Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty

Bolden, Tonya. Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln and the Dawn of Liberty. Abrams, 2012. 120pp. Lexile 1160.

In Robert Frost’s poem, “Directive,” he speaks of the past as a time “made simple by the loss of detail.”  Here Tonya Bolden examines details about Abraham Lincoln and his views on slavery, creating a picture that is far from simple.  While most people assume Lincoln was always adamantly against slavery, Bolden shows that his public stance shifted over time.  His main focus during the Civil War was to reunite the nation, even if it meant delaying the end of slavery, an attitude that infuriated abolitionists.  This fine book provides context about the war and what led up to it. The thoughtful narrative brims over with quotes from primary sources and scholars. It offers numerous visuals from photographs to documents with long captions that add information, and wraps up with a timeline, glossary, index, and bibliography.

Reading Std #9 for grades 6-8: Compare/contrast texts on similar themes or topics. Have students compare this to any more traditional biography of Lincoln, contrasting how the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln’s views on slavery are portrayed.

Reading Std #6: Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text. Bolden opens and closes the book using a first person plural narrative voice of abolitionists, black and white, who weren’t sure Lincoln would actually issue the proclamation.  The rest of the book is a traditional third-person point of view.  Have students analyze the use of these two points of view and the purposes they serve.

Photo by Brady: A Picture of the Civil War

Armstrong, Jennifer. Photo by Brady: A Picture of the Civil War. 2005. 147pp. Lexile 1200.

Mathew Brady, a successful photographer known for his photographs of Lincoln, documented the Civil War in a way no previous war had been recorded.  Armstrong's narrative gives an overview of the war in vivid terms, with an emphasis on the photographs, how they were taken, and their effect. She incorporates dozens of photographs from his studio as she describes how Brady sent his photographers out to record battles.  Brady's exhibit of “The Dead of Antietam” in New York City in 1862 gave the public their first photographic view of the dead and wounded, a shock to those who attended. The New York Times described it as bringing “home to us the terrible reality” of the war.  Armstrong makes a case for the idea that Brady’s images caused a major shift in attitudes towards the war.  Notes, bibliography, index.

Reading Std #8: Delineate and evaluate argument and specific claims in a text, assessing reasoning & evidence.  Have students evaluate Armstrong’s assertion that the photographs changed attitudes towards the war.  Students could compare this book and its photographs with books about wars that preceded photography such as Jim Murphy’s A Young Patriot: The American Revolution as Experienced by One Boy, which is illustrated with etchings and other similar artwork.

The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War

Murphy, Jim. The Boys' War: Confederate and Union Soldiers Talk About the Civil War. 1990. Lexile 1060.
 
At the start of the Civil War, both armies had rules against younger teens enlisting; the Union age limit was eighteen. But in an era before ID cards, many boys in their early and mid teens either looked old enough or talked their way in.  This chronological account of such young enlistees, with many quotes from diaries and letters home, tells a lot about life for any soldier during the war. It opens with enlistment, training--such as it was--and the scramble to get uniforms.  It goes through their shocking first encounters with battle and violent death, and their struggles to get enough food and shelter. One chapter focuses on drummers, a role for the youngest soldiers. The narrative wraps up with the horrible illnesses and injuries young soldiers experienced, the brutality of prisoner-of-war camps, and finally the return home for those who survived. The young soldiers' own voices give a great feeling of immediacy as do the black-and-white photographs.  Bibliography and index.

Web Tie-in:  While Murphy includes a handful of photographic portraits of young soldiers, most of the photos are group shots or landscapes. To see more photos of young soldiers, consult the Library of Congress's remarkable collection, Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs at  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/lilj/project.  Searching by the word "young" brings results that include teenage soldiers.

Fields of Fury: The American Civil War

McPherson, James M. Fields of Fury: The American Civil War. 2002. 96pp. Lexile 970.

Straightforward writing, short chapters, and many illustrations make this an accessible chronological overview of the Civil War by a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian.  Each double-page spread has a full-page picture on the right-hand size.  The left side has text, a small sidebar of interesting facts, and two smaller pictures.  The endpapers provide a detailed time line and a map before the first chapter lays out the Union, Confederate, and border states; capitols; important rivers; and sites of key battles with their dates.  McPherson does an excellent job of providing an introduction without overwhelming the reader.  Many chapters focus on battles while others look at topics like the role of women; medical care; and families divided by the war.  An extensive glossary defines many military terms useful for studying any war.  Back matter also includes a bibliography; a list of Civil War websites; and an index.

Web Tie-ins:  The internet is rich with materials about the Civil War including photographs, other illustrations, speeches, maps, etc.  The American Memory Project at Library of Congress gives access to many materials in their collection (www.memory.loc.gov).  A site related to LSU that has hundreds of links to other websites, some better than others, is the Index of Civil War Information Available on the Internet (http://www.civilwarhome.com/indexcivilwarinfo.htm).  A link at the top of the home page for this site discusses evaluating websites.

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

 Swanson, James L. Chasing Lincoln's Killer. 2009. 208pp. Lexile 980.

This suspenseful narrative moves between the manhunt in the countryside for John Wilkes Booth after he shot President Lincoln and what was happening back in Washington, D.C. with those shot and others involved in the crime.  Told in great detail in a lively manner, the fast-paced account looks at the plan, execution, and aftermath of the assassination.  Readers get a strong sense of why Booth did it and learn about his lesser-known co-conspirators.  Photographs and other artifacts from the time, an attractive book design, a map, and a list of the “major participants” add to the whole, although the book lacks documentation and an index.

Reading Std #8: Delineate and evaluate argument and specific claims in a text, assessing reasoning and evidence.   Have students consider the issue of documentation.  Although the author states that all material in quotations is from original sources, is that sufficient to create a convincing argument?  Are there kinds of informational books that don't require documentation?  If so, is this one of them?

Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley

Walker, Sally M. Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley. 2005. 112pp. Lexile 1060.

The Civil War submarine, The Hunley, was sunk in Charleston, SC, harbor in 1863.  Despite many attempts (including a $100,000 reward offered by P.T. Barnum), it wasn’t found again until 1994. In this exemplary nonfiction book, Walker combines the two fascinating stories: the historical information about the civil war submarine and the its excavation and reconstruction.  The history discusses how the sub was built and its role in the war.  The excavation, presented in ample detail, included forensic reconstruction of eight of the crew members and historical research into who they were, based in part on artifacts found.  This combination of history, engineering, archaeology, and forensics makes for excellent reading.  Walker presents questions for the reader to consider, some of which are answered and others still remaining.  The writing is excellent, the visuals add a lot, and the topic will appeal to many readers, even those not usually interested in history or engineering. Winner of the Sibert Award.

Reading Std #5: Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and/or larger portions of the text relate to each other and the whole.  Walker alternates discussion of the modern day excavation of the Hunley with how it was built and used during the Civil War.  Analyze how alternating the information contributes to the whole and the development of ideas.