The Civil War: The Struggle that Divided America
By Judy Dodge Cummings and Sam Carbaugh
()
About this ebook
The American Revolution: Experience the Battle for Independence
Publishers Weekly: Readers can take a hands-on approach to learning about the American Revolution in this addition to the Build It Yourself series. Each chapter begins with an “essential question” that serves as an entry point (“What factors caused American colonists to begin to resent British rule in the 1760s?”). At the end of each chapter, readers are invited to compose a thesis statement in response to the opening question. Sidebars supplement the material with vocabulary definitions, trivia, and additional information about such figures as Thomas Paine, Benedict Arnold, and Phillis Wheatley. Cartoon illustrations and 25 activities (such as preparing “firecake,” the simple bread that soldiers ate on the battlefield) create a lively learning experience.
Judy Dodge Cummings
Judy Dodge Cummings has written more than 20 books for children and teenagers. One of her books, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Rain: Real Tales of Temperamental Elements, highlights the true story of five of the United States’ deadliest natural disasters. One of the disasters featured in this book is the San Francisco earthquake and fire of 1906.
Read more from Judy Dodge Cummings
Human Migration: Investigate the Global Journey of Humankind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe American Revolution: Experience the Battle for Independence Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEpidemics and Pandemics: Real Tales of Deadly Diseases Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great Escapes: Real Tales of Harrowing Getaways Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Underground Railroad: Navigate the Journey from Slavery to Freedom with 25 Projects Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTomb Raiders: Real Tales of Grave Robberies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Miners' Lament: A Story of Latina Activists in the Empire Zinc Mine Strike Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Earth, Wind, Fire, and Rain: Real Tales of Temperamental Elements Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEruptions and Explosions: Real Tales of Violent Outbursts Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRebels & Revolutions: Real Tales of Radical Change in America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhen the Earth Dragon Trembled: A Story of Chinatown During the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Civil War
Related ebooks
Kennesaw Mountain: Sherman, Johnston, and the Atlanta Campaign Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The American Civil War (2): The war in the West 1861–July 1863 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPotter's Raid through South Carolina: The Final Days of the Confederacy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Among the Enemy: A Michigan Soldier’s Civil War Journal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGettysburg in Color: Volume 2: The Wheatfield to Falling Waters Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFighting for Glory: The History and Legacy of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Memory of the Civil War in American Culture Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5War in the Chesapeake: The British Campaigns to Control the Bay, 1813-1814 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Was Sheridan's Fault Not Custer's: LTG Sheridan’s Campaign Plans Against The Plain Indians: And The Ties To Current Planning Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Arlington to Appomattox: Robert E. Lee’s Civil War Day by Day, 1861–1865 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Historic Fort Loudoun Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTen Generations: A Family History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCivil War Baton Rouge, Port Hudson and Bayou Sara: Capturing the Mississippi Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Military Memoirs of a Confederate Line Officer: Captain John C. Reed’s Civil War from Manassas to Appomattox Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEngineering Expansion: The U.S. Army and Economic Development, 1787-1860 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJohn Haslet’s World: An Ardent Patriot, the Delaware Blues, and the Spirit of 1776 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Split History of the American Revolution: A Perspectives Flip Book Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Trans-Appalachian Wars, 1790-1818: Pathways to America's First Empire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReluctant Rebels: The Confederates Who Joined the Army after 1861 Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Andrew Jackson: Heroic Leader or Cold-hearted Ruler? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mormon Battalion: United States Army of the West, 1846-1848 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 48th Highlanders of Toronto Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSergeant York: An American Hero Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The American Revolution by the Numbers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConfederate Soldiers in the American Civil War: Facts and Photos for Readers of All Ages Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLoyalty on the Line: Civil War Maryland in American Memory Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMichigan's Civil War Citizen-General: Alpheus S. Williams Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Battle of Bennington: Soldiers & Civilians Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Children's For You
Pete the Kitty Goes to the Doctor Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alice In Wonderland: The Original 1865 Unabridged and Complete Edition (Lewis Carroll Classics) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMind-Boggling Word Puzzles Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Crossover: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pete the Kitty and the Unicorn's Missing Colors Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cedric The Shark Get's Toothache: Bedtime Stories For Children, #1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Number the Stars: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Much Ado About Nothing (No Fear Shakespeare) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmari and the Night Brothers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coraline Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Read Literature Like a Professor: For Kids Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Walk Two Moons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Phantom Tollbooth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Shadow Is Purple Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Island of the Blue Dolphins: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dork Diaries 1: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Terrifying Tales to Tell at Night: 10 Scary Stories to Give You Nightmares! Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wishtree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Workbook on How to Do the Work by Nicole LePera: Summary Study Guide Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Thirty Days Has September: Cool Ways to Remember Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Day My Fart Followed Me Home Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Witch of Blackbird Pond: A Newbery Award Winner Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dhammapada Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coraline 10th Anniversary Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Julie of the Wolves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Civil War
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
The Civil War - Judy Dodge Cummings
Nomad Press
A division of Nomad Communications
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © 2017 by Nomad Press. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review or for limited educational use.
The trademark Nomad Press
and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of Nomad Communications, Inc.
ISBN Softcover: 978-1-61930-606-6
ISBN Hardcover: 978-1-61930-602-8
Educational Consultant, Marla Conn
Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to
Nomad Press
2456 Christian St.
White River Junction, VT 05001
www.nomadpress.net
More social studies titles in the Inquire and Investigate series
Check out more titles at www.nomadpress.net
What are source notes?
In this book, you’ll find small numbers at the end of some paragraphs. These numbers indicate that you can find source notes for that section in the back of the book. Source notes tell readers where the writer got their information. This might be a news article, a book, or another kind of media. Source notes are a way to know that what you are reading is true information that other people have verified. They can also lead you to more places where you can explore a topic that you’re curious about!
Timeline
Introduction
What Was the Civil War?
Chapter 1
The Roots of Rebellion
Chapter 2
Dueling Republics
Chapter 3
First Blood
Chapter 4
Back-and-Forth Butchery
Chapter 5
A New Birth of Freedom
Chapter 6
The Scourge of War
Chapter 7
One and Undivided
Chapter 8
Legacies
Index
TIMELINE
What Was the Civil War?
Why did the South decide to secede from the North and form the Confederacy?
Many different factors were part of the South’s decision to secede from the United States, but the main issue that drove a wedge between the two sides was slavery.
Slavery or freedom? The question of whether to keep the United States a slave country or to grant freedom to all people was the issue that pitted the states against each other in a brutal conflict called the Civil War. This war raged from 1861 to 1865 and left more than 700,000 soldiers dead.
Why did the United States go to war with itself? What was at stake? Was the result of the conflict worth the horrific bloodshed? The buildup to the Civil War was a long one, beginning with the arrival of a slave ship in Virginia in 1619. However, the first official shots of the war were fired on a small island in South Carolina.
THE SPARK
The afternoon of April 11, 1861, slaves rowed a small boat carrying three white men across the harbor from Charleston, South Carolina, to the island of Fort Sumter. The men were representatives of the Confederate States of America, bringing a message for the commander of the fort, U.S. Major Robert Anderson (1805–1871).
The message ordered Anderson to evacuate his troops immediately. Anderson politely refused. Fort Sumter belonged to the U.S. government, and he would not abandon it. However, Anderson did admit that his troops were almost out of food. If supplies were not delivered soon, the soldiers defending Fort Sumter might starve to death.
The path to this standoff began on December 20, 1860, when South Carolina seceded from the United States.
Anderson’s command post had been located at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island. But this fort’s cannon was fixed on the open seas. When South Carolina seceded, it became the enemy behind Fort Moultrie’s defenses.
So, under cover of darkness on December 27, 1860, Anderson and his troops relocated to the more defendable Fort Sumter. Whoever controlled Fort Sumter controlled access to Charleston, the South’s most vital seaport.
Reaction to the movement of troops was swift. South Carolina troops occupied Fort Moultrie and Castle Pinckney, the other military installations in Charleston’s harbor. Militia poured into the city and artillery was positioned on the Charleston Peninsula and surrounding islands. All guns sighted on Fort Sumter, where Anderson and his men were stationed.
PRIMARY SOURCES
Primary sources come from people who were eyewitnesses to events. They might write about the event, take pictures, post short messages to social media or blogs, or record the event for radio or video. The photographs in this book are primary sources, taken at the time of the event. Paintings of events are usually not primary sources since they were often painted long after the event took place. What other primary sources can you find? Why are primary sources important? Do you learn differently from primary sources than from secondary sources, which come from people who did not directly experience the event?
STUDENT VS TEACHER
Major Robert Anderson was from Kentucky. Although a Southerner by birth, he was a steadfast supporter of the Union. Once an artillery instructor at West Point Military Academy, Anderson knew the power of the artillery aimed at Fort Sumter. He also knew the man commanding those guns. Brigadier General Pierre G.T. Beauregard (1818–1893) had been one of Major Anderson’s prized artillery students at West Point. This was the nature of the Civil War. It pitted friend against friend and student against teacher.
A new president, Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), had been elected in November 1860, but he would not take office until March. Meanwhile, the lame duck president, James Buchanan, meekly protested that South Carolina’s secession was illegal, but he took no action to stop it. As the soldiers in Fort Sumter slowly ran low on supplies, more Southern states seceded.
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas all followed South Carolina out of the country. On February 4, 1861, these seven states formed a new nation—the Confederate States of America.
Military commanders in these states surrendered government installations and either headed north or, if their sympathies were with the South, joined the new Confederate Army. Soon, only two Southern military installations remained in control of the federal government. One was Fort Sumter.
What happened at Fort Sumter would determine whether the United States split apart or went to war.
When Abraham Lincoln took office