Sometimes, well pretty frequently, students in this social science class analyze old documents (or photos or cartoons) in order to figure out the answer to a big question. One of the old political cartoons we analyzed recently was this one of a terrible attack that took place in Congress in 1856.
This shows how angry people were because of their different views on slavery.
Our class wanted to find out what existential threats increased conflict and brought on our Civil War of 1861. After students read, discussed, and answered questions about each document, they had to decide which documents fit into major categories of existential threats. The seven categories, or buckets, were: speeches and debates, legislation, abolitionism, literature and writing, violence and terrorism, court decisions, and elections. We used plastic cups to represent buckets, or categories and we wrote the document title, or issue, on strips of paper. Finally, student groups tried to decide which documents fit into each bucket. Watch our short video to see and hear what that part of our lesson was like.
Hello, Thanks for creating such a great article that was a big pleasure to read. I remembered/learned of the terrible attack on congress that you did a DBQ about, and that you also use buckets to organize the documents, much more than us [2016/2017 classes] as a matter of fact. Was it interesting to learn about that particular topic, or very boring?
Once again, We express gratitude for making that post.
Kat, You like a challenge and to look at many sides of an issue, so you’ll like that DBQ. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts about it in class next year.
First of all, thank you for posting this article. I never knew that Congress was attacked in 1856, or what the seven categories of existential threats were. One question though, what documents did you study?
Caleb, I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but I think you’ll really be interested in the documents that we use with this DBQ. Look up Frederick Douglass’ Fourth of July speech. He was pretty bold to say those things, but has been remembered for saying those words for many years.
Hello, Thanks for making such a cool article to read because it was extremely interesting. I learned of the terrible attack on congress that you did a DBQ about, and that you also use buckets to organize the documents, much more than us as a matter of fact. Was it interesting to learn about that particular topic, or very tiring?
Leland, The violent attack in Congress was just one cause of the Civil War. I think you’ll find that there were many more fascinating and complicated reasons that the war began.
Thank you for sharing this article. I learned that threats started the Civil War and how these documents would be categorized in 7 different documents. Was this unit more difficult than the Sugar Trade?
Zack, I think you will find that since you worked so hard on the DBQ called What Drove the Sugar Trade, you will feel confident as you attack the question about the causes of the Civil War.
I really liked the creative title and academic language. I wasn’t aware that there were so many categories for reasons for the start of the Civil War. My only question is what did you find the main cause for the Civil War was? Great article!
Abby, That’s a good question. This was a DBQ project, so students could decide which reason most caused the Civil War as long as they supported their claims with evidence. The group in the video seemed to be spending lots of time discussing speeches and debates as a main cause of the war.