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Unit The Reconstruction Era 3-Week Unit
The ruins of Mills House and nearby buildings, Charleston, South Carolina, at end of American Civil War.
Lesson

The Devastation of War

Students learn about the aftermath of the Civil War and examine primary source documents that provide insight into the difficult task of reuniting the nation.

Duration

One 50-min class period

Subject

  • History
  • Social Studies

Grade

9–12

Language

English — US

Published

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About This Lesson

In the previous lesson, students reflected on the meaning of freedom and explored the ideas about freedom expressed by several Americans shortly after Emancipation. In this lesson, students will learn more about the aftermath of the war itself. They will consider information about the immense destruction the Civil War caused in people’s lives and in the nation as a whole. They will also read documents written in 1865 by two women, one from the North and the other from the South, and consider the ways that these opposing perspectives provide insight into the difficult task of reuniting the nation.

Essential Question

  • What can we learn from the history of Reconstruction as we work to strengthen democracy today?

Guiding Questions

  • What does it take to reunite a nation torn apart by civil war?

Learning Objectives

  • Students will see that the range of responses to both the death and destruction of the Civil War and the reality of Emancipation sharpened the differences between many Americans and complicated the challenges of Reconstruction.
  • Students will recognize that Lincoln’s phrase from his Second Inaugural Address, “with malice toward none, with charity for all,” would prove to be a difficult goal to realize given the variety of interests and experiences that emerged from the war.

Materials

View in Google Drive

Teaching Note

Before teaching this lesson, please review the following information to help guide your preparation process.

To learn about the effects of the end of the Civil War on individuals, groups of students will read one of three primary sources. The sources vary in length and reading level, so you might consider in advance how you will group students for this activity. One option is to create heterogeneous groupings of readers so that the stronger readers can assist struggling ones with pacing, vocabulary, and comprehension. Alternatively, you might group students by level and work more closely with struggling readers to target specific literacy skills while allowing the more confident readers to tackle the content independently.

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Share Information about the Effects of the Civil War

Read aloud Statistics from the War, which helps students gain a sense of the magnitude of the death and destruction resulting from the Civil War. Ask students to choose one statistic and write about how they think it presents a challenge to reuniting the country after the Civil War. If time permits, ask students to share their ideas in a brief Wraparound activity.

Activity 2: Explore Different Perspectives on the End of the Civil War

Explain to students that for the rest of class, they will read sources from individuals who were impacted in different ways by the end of the Civil War. Tell students that they will be reading these sources to better understand the post-war context that was the backdrop for the challenges and conflicts of Reconstruction. 

Divide the class into small groups of between 3–5 students and have each group read one of the three readings listed below:


In their small groups, have students discuss the following questions:

  • What does the text tell you about how the war impacted the lives of the author? What inferences can you draw beyond the text?
  • What emotions is the writer feeling at the end of the war? What are their hopes and fears?
  • What might this person need in order to believe that justice has been served at the end of the war?

Activity 3: Discuss the Opportunities and Obstacles of Reuniting after the Civil War

Then move into a whole-group, fishbowl-style discussion. Students will draw from their small group discussions to discuss these broader questions:

  • What are the opportunities and obstacles for reuniting the country after the war?  
  • What would it take to do so?

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Lesson

The Devastation of War

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