Download Lesson Construction Template 900-1200 words

Lesson Construction Template
900-1200 words
Introduction and Objective: 3-5 sentences
After the secession of Southern states by 1861 and the attack on Fort Sumter in that same year,
President Lincoln had determined that the best course of action was to go to war against the
Confederate States of America. For those in the North as well as the South, going to war was
seen as an act of courage and honor. These men understood that they would be fighting to
preserve their rights and their country. And each side was dependent upon the volunteer efforts
of the citizens in each state.
Today's lesson objective is: Students will be able to summarize the role of citizens in terms of
rights and responsibilities during the Civil War in the volunteer armies.
What do you already know about the meaning of volunteering? Why do you think it was
important that citizens volunteered their service during the Civil War? Can you think of ways in
which each person, including women, were able to contribute to the war efforts in 1861-1865?
Record your answers in your digital notebook.
image
Link:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Insignia_of_11th_New_York_Volunteer_Infantry_Regiment.jpg
Instruction, Modeling and Student Activities
DIRECT INSTRUCTION:
[DOK 1 – The Need for Volunteers]
Let’s trace our steps back for a minute and discuss why volunteering for military service was
both necessary and beneficial to the country. During its earlier years, the United States did not
have a large regular army. In other words, the number of men who employed and educated by
the military was relatively low. For this reason, the United States only had about 16,000 regular
soldiers who were assigned to work in the military. If the country ever went to war, the
government would call upon the states to enlist volunteers to fill the much-needed gaps. This is
essentially what President Lincoln did in 1861 in response to the attack against Fort Sumter. He
called for 75,000 men to enlist in the army in hopes of ending the South’s rebellion.
The number of regular soldiers in the U.S. Army during this time took a huge hit as many
officers who were loyal to their home states in the South decided to leave and join the
Confederate army. For example, U.S. Army officer Richard Heron Anderson of South Carolina
left his rank with the Union army and became a Confederate soldier. He gained prominence
throughout the Confederate army, and was influential in several Civil War battles, including the
Battle of Antietam.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Richard_H._Anderson.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
In all, close to 300 educated U.S. Army officers chose to fight for the Confederate army, which
made Northern volunteers even more necessary. Lincoln had hoped that the federal troops would
have been able to quickly suppress the South’s uprising within 90 days; but as it turned out, the
South was determined to win at all costs.
SS8_B_4_6_ACT_1
DIRECT INSTRUCTION:
[DOK 2 – Union Volunteers]
For the most part, there was a strong willingness to go to war on both sides. For the Union army,
which represented the United States or the North, volunteers from different walks of life wanted
to join in the battle for many reasons. For some, especially minority groups like African
Americans, Irish, and Germans, joining the army was a sign of loyalty and commitment to the
country. Each group had experienced their own forms of discrimination, and by fighting for the
Union, they had hoped to gain equality and fair treatment. Others in the North wanted to join the
army in order to see slavery come to an end. By the latter part of the Civil War, it became clear
that this battle was not only to preserve the Union but to also abolish slavery throughout the
entire country. Although this was not President Lincoln’s goal in the beginning, ending slavery
became the only way to truly defeat the South. For this reason, many abolitionists, former slaves,
and free men wanted to fight in the war. Volunteer soldiers also consisted of doctors, lawyers,
politicians, and other professionals. In fact, volunteers made up about 97% of the entire Union
army. The image below is of a group of volunteers for the Michigan infantry. What do you
imagine their reaction was once they first received the call to volunteer in the War?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michigan_infantry.jpg
SS8_B_4_6_ACT_2
DIRECT INSTRUCTION:
[DOK 3 – Confederate Volunteers]
Like the Union army, the Confederate army called for volunteers to join in their war efforts. It is
impossible to determine how many volunteered for this service, but it is estimated that up to one
million men served in the army.
The typical Confederate soldier was generally described as being unkempt, young, roughlooking, yet tough. He was between the ages of 18 and 45, but there are records of boys who
were younger than this who decided to fight in the War. For the most part, each one volunteered
because he wanted to support his own ideals. For some, that meant fighting to defend the South’s
desire to be independent. Some joined so they could provide a living for their families.
Not many people are familiar with the fact that minorities were also members of the Confederate
army. Volunteers came from various ethnic backgrounds, and would eventually include Chinese,
Native Americans like the Cherokee, Seminoles, and the Creeks, and even African Americans.
By 1865, the Confederacy officially allowed Black troops to be a part of its army, mostly
because they were in need of more men. Leaders hesitated to do so at first because arming slaves
was essentially a way of releasing them for their service to the Confederate. But it was necessary
because the Union army was significantly larger than the Confederate’s. Here’s an interesting
quotation from Robert E. Lee on his take on enlisting slaves into the army: “We must decide
whether slavery shall be extinguished by our enemies and the slaves be used against us, or use
them ourselves.”
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_E._Lee_at_Fredericksburg.jpg
In other words, Lee believed that it was better to have slaves fighting for the South than to sit by
and let the Union enlist them in exchange for their freedom. Lee also suggested that as a
condition for their enlistment, the slaves would be set free. For this reason, it is estimated that
several thousand African Americans joined the Confederate army, but the exact number is
debated by historians. However, this did not compare to the nearly 200,000 black men that
joined the Union army.
SS8_B_4_6_ACT_3
Summary: 4-6 recap of the lesson concepts; info related to skills addressed
in Intro
After realizing just how serious things were getting in the South, President Lincoln used his
power to call for thousands of volunteers to join the army in hopes of ending the South’s
rebellion. The attack on Fort Sumter had begun what other leaders had tried earnestly to avoid.
Because of the relative size of the regular army, it was necessary that citizens in the states
volunteer themselves in order to help their country win in combat. And by 1861, President
Lincoln had made the first call to enlist 75,000 men to serve as soldiers. Throughout the course
of the Civil War, there would always be a need for more volunteers.