Blue Valley Libraries: Civil War Research & Presentation Resources: Home

Civil War Resources

LoC-Timeline Library of Congress-Timeline of the U.S. Civil War
LoC-Biographies Library of Congress-Brief biographies of soldiers, civilians, and leaders during the U.S. Civil War
Database-Britannica Articles Britannica School-Articles over any topic related to the U.S. Civil War Use database password to access-Look in the Database Password box at the bottom of the column
Database-World Book Articles World Book articles over the American Civli War Use database password to access-Look in the Database Password box at the bottom of the column
NatGeo-Sources National Geographic-Articles, maps, photos, images, etc. about U.S. Civil War topics
LfJ-Union Military Policies Union policies concerning slavery and African American military service affected the Civil War
Primary Source Docs Teaching American History-Primary Sources: Images, news articles, posters, maps, photos, gov't documents, etc.
National Archives-Civil War Topics National Archives-Links to various subtopics of the U.S. Civil War-Primary documents and secondary source analysis
EyeWitnees-American Civil War EyeWitness to History-Links to articles related to the U.S. Civil War
U.S. History-House Divided U.S. History-Overview of events leading up to, during and after the U.S. Civil War.
PBS:Maps PBS:Maps of U.S. prior, during, and post Civil War
PBS: Civil War Facts PBS: Facts and statistics related to the U.S. Civil War
Virtual Tour of Antietam
ABT-Civil War Battles American Battle Field Trust-Animated Maps, Virtual Tours, Overview of Battles
Southern Homefront Primary Documents that look life through the lens of Southerners during the Civil War
Women and the Homefront Duke University curated primary source documents related to women during the American Civil War
Civil War Black Soldiers 4 min video overview of life for Black Union Soldiers during the Civil War
Kansas & Civil War The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
LoC-Civil War Photo Collection

Database Passwords

The password to access the passwords is our school mascot, plural and lowercase.

Passwords

Project Ideas

Create a set of trading cards for the important leaders (political and/or military) associated with the Civil War.
- Must include: at least 10 cards, 3 different facts on each subject, and a picture of the subject.
Compare and contrast President Lincoln and President Davis
- Can present the info in whatever format you choose
- Include information about their early life, their education, their political background, and their leadership styles
- Write a paragraph explaining which man you think is a better president and provide at least three reasons why
Track Lincoln’s changing and evolving position on slavery from his early view (pre-presidency) to post-Emancipation Proclamation
- Can choose to do a timeline, chart, or short essay
- Incorporate a minimum of three concrete examples supporting your position, such as quotations made by Lincoln and/or other facts that support your position
- Two useful sources of documents pertaining to Lincoln and slavery
  - Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/malhome.html
    - Note – entering terms such as “free slave” into the keyword will help refine your search
  - Abraham Lincoln Historical Society http://www.abraham-lincoln-history.org/lincolns-view-on-slavery/

Make a set of graphs comparing the North & South in the Civil War.
- Include the advantages and disadvantages for each side.
- Compare the number of people, soldiers, factories, farms and other important facts.
- Write one paragraph (5-8 sentences) to describe the conclusions you can draw from your graphs about causes and effects of the Civil War.
Create a timeline of 10 important events from the Civil War, beginning with secession and ending with the surrender at Appomattox.
- Write a detailed description (at least one complete sentence) of each event.
- Include at least one picture for each event.
- I recommend using a Google slides presentation to display your timeline, but you can also hand write it on paper.
Do a radio broadcast or ‘breaking news program’ of a battle or major political event that took place during the Civil War times.
- Must be a video
- Should be at least 2-3 minutes long
- Include facts and details - army leaders involved, location, date, outcome, military maneuvers, weapons used; politicians involved, when the event occurred, why the political event is significant, consequences or outcomes of the event
Create a series of maps from 1861-1865 showing the success or failure of the Anaconda Plan
- Include a paragraph for each map explaining the successes or failures
Research the new military weapons and equipment used during the Civil War.
- Draw or collect pictures and write a brief description of each.
- Explain in a paragraph (or two) how the variety of the many new inventions of weaponry during the Civil War changed modern warfare at the time.

Identify and research 2 important women OR 2 important African Americans during the Civil War.
- Create a Google slides presentation with at least 8 slides, with 4 slides for each important person.
  - One slide must include a one-paragraph summary (5-8 sentences) for each person’s role and significance in the Civil War.
Write a journal entry pretending you are a soldier or a civilian in either the North or the South
- Provide a historically accurate date and location (for example: July 4, 1863 near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania)
- Include a paragraph describing the key events or battles of the war so far
- Include a paragraph describing your experiences as either a soldier or civilian during one of the battles described earlier (include facts and details related to the experience)
- Include a sketch that relates to something you wrote about in the journal

Creation Tools