As you take yourself back into one of America's most significant events in its history, you will keep a journal or diary of what occurs in your life and the lives of others. This journal will be extremely detailed so that future generations would know exactly what happened to you while you were experiencing the Civil War. This journal should begin before the Civil War and continue on through the events of the war. It will end with where you are and what has happened to you and the nation post-war. When your ancestors read your journal, they should be able to comprehend the obstacles you overcame to get to where you are now and how difficult this time period was in your life.
You should have at least 6 journal entries, and there must be at minimum 2 entries per time period (before, during, and after the war). You will organize these journal entries into a diary.
Journal Entries should be at least 1 paragraph each. They may be hand written or typed.
1. Identity
Choose one from the seven identities listed below in order to create your personal journal:
1. Union Soldier:
-Around 18 years of age
-Recently enlisted in the military along with your father
-Leaving behind your mother and two sisters
-Your dream was to attend further schooling in the fall
2. Confederate Soldier:
-Around 18 years of age
-Enlisted in the military with your brothers
-You have an engagement to be married next spring, but are now not quite sure what is to come
3. Former Slave:
-Escaped the slavery of the South using the Underground Railroad as an 17 year old
-Former owner has a warrant out for your arrest
-Now living in Chicago, you are debating joining the Union Army when you hear about Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation
4. Southern Belle:
-Around the age of 16
-Your fiance and brothers have just gone off to war
-You are left at home to manage the plantation
5. Son of a Southern Politician:
-Around the age of 16
-Father is a wealthy politician in South Carolina who is pro-secession
-You have friends that are slaves on a neighboring cotton plantation that your family is unaware of
-Your views are very mixed and this time is very confusing for you
2. Collaboration
You will first be divided into groups based on the identity you have chosen. You will work with those who have chosen the same identity as you in order to collaborate ideas and information. You will not, however, be working in groups to write your journal. The journal is an independent project and will be created individually.
3. Mini Biography
The first page of your journal will be a description of your character. What is your name? Where do you live? Describe your family and home life. What are your hopes and dreams? Fears? This would be a great place to include a picture of yourself.
4. Research/Resources
You must use primary sources as the base for your research. This can include, but is not limited to, primary source documents, diary and journal entries, news articles, and images.
You are allowed to use a variety of resources; however, this is a WebQuest and I am requiring that you use at least five (5) websites in your research. I have created a list of reliable web sites for you to use.
You must include a list of resources you used to write your essay. This is called a Bibliography. You must include every source you visited in your research (not just the websites below, but the specific pages, letters, pictures, etc.)
Civil War Journal
Websites
Websites
1. For Diaries, Letters, and
Stories and Recollections use
2. For Battlefields, Cemetaries,
and Forts use
3. For Maps, Images, and Art
use
4. For Museums, Plantations, and
Antebellum Homes and Tours use
5. For African-Americans, Slavery,
and Abolition use
6. For Facts about States in the
Civil War use
7. For Women in the Civil War
use
8. For Flags of the Civil War,
Naval and Maritime Information, and Uniforms and Dress use
9. For Medicine during the Civil
War use
10. For Selected Civil War
Photographs use
