Curriculum
From Sectionalism to Secession Unit Docs
Unit Guide, Unit Storyboard, Lesson Calendar; Brief Answers for Teachers
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson One
Unit Launch & Missouri Compromise (Q1)
Students review the unit storyboard and unit guide, and learn the story of the Missouri Compromise. They check their understanding by writing “Because – But – So” sentences.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Two
What did white people in Virginia think about Nat Turner's Rebellion? (Q2)
Students learn the story of Nat Turner’s rebellion, then interpret a letter to a Richmond newspaper written by a white person who lived in the county where it took place.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Three
The Compromise of 1850 (Q1)
Students learn the story of the Compromise of 1850, and tell the story back in a four-box storyboard.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Four
Frederick Douglass Fourth of July Speech (Q2)
Students interpret a famous 1852 speech by Black abolitionist Frederick Douglass: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Five
Harriet Beecher Stowe (Q2)
Students interpret an excerpt from the final chapter of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Six
Anthony Burns and Personal Liberty Laws (Q1)
Students learn the story of Anthony Burns, whose escape from slavery and recapture inspired Northern “personal liberty laws.” They tell the story back with a four-box storyboard.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Seven
The Story of "Bleeding Kansas" (Q1)
Students learn the story of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the resulting violence, and check their understanding by writing a four-sentence story.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Eight
James Henry Hammond's "Mud-sill" Speech (Q2)
Students interpret an infamous 1858 speech by South Carolina Senator James Henry Hammond, who argues that the slave system of the South is superior to the free labor system of the North.
Unit Eight Lesson Nine
Two Men Who Shaped the Nation: Dred Scott and John Brown (Q1)
Students learn the stories of Dred Scott and John Brown, and check their understanding by writing “Because – But – So” Sentences.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Ten
The Election of 1860 (Q1)
Students learn the story of the sectional election of 1860, and check their understanding by writing a 4-sentence story.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Eleven
South Carolina Justifies Secession (Q2)
Students interpret an excerpt from the official declaration the State of South Carolina issued explaining why they were seceding from the Union.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Twelve
Why did sectional compromise fail in 1860, but not before then? (Q3)
Students use a series of documents to identify three factors that explain why the United States broke the pattern of compromising over slavery in 1860.
From Sectionalism to Secession Lesson Thirteen
Under What Conditions is Secession Justified? (Q4)
Students examine the South Carolina secessionists’ claim that they were like the American revolutionaries of 1776, and consider what conditions might justify secession.