EDMES Grade Five Learning Tree

 The American Civil War

People Who Made a Difference

In the years leading up to the Civil War, there was much unrest in our nation.  The beliefs and practices of the Northern and Southern states were becoming more and more different.

Abe Lincoln ran against Stephen Douglas in the 1858 Illinois Senate race.  Although Abe lost that race, he became well known for his debates and he went on to run against the same man for President just two years later.  Abe's win was so unsettling to southerners, that eleven slave states seceded from the Union and formed their own government called the Confederacy.  They elected Jefferson Davis as their president.

Just imagine if 25 of our 50 states became so unhappy with their president that they seceded and formed a new country of their own.  

More than 600,000 Americans died in the Civil War; that's more than in any other war in history.  the Confederate defeat to the Union led to the end of slavery and restored the country as one nation.  Much of the South was destroyed during the four year war. 

This web site is dedicated to the brave men and women who fought for what they believed in and made a difference in the history of our great nation.  Be sure to read about Clara Barton's will to improve schools and Harriet Tubman's fearless travels that helped free slaves. 

Picture a time when photography was a difficult process requiring hours of labor to snap and develop a single picture.  Young Matthew Brady, an upcoming photographer, spent years on the battlefields documenting with his camera.  It's thanks to him that we have photos today to view Civil War scenes.

Consider writing a page about a Civil War leader, or invention to add to this site.  Just do a little research, write a few paragraphs and e-mail it to me or give it to your teacher (maybe she'll give you extra credit).  Look on the credits page if you need help finding websites for your research, there's a list there of every site I visited while making this site.

After you've looked around the site, see how you do on these Civil War Quizzes.