Teaching the Civil War with Technology

On January 3, 1863, Harper’s Weekly ran the following Thomas Nast image of Santa Claus visiting the Civil War Soldiers

What can you see in the picture?  There is so much to see in this photo.  From the drummer boys playing with the Jack-in-the-box to the troops chasing a pig in the background (notice one soldier falling down in the chase).

How about a little seek and find.  Can you find:

• a drum
• a soldier with a pipe
• Santa’s Reindeer
• two American Flags
• A soldier with a stocking
• a soldier climbing a pole

This image is fun to look at and rich in details.  I love the outfit that Santa is wearing, the soldiers in their great coats, the Sibley tents and the “Welcome Santa” sign.  According to an brief article in the paper, Santa is showing the soldiers “Jeff Davis’s future.  He is tying a cord pretty tightly around his neck, and Jeff seems to be kicking very much at such a fate.” The article also says that a group of soldiers in the background are playing football.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours.

Posted under Primary Sources

The above illustration by Thomas Nast is entitled “Christmas Eve, 1862″ and is from an 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly.  On the right side of the illustration is a Civil War soldier on duty sitting next to a fire on a cold night.  In addition to holding his musket, he is holding a photo of his family.  Behind him are other soldiers sitting next to a tree and standing guard.  On the left side is his wife, kneeling in prayer with their children “nestled all snug in their beds.”

Look closely in the upper left portion of the illustration and you can see Santa (complete with reindeer) getting ready to head down the chimney.  In the upper right Santa is delivering presents to soldiers in the field.  All the while, the Civil War is raging below them in the form of both a land and a sea battle.  And in between, the hardships of war, graves of fallen soldiers.

So, on this Christmas Eve, let us pause to remember those families who have loved ones serving in our military and pray for their safe return home.

Merry Christmas.

Posted under Primary Sources

In this season of elections, I thought it would be interesting to share a website on Civil War era elections.

Harper’s Weekly has created a website for researching historical elections from 1860 to 1912. According to the website, the Presidential Elections page features political cartoons from several different digital resource centers such as Harper’s Weekly, the Library of Congress and Vanity Fair. The website also “provides explanations of the historical context and images of each cartoon, campaign overviews, biographical sketches, a review of the era’s major issues, and other valuable information.”

Let’s take a moment to explore the 1860 election between Lincoln, Douglas, Breckinridge and Bell. First, each election contains four sections: Overview, Cartoons, Biographies and Events. From here you can learn about the events leading up to to the 1860 election, how the Democratic party split, the Union Constitution Convention, the Republican Convention and the Campaign.

One of the greatest part of this site for teachers are the political cartoons. Let’s look at one and see how you can use it in your classroom.

The above image shows Abe Lincoln as a rail-splitter and is intended to appeal to the average voter. Before giving your students the full description of the cartoon, ask them to tell you what they see, what do they think is going on in the cartoon, what does the little child represent and why are the words “Democratic Party” listed on the rail?

You can then follow up by reading them the complete description: “In order to appeal to average voters, Republicans emphasized the poor, hardworking origin of their candidate through the myth of Abraham Lincoln as a rail-splitter. This cartoon in the Wide-Awake Pictorial plays on that image by joking that the last rail he split is th Democratic Party in 1860, which divided into the Northern and Southern Factions.”

Then, have your students think about presidential campaign ads or commercials they have seen recently. Do any of those ads try to appeal to the average voter by making the candidate look like every hardworking American? I think so and can name a few but let me know what your students come up with as you review these cartoons.

Until next time….

Posted under Lesson Ideas, Primary Sources, Websites

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (also on Twitter @phmc) launched a new website dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and the role Pennsylvania played in that war.  In addition to the new website, the commission also announced that there will be a Pennsylvania Civil War Road Show.  According to a press release, the Road Show will be “a traveling museum experience based in a 53-foot tractor trailer that will bring interactive exhibits and unique programming to all 67 counties in the state from 2011 to 2015.”

According to Barbara Franco, the Executive Director for the PHMC, “The Pennsylvania Civil War 150 commemoration is far more than a formal remembrance. It is a collection of stories brought to life that are as epic as the fields at Gettysburg or as small as the struggles of a soldier’s wife working to survive her husband’s absence on a Pennsylvania farm. Through these stories, Pennsylvania Civil War 150 will renew interest and engagement in our state’s heritage.”

The new (and very interactive ) website is packed with information for you and your students to learn about Pennsylvania’s role in the Civil War.  They have broken the website into four distinct sections:  Understanding, The War, Through People and Then and Now.

Under the section on Understanding, the website provides some excellent information related to understanding the cause and events leading up the the Civil War.  The TIMELINE section shows events beginning in 1780 with PA Abolishing Slavery up to 1877 (Compromise of 1877).  This section also provides pictures and a narrative of various primary sources related to a particular year.  The Understanding section also provides information on Pennsylvania’s Role, the Home Front, Slavery, and the Role of Religion.

Within the WAR section of the website, visitors can learn about Battlefields and Tactics along with the Weaponry and Uniforms of Civil War soldiers.

The THROUGH PEOPLE section of the website contains some outstanding stories from Pennsylvanians on how they experienced the Civil War.  There are stories of Children, prominent politicians like Governor Curtain, and stories of women and other civilians.  This section has some great photographs of the individuals that can easily be used to start a classroom conversation.

The Then and Now section provides some brief snapshots into how various things such as Industry & Commerce, Government and Politics and Media and Communications (check out the photo).

In addition to all of the stories, photographs, bibliographic references and primary sources, the website offers ways for you and your students to participate in the discussion and to share your stories.  You can also Experience the Civil War through an an interactive map along with a great collection of artifacts.  These resources provide more great opportunities for teachers and students to explore and discuss.

Finally, there is a terrific section dedicated to resources for Teachers.  This section provides some great links to resources and lessons for teaching the Civil War which are aligned to the Pa State History Standards.

Check out the full PRESS RELEASE

So, take some time and explore this great new resource.  There is more to come with this website so be sure to check back often for new resources.

Posted under Lesson Ideas, Primary Sources, Websites

There is a very good book called Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails by Tom Wheeler that I encourage everyone to read. The book discusses how President Lincoln used technology, in this case the telegraph, to stay connected with his troops in the field. In today’s technological society, the President knows exactly what is going on with his armies and can communicate with them in real-time even when they are halfway around the world. President Lincoln did not have that luxury. Instead, he used the technology that was available to him in order to ensure that the war effort was being run properly.

While doing to searching the other evening, I came across a companion website for the book and thought I would share. The Mr. Lincoln’s T-Mails website provides visitors with some great additional resources. In addition to information about the author, the book and reviews of the book, the website contains images of eight different “t-mails” that President Lincoln sent throughout the war.

The following is an image of a message send from Lincoln to General McClellan just over a month after the Battle of Antietam.

Following the Battle of Antietam in September 1862, General McClellan failed to go after the Confederates and came up with numerous excuses. Well, President Lincoln had heard enough excuses and sent this message to McClellan. Lincoln demanded to know “what the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigue anything?”

Have your students think about that for a moment. How would you feel as President if your commanding General was not going after the enemy and is making up excuses? How do you think McClellan felt when he received the message? Can you do some research and find out if this “t-mail” caused McClellan to act in any way? What else can we learn about McClellan that may have caused Lincoln to respond in this manner?

Finally, the website contains some terrific links on Abraham Lincoln and Morse Code.

To listen to a great interview of Mr. Wheeler, check out Eric Langhorst’s Speaking of History Podcast Episode #79

Until next time…

Posted under Famous People, Primary Sources, Websites