CP+Perry,+Clayton

=Unit Cover Page=


 * Unit Title:** "The American Civil War and Reconstruction" **Grade Level(s):** 6-8
 * Subject/Topic Area(s):** History
 * Key Words:** Civil War, Confederacy, Union, Secession, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Emancipation Proclamation, Reconstruction
 * Designed by:** Clayton Perry **Time Frame:**
 * School District: School:**

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 * =Brief Summary of Unit= ||
 * To this day, there has never been a war that has seen more loss of life for American soldiers than the Civil War. In total, more than 630,000 men died. It was a brutal war that saw a nation divided against itself. The Confederate States of America, adamant in their cause to be a separate nation, attacked Fort Sumter in 1861, igniting the proverbial powder keg that sent the two Americas to war. Facilitating this march to war was an entirely new wave of technology not yet used in warfare on such a massive scale. Inventions such as the telegraph, photography, steam engines, ironclad naval vessels, and rifled musket barrels completely changed the way wars were fought. Not only was the war devastating for the amount of lives lost in battle, but it was just as devastating on the home front, especially in the unstable Confederate states. Hyperinflation, rationing, and seizure of property for war use caused turmoil for the already burdened Southern civilians. When the war was finally over, there was still the seemingly insurmountable task of reuniting the country and rebuilding it after the most devastating war to ever be fought on American soil. This unit will focus around three main questions: 1.) "Why did the Civil War have such a major impact, socially and politically?" 2.) "Why did the Civil War have such a devastating effect on the Southern states?" 3.) "How did technology change the course of the Civil War?"