Unit 4: Slavery, the Legacy of the Civil War, and the Struggle for Civil Rights for All

We recommend that teachers new to Investigating History review the Curriculum Guidebook before preparing to teach their first unit.

Cluster 1: The Abolitionist Movement (Lessons 1-4)
How did the abolitionist movement work to create a “more perfect union?” 

Lesson 1: North and South: Union and Division before the Civil War

Lessons 2-4: Inquiry Cycle: How Did the Abolitionist Movement Work to Create a “More Perfect Union?”

Cluster 2: The Civil War (Lessons 5-9)
Why did the Union’s goals change during the first two years of the Civil War?

Lesson 5:  The Republican Party and Slavery

Lesson 6:  Election and Secession: The Start of the Civil War

Lesson 7: African Americans and the Civil War

Lesson 8: The Union’s Goals Shift

Lesson 9: The Gettysburg Address: Fighting for a “More Perfect Union"

Cluster 3: Progress and Backlash After the Civil War (Lessons 10-15)
How were civil rights for African Americans expanded, protected and  challenged after the Civil War? 

Lesson 10: The Promise of the Union’s Victory

Lesson 11: Expanding and Protecting African American Civil Rights 

Lesson 12: Economic Freedom and the Realities of Sharecropping 

Lesson 13: The Jim Crow Era: Is Separate Really Equal?

Lesson 14: Support and Unity in the Black Community during the Jim Crow South 

Lesson 15: The NAACP: Organizing Black Resistance 

Cluster 4: The Making of the Civil Rights Movement (Lessons 16-20)
Why and how did activists take action to advance civil rights for all in the 20th century?

Lesson 16: The Civil Rights Movement: Why the 1950s?

Lesson 17: Key Strategies of the Civil Rights Movement

Lesson 18: The Children’s March

Lesson 19: Casting a Vote

Lesson 20: Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement

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