The American Civil War: People, Places, & Events
An Eighth Grade Pathfinder
 

The American Civil War, sometimes referred to as the War Between the States, divided this country into North and South each with its own viewpoints and values. Each side also has a litany of names of those who helped shape that dark period of this country's history and events and battles that contributed to the final outcome.

Choose from the designated topics to research some of these people, places, and events. Citing sources is an important element of this assignment. When researching keep in mind the format that you will use to present your information.

Civil War Topics 

Lead up to the War

Did the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 help start the Civil War?  

What was “Bleeding Kansas” and why was it significant?  

What role did the questions of state’s rights and secession play in the years leading up to the war?  

Why was the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act important?   

How did the novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” influence people’s opinions on slavery and what role did this play in sparking the Civil War? 

What role did President James Buchannan play in getting the war started?  

How did the issue of slavery influence the Civil War?  

How did the actions of abolitionists spur the march towards war?  

Why was the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford significant?  

What was significant about John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry?  

How did Lincoln’s election create tensions between the North and South that lead to civil war?  

Compare the economies of the North and South.  

What was the importance of Ft. Sumter? 

Impact of the War

How did the Civil War impact the medical field?   

Did the invention of the machine gun influence the war?  

Did the invention of bullet rifling change the tactics of the war? 

(the previous two can be combined into a topic about weapon advancements and the effect they had)  

How were families affected by the Civil War?  

Were the tactics used in the Civil War different from previous wars?  

What role did the railroads play for the Union?   

What was the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation?   

What was so significant about the invention of iron clad ships?  

Battles and Generals

What was so significant about the Battle of Gettysburg?                                                                                                     

What was so significant about the Battle of Bull Run?  

Was Ulysses S. Grant a successful general?  

Was Robert E. Lee a successful general?  

Did the South have superior military generals?   

End and Post War 

What impact did losing the war have on the Southern states?  

How did the assassination of Lincoln affect the country?  

How did the North end up winning the war?

Books	Internet Resources Databases	Internet Resources Websites	Keywords	Dewey numbers	Citation

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• Lincoln, Abraham (U)
• Lee, Robert E. (C)
• Grant, Ulysses S. (U)
• Sherman, William Tecumseh (U)
• McClellan, George B. (U)
• Davis, Jefferson (C)
• Blackwell, Elizabeth
• Dix, Dorothea
• Barton, Clara
• Van Lew, Elizabeth (U)
• "Thompson, Frank" (Emma  Edmonds) (U)
• Edmondson, Belle (C)
• Beauregard, P. G. T. (C)
• Jackson, "Stonewall" (C)
• Scott, Winfield (U)
• Burnside, Ambrose (U)
• Bragg, Braxton  (C)
• Hood, John B. (C)
• Pickett, George (C)
• Hooker, Joseph (U)
• Farragut, David (U)
• Early, Jubal (C)
• Stuart, J. E. B. (C)
• Scott, Dred
• Charles Sumner (Preston Brooks)
• John Brown

• Appomattox Court House
• Fort Sumter
• Antietam
• Shiloh
• Gettysburg
• 1st Bull Run, 2nd Bull Run (also Manassas)
• Chancellorsville
• Monitor and the Merrimack
• Fredricksburg
• Murfreesboro
• Shenandoah Valley
• March to the Sea
• Vicksburg
• Harper's Ferry
• Chickamauga
• Murfreesboro
• Fort Donelson
• Chattanooga
• Jackson's Valley Campaign
• Seven Days
• Slavery
• States' rights
• Secession (South Carolina)
• Compromise of 1850
• Fugitive Slave Act
• Missouri Compromise
• Uncle Tom's Cabin
• Kansas-Nebraska Act
• "Bleeding Kansas"

• 973.6 Causes of the Civil War
• 973.7 Civil War, 1861-1865 (Administration of Abraham Lincoln)

• 973.8 Reconstruction