LEARN NC

K–12 teaching and learning · from the UNC School of Education

Social Studies — Grade 8

Goal 4: The learner will examine the causes, course, and character of the Civil War and Reconstruction, and their impact on North Carolina and the nation.

Objective 4.01. Identify and analyze the significance of the causes of secession from the Union, and compare reactions in North Carolina to reactions in other regions of the nation.

Additional related resources

We’re in the process of aligning our content for students to the Standard Course of Study. As we do, you’ll find it here.

A Virginia boy volunteers
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.5
Excerpt from the autobiography of David E. Johnston, who volunteered for the Confederate army in April 1861 at the age of 15. Includes historical commentary.
Format: book/primary source
A UNC student asks to sign up
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.6
Letter from Edward Hall Armstrong to his father in April 1861, asking permission to volunteer for the Confederate army. Includes historical commentary.
Format: letter/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
Timeline of the Civil War, January–June 1861
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.1
Timeline of secession and the beginning of the Civil War.
Format: timeline
"The Southern Cross"
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.9
George Tucker's adaptation of the Star Spangled Banner to the Confederate cause. Includes historical commentary.
Format: music/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
Secession and civil war
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.2
After Abraham Lincoln's election to the presidency in 1860, seven southern states seceded from the United States. Four more followed after South Carolina troops fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861 and Lincoln called for troops to put down the rebellion.
Format: article
North Carolinians debate secession
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.4
Quotations from North Carolinians supporting and opposing secession in 1860–61. Includes historical commentary.
Format: document/primary source
Commentary and sidebar notes by L. Maren Wood.
North Carolina secedes
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.7
Ordinance of secession passed by a convention of delegates from North Carolina counties on May 20, 1861. Includes historical commentary.
Format: legislation/primary source
The North Carolina Oath of Allegiance
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.8
Form that new soldiers, politicians, and civil servants had to fill out and sign after North Carolina's secession, by which they pledged loyalty to the state and renounced their loyalty to the United States.
Format: document/primary source
From proslavery to secession
In Antebellum North Carolina, page 7.1
Between 1830 and 1860, as abolitionism grew in the North, southerners largely stopped questioning the wisdom of slavery and argued strongly for extending it.
Format: article
By David Walbert.
Fort Sumter
In North Carolina in the Civil War and Reconstruction, page 1.3
The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. Federal troops refused to leave the fort after South Carolina seceded, and South Carolina's forces fired on the fort on the morning of April 12, 1861.
Format: article

General resources

Aligned lesson plans

Plan for a panel discussion regarding the validity of the Lincoln Administration
This lesson encourages students to investigate all sides of the issues within the context of the Civil War era. Students will become “experts” on the Lincoln administration and accept the responsibility of sharing their expertise with their classmates through oral communication in a panel discussion.
Format: lesson plan (grade 8–12 Social Studies)