Southern Literary Messenger)

Which author – Stowe or Helper – was most damning of the southern way of life?  How so?

IV.       Bleeding Kansas

            Text 433-435, 440-443 (first column)

MODERATION

            In what ways is the fighting in Kansas a harbinger of things to come? 

V.        Bland Buchanan and Taney’s Thunderclap

            Text 443-447

How was the election of Buchanan over Fremont a positive development for the Union?  What was so alarming about the Dred Scott decision to the North?

VI.       The Railsplitter vs the Little Giant

            Text 447-450 (first sentence); Spirit 462-463 (Douglas), 463-464 (Lincoln)

In the Lincoln-Douglas debates, how did Lincoln win by losing?  How did Douglas lose by winning?

VII.     The Election of 1860 and the Beginning of the End   

            Text 450-459

Is Buchanan deserving of his “worst president” rating for what happened in 1860 and early 1861?  Assess his response to the crisis of disunion. 

UNIT X – THE CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION

***Students should be well into completing their research papers on the Causes of the Civil War.  Papers are due at the beginning of class on day seven of this unit***

I.          The Crisis at Ft. Sumter

            Text 462-464; Spirit 473-474 (Ft. Sumter - North), 474-475 (Ft. Sumter – South)

Did President Lincoln make the right decision regarding the Sumter crisis?  Why or why not?

II.        Laird Rams and the Irony of the Trent Affair

            Text 471-474

MODERATION

What reasons were there for the British and French to get involved in the Civil War?  For what reasons did they not do so?

III.       The Civil War “Homefront” and Lincoln’s Suspension of Civil Liberties

            Text 474-479 (1^st column), Spirit 484-485 (Vallandigham)

What Lincoln guilty of tyrannical acts during the Civil War?  Where these justifiable because of the situation, or should acts like these NEVER be justified?  Explain.

IV. – VI. The Civil War: Billy Yank vs Johnny Reb

There are no text or reading assignments for these days.  Students should use the time to work on their Causes of the Civil War research papers.  The progress of the war on the battlefields of America will be covered in an “in-class” format. 

VII.     The Best Laid Plans...

Text 513-516, 518-520

Was Lincoln’s plan too lenient?  Was Congress’s plan too harsh?  What, in your opinion, was the best way to readmit the seceded southern states?

VIII.    Scalawags, Carpetbaggers, and the Impeachment of a President  

            Text 521-532 (fourth paragraph)

Did Johnson deserve the negativity that was heaped on him during his presidency, or was he merely a moderate unfairly vilified for his opposition to the radicals in Congress?  Explain your thoughts.

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MIDTERM EXAMINATION: UNITS I THROUGH X

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