Objective: Students will assume the identity of a person living in the north or south during the Civil War and provide a personal experience in the form of a letter.
Most of what we know of history prior to technological era comes from letters. Historians use letters in order to peace together internal and external factors that shaped and molds our understand of the past. In the discussion you will assume the role of a man or a women living in the north or the south. Additionally, you need to select a position in society/occupation that is relevant to the historical time period.
1st Post: Create a letter with the following information:
Summarize details in a separate paragraph then start with Salutation.
- Who, where, when and what (about person)
- Who is the letter address to and why
In the Letter:
- Infer from the letter or correspondence (date, place etc...) what point of the war, where the major battles are taking place and the role both played in the Civil War efforts.
- Discuss any hardship, victories, ramification and/or experience that reveal the personal side of life during the Civil War.
- You may need to piece together a specific role or person based off of multiple sources to develop one letter that historical accurate.
- You do not need to quote or cite within the letter but you do need to have a Bibliography page with all of the sources you used to write the letter.
Example: A freed slave in the north who has family still in bondage in the south or a general in the army fighting along the Mason-Dixon Line where half his family lives on the northern side and the other lives on the southern side.