Unit Three:  Fracturing of the American Nation (1850-1876)

We will examine how and why a large part of the relatively new USA wanted to secede from the country and how this was avoided. First, we revisit and explore the growing regional differences between the southern states, with their societies and economies based on plantation agriculture and slavery, and the northern states, with their societies and economies based on small farms and growing urban industry. The growth of Abolitionism in the north, along with development of the Underground Railway, is included. We will study the more immediate causes of the Civil War: the escalating events of the 1850s. These events should include the intensified debate over abolition of slavery following the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin; the struggle over the spread of slavery into territories; the birth of the regional-based Republican Party and its impact on the presidential election of 1856; and the controversy sparked by the Dred Scott Decision. In 1859, John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, his trial and execution, and the southern states’ reaction to it all set the stage for armed conflict. The election of Lincoln and the south’s reaction to this brought the two sides to the brink of war by the end of 1860. The South’s near victory in the Civil War the reasons for the eventual Union victory and the costs of this victory are also covered. In the post-war period, students look at the approaches of President Lincoln, President Johnson and the Radical Republicans. Finally, the South’s responses to Reconstruction and how it ended in 1876 are covered.

Culminating Activity: TBA 

MARCH/APRIL - U.S. HISTORY

American-History