Practice Test Questions

1. What were the Southern advantages during the Civil War?


2. What were the Northern advantages during the Civil War?


3. Why did Confederate forces fire upon Fort Sumter?


4. What was the first state to secede from the Union?

5. Why did Robert E. Lee attack Union forces at Antietam?


6. How did the Confederates attempt to gain support from European powers during the Civil War?


7. Why is the Civil War considered a modern war? What changes in technology modernized warfare?


8. Why was General McClellan fired by Lincoln?

9. What was the Northern strategy to win the war? Why was it not followed in 1861?

10. What state was the regiment in Glory from?

11. What was the significance of the Gettysburg Address?

12. Explain what was the Emancipation Proclamation. Why was it issued? When was it issued? Who was impacted by it?

Thursday's Test

The test on the Civil War is on Thursday, April 29th.

This will be your last Social Studies test at W.M.S.,that is  kind of exciting. 

For your test you can bring in a "cheat sheet" and use it during the test.  Your sheet can either be typed or on a piece of loose leaf.  When the exam is over you will be turning in your "cheat sheet" so be sure to put your name on it.

It may be a good idea to bring in a rough draft of your sheet for me to go over on Wednesday.

Survey

Please complete this survey and bring to class tomorrow.

1. What was your Research Topic?

2. How many sources did you find?

3.  What source was the most useful?   Why?

4. What source provided the least amount of information?

5.  What part of this project did you find the most challenging?  Explain Why?

6.  Where the databases helpful?  Why or Why not?

7. If you can change any aspect(s) of this project what would it be?

Dark Days for the Union

In 1861, General Winfield Scott designed a plan to defeat the Confederate forces.  Scott did not believe that the war could be won quickly, so he designed a plan that would slowly but surely bring an end to the war.   The plan called for a naval blockade of all Southern ports, cutting the South off from money and supplies from Great Britain.  The second part of the plan, had the Union army take over the Mississippi River, isolating Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas from the rest of the Confederacy. This plan became known as the Anaconda Plan.

      While Scott's plan was being carried out by Lincoln, many had hoped the war would end much quicker.  To achieve that goal, Lincoln wanted the Confederate capital of Richmond to be taken.  Lincoln promoted General George B. McClellan (Little Mac) to command the U.S. military.  McClellan led a large Union force into Northern Virginia hoping to capture Richmond.

    For seven days Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan engaged in six battles outside Richmond.  The Seven Days Battle may have an unoriginal name but when the week was up, McClellan and his army limped out of northern Virginia back to Washington D.C.  Lincoln then orders General John Pope to try and take Richmond.  Pope is a highly ambitious soldier and takes bold chances on the battlefield. McClellan writes in his journal that Pope would be "trashed. "Pope tells his troops, "let us look before us and not behind.  Success and glory are in the advance."   Little Mac is right.  Pope and his men get badly beaten at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

      As the Union army is being defeated by Robert E. Lee, the popularity of the war in North is fading past.  Lincoln meets with his Secretary of War, Edward Stanton and his Sec. of State William Seward and discuss the situation.  Lincoln wants to issue an proclamation to free the slaves in the Confederate held territory.  Such a proclamation would cause damage to the Southern economy.  Lincoln can not issue the proclamation following an Union defeat.  If he did then it would make the north look desperate to win.  The President needed a victory.

      Victory would arrive courtesy of a box of cigars.  Union troops in Maryland discover battle plans for General Robert E. Lee's forces wrapped in a cigar box.  The Confederate government ordered Lee to head north and try to earn a victory on Union controlled land.  The South hoped that a Confederate victory on Union controlled land would have the U.S. government call for an end to hostilities.   

        With Lee's plans, McClellan knows where the Confederate forces are heading.  The two armies meet near Antietam Creek in Maryland.  The fighting lasts for several hours and both sides suffer heavy casualties.  In one day of fighting 12,500 Union soldiers and 13,700 Confederate troops would die.  Lee knew that his army was badly beaten and needed to return to Virginia for supplies and rest.  McClellan was given the opportunity to peruse Robert E. Lee but hesitates.  McClellan's hesitation would lead to his dismissal by Abraham Lincoln who ordered that Little Mac, "destroy the rebel army is possible." 

    Antietam remains the bloodiest day in American history.  From this battle though, Lincoln has the victory that he needs to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.  This document inspires slaves to flee their owners when they hear that a Union army is nearby, giving hope to millions.  

Civil War Research Project Dates

The week of research in the library is over, now the bulk of the work is expected to be completed on your own time.

 

 

Here are some upcoming dates and the assignment that needs to be completed by them.

 

 

Monday, April 12^th: Your 6 Rough Draft Research Questions.

These questions should be based on the research that you have done and can be answered using the sources that you have cited.

 

 

Tuesday, April 13.  At this point you should have at least four sources on your Noodle Bibs account.  Each of these sources needs to have:

1. direct quotations

2.    have been paraphrased

 

Thursday, April 15^th.  You are brining in your Questions and Answers to those   questions. The Answers should be at least 5-7 sentences.  

Yearbook Quotes/T Shirt Forms/8th Grade Memory

For my homeroom you need to e-mail me a quote for the yearbook and a favorite 8th grade memory by tomorrow. The money for the Class of 2010 shirts is due on Friday, April 9th. If you are going to be purchasing a new shirt bring in a t-shirt that you no longer wear for a donation to Salvation Army.

Research Topics

  All this week we are going to be working on creating an Annotated Bibliography on the Civil War.  The goal is for you to become a critical researcher before you head off to high school.  

   Bibliographies are essential to any paper/article/book because it allows the reader to see that the author has done research, and it makes their claims (thesis) more legitimate. 

 For tomorrow you need to have your top 5 Topics that you would be interested in researching.  If you are interested in creating a bibliography on something that was not listed, be sure to discuss this with me tomorrow before class.