Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits

Introduction

...Shelby Foote then adds, "and it was a hell of a crossroads," to his oft-quoted description of the Civil War. It took more lives than all other American wars combined. It happened at 10,000 locations across the nation. It ushered in more change than any other event from Lexington and Concord to 9/11. It left hundreds of silent artillery pieces guarded by thousands of bronze statues scattered across the land. It has been the subject of more books than any other topic in U.S. History. It still haunts the murky waters of our harbors and the back roads of our mountains. It still triggers boycotts and lawsuits. Yet, no central, definitive monument or memorial exists to this most searing event in all of U.S. History. Imagine that that is about to change...

The President has decided that a Civil War memorial will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Secretly, he has called you together as young historians and architects to design a Civil War Memorial for the 21st Century. In his next State of the Union Message he want to unveil a dramatic blueprint that will receive widespread support. He needs a vision that will transcend century-old hatred and bitterness. He needs a vision that will speak to what those who fought the war and lived through it believed it should mean. He needs a design that will convey and commemorate the importance of this 19th Century event to 21st Century Americans. NB If you can't find enough common ground, you may have to design a memorial that tells several stories.

Using your knowledge of the Civil War, research primary sources from the 1860s in search of a common vision for what the war should mean and artifacts that would convey such a vision. Then, research past Civil War memorials and current monuments (Vietnam, FDR, Oklahoma, etc) for effective ways that events have been commemorated. Finally, design a Civil War memorial for the 21st Century. Your final product will include a blueprint, an artist's model or rendering, a detailed description, and a 300-500 word argument for why your design best captures the meaning of the Civil War in a way that will receive  overwhelming support. Each group will also make a brief presentation to the class which will be followed by a class vote on the best design.

1. Choose roles from the list below (I will assign you to a group of five):

A. Group Leader/Presenter (Responsible for "A" data sheets; motivates, organizes; presents final product.)

B. Artist/Designer ("B" data sheets; produces model or artist's rendering.)

C. Draftsman/Designer ("C" data sheets; produces blueprint.)

D. Technical Writer ("D" data sheets; produces detailed description.)

E. Persuasive Writer ("E" data sheets; writes persuasive essay.)

2. Research primary sources on the internet (starting with suggested websites) to find out why Americans said they were fighting, how they felt about the war, and what they hoped the war would mean. Fill out appropriate data collection sheets. Print out and highlight especially good examples.  Either keep your findings on a hard copy or type them on the Primary Sources worksheet

A. Lincoln, Davis, and other top elected officials. Abraham Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address

B. Northern officers and soldiers. http://www.jayandmolly.com/ballouletter.shtml

C. Southern officers and soldiers. Letters from Augusta County, Virginia

D. Women of the time and noncombatants. http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/women/cwdocs.html#diaries

E. African Americans, both slave and free. http://vi.uh.edu/pages/mintz/35.htm

3. Locate Civil War artifacts that might be useful in your design of a Civil War memorial.  Fill out appropriate data collection sheets.  Print out and highlight especially good resources.   Either keep your findings on a hard copy or type them on the Artifact worksheet.

A. Photographs, paintings, drawings, etc. http://www.multimedialibrary.com/FramesML/index.html

B. Sculpture. http://www.famousuus.com/bios/robert_gould_shaw.htm

C. Poetry, prose, songs, etc. http://www.bartleby.com/142/110.html

D. Official documents, maps, casualty lists, etc. http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/

E. Military artifacts; i.e. artillery, guns, ships, etc. http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/

4. Study examples of Civil War monuments and other memorials to get ideas about what has been done in the past.  Fill out appropriate data collection sheets.  Print out and highlight especially good resources.   Either keep your findings on a hard copy or type them on the Monuments worksheet.

A. Civil War Memorials. http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/cemeteries.htm

B. Other war memorials, esp. Vietnam and WWII. http://thewall-usa.com/

C. Recent Memorials, esp. Oklahoma City and FDR. http://www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/

D. The "Great Man" Model, esp. Lincoln. http://www.nps.gov/linc/

E. Other memorials, esp. Civil Rights, Holocaust Museum, etc. http://www.mlkmemorial.org/

5. Individually, sketch ideas based on your research.  Fill out the sketch paper in your data collection packet.

6. Meet as a group. Share your individual ideas. Come up with a joint proposal that will be the basis for your group's project.

7. Produce the blueprint, artist's rendering, detailed description, and persuasive argument.

8. Present your proposal to the class.

This project is worth a total of 200 pts. Even though you are working in a group, each student will receive an individual score.

Student Name:

Final Grade ___

(1-Unsatisfactory; 2-Poor; 3-Satisfactory; 4-Good; 5-Excellent.)

Part A: Data Collection Sheets (75 pts.)

Primary Sources:    ____ x 3 =____

Artifacts:              ____ x 3 =____

Monuments:          ____ x 3 =____

Preliminary Sketch: ____x 6 =____

Part B: Meeting/Finalized Design (50 pts.)

Meeting:               ____x 5 =____

Final Design:         ____x 5 =____

Part C: Presentations/FinalProduct (75 pts.)

                           ____x 15 =____
 

Even these many years later, the Civil War resonates with importance. Your effort to design and describe a memorial that captures the meaning of the war for 21st Century Americans will hopefully have highlighted the deep divisions that existed then and to some extent still exist today in the American people. By understanding these different interpretations you will have gone a long ways toward bridging them.
 
 

1. Brady, Matthew. "Confederate Prisoners at Gettysburg."Available from multimedialibrary.com.

2. Foote, Shelby. Civil War quotation taken from Ken Burns Civil War Series, tape 1.

3. Special thanks to Mr. Berard's A.P. U.S. History students who suggested several of the websites used in this project.