Week 14 — Readings & Resources · The Civil War

Course: U.S. History to 1877 (HIST 1301) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Hartwell
Objectives covered: Objective 8 — the Civil War: strategy, turning points, emancipation, Black military service, and the war's transformation.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser. Nothing needs to be downloaded, and there is nothing to buy.

This week's load is: 2 short videos + 2 short readings + the two primary sources you'll use in the Workshop and Assignment, grouped by the ideas from the lecture. Total time is roughly 50–60 minutes if you do everything; far less if you pick one item per group.

Order that matches the lecture: ① strategy and the scale of the war → ② turning points and emancipation → ③ Black soldiers and the war transformed → ④ the week's primary sources (the Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address, for the Workshop).

A habit to keep: before you trust any historical claim about the Civil War — in these resources or anywhere — ask: Who's saying this, when, and why? Does the primary source actually say what I've been told it says? The Emancipation Proclamation is the most famously misread document of the era. Check it yourself.

① Strategy, Resources & the Scale of the War

Maps to Lecture Segments 1–2. The Anaconda Plan, the border states, and why the Union's advantages on paper took years to become military victories.

Reading — "The Civil War" overview (OpenStax, U.S. History, Ch. 15)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/us-history/pages/15-introduction
Why it's assigned: a clear, free survey of the war's strategy, major campaigns, and home fronts — covers both the Anaconda Plan and the political constraint of the border states. (Read §15.1–15.2.)
⏱ ~15 min

Reading — "The Emancipation Proclamation: An Act of Justice" (John Hope Franklin, Prologue magazine, National Archives, Summer 1993)
🔗 https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1993/summer/emancipation-proclamation.html
Why it earns the click: the late historian John Hope Franklin — one of the foremost authorities on Reconstruction and emancipation — explains both what the Proclamation accomplished and its limits. Authoritative and direct. Pair with the transcript below.
⏱ ~10 min

② Turning Points & Emancipation

Maps to Lecture Segments 3–4 and 6. Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Sherman's march, and Appomattox — in sequence, with cause-and-effect.

Video — "The Civil War, Part I: Crash Course US History #20"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY9zHNOjGrs
Why it's assigned: covers the first half of the war — strategy, major battles through Antietam, and the Proclamation — at a brisk pace; good orientation before the primary sources.
⏱ ~13 min

Video — "The Civil War, Part II: Crash Course US History #21"
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5-UPXBgMpY
Why it earns the click: the second half — Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Sherman, Black soldiers, home fronts, and Appomattox. Pair with the first video for the full arc.
⏱ ~13 min

③ Black Soldiers & the War Transformed

Maps to Lecture Segment 5. The USCT, the 54th Massachusetts, and why Black military service mattered far beyond the battlefield.

Reading — "The 54th Massachusetts Infantry" (National Park Service / Civil War Series)
🔗 https://www.nps.gov/articles/the-54th-massachusetts-infantry.htm
Why it's assigned: the NPS provides a solid, factual overview of the regiment, the assault on Fort Wagner (July 18, 1863), and the broader significance of Black military service. Short and reliable.
⏱ ~8 min

④ The Week's Primary Sources (for the Workshop and Assignment)

You'll close-read both of these in Primary Source Workshop 14 and use them in Assignment 14. Read each once before the Workshop so you arrive ready to source and close-read.

Primary source — The Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863)
🔗 https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation (National Archives — exhibit page with images and context)
🔗 https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html (National Archives — full verified transcript)
Why it's assigned: this is the week's central document. Read the full transcript, pay special attention to the geographic designation clause (which states are named, which parishes and counties are specifically exempted), and the operative "are, and henceforward shall be free" clause. Do not rely on a summary — read the document itself.
⏱ ~10 min

Corroborating source — The Gettysburg Address (November 19, 1863)
🔗 https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/gettysburg-address/ (Library of Congress — exhibit with manuscript images)
🔗 https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm (Abraham Lincoln Online — all five manuscript copies, authoritative text)
Why it earns the click: the Address was delivered ten months after the Proclamation, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery at Gettysburg. Read the Bliss Copy — the authoritative version, the one inscribed on the Lincoln Memorial. Notice that Lincoln speaks of "a new birth of freedom" as something still to be achieved — not something already accomplished by the Proclamation.
⏱ ~5 min

Optional one-stop references (free online)

• National Archives — DocsTeach (Civil War resources): thousands of primary-source documents with analysis tools.
  🔗 https://www.docsteach.org/
• Gilder Lehrman Institute — Civil War collection:
  🔗 https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source
• National Park Service — Civil War (Antietam National Battlefield):
  🔗 https://www.nps.gov/anti/index.htm
• National Park Service — Civil War (Gettysburg National Military Park):
  🔗 https://www.nps.gov/gett/index.htm

Pick-one quick path (≈30 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these and you'll be ready for the quiz and Workshop:
1. Skim OpenStax §15.1–15.2 for strategy and the border states (group ①).
2. Watch CrashCourse #20 and #21 for the full arc of turning points (group ②).
3. Read the Emancipation Proclamation transcript in full (group ④) and the Gettysburg Address (group ④).
4. Skim the NPS 54th Massachusetts article for Black soldiers (group ③).

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Hartwell and use the National Archives, OpenStax, or NPS references in the meantime.