The American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War, prepared by Bruce Catton, offers a wealth of pictorial material. A newer edition edited by James M. McPherson in 1966, The American Heritage New History of the Civil War, has new material and updated interpretive captions. There is also the American History Slide Collection of the Instructional Resources Corporation with 113 slides of sketches, engravings, and photographs of people, places, and events of the Civil War era. It is a superb collection. Leslie's Illustrated Civil War (1992) offers a facsimile printing of an 1894 volume of historic wood engravings from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. See also Roy Meredith, Mr. Lincoln's Camera Man: Mathew Brady (1946), and Captain A. J. Russell, Russell's Civil War Photographs (1982).

Feature-length films and teleplays often take liberties with historical reality as we know it, but they can, like fiction, reflect the times in which they were created and be stimulating to the discerning student. One of Hollywood's all-time favorites is Gone With the Wind (1939), directed by Victor Fleming. In that same year, John Ford directed Abe Lincoln in Illinois, based on Robert Sherwood's Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Another film, one that considers the moral issue facing a Quaker family in southern Indiana at the time of the Civil War, is Friendly Persuasion, directed by William Wyler and starring Gary Cooper. Glory (1989) is the story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, an all-black regiment (except for officers). The film portrays the regiment's many difficulties and its courageous and bloody assault on Fort Wagner, an impenetrable redoubt that was never taken. Glory was directed by Edward Zwick and stars Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick. A one-hour television treatment of The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry is also available from PBS Video. A 21/2-hour television drama directed by George C. Scott is Andersonville Trial, dealing with the trial of Captain Henry Wirz for conspiracy to kill the Union soldiers interned in his prison camp. One of John Huston's masterpieces is The Red Badge of Courage (1951), based on the novel by Stephen Crane. Students can be drawn into a discussion of the role the Civil War has played in American cultural life since 1865, and why our national memory remains so focused on the events of war. See David W. Blight, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory (2001).

The commencement of the war is the subject of Lincoln and the War Within (1992), a seventy-five-minute film dealing with the clash between Secretary of State Seward and President Lincoln over the direction of policy during the Fort Sumter crisis. Gettysburg, written and directed by Ronald F. Maxwell and based on the stirring novel Killer Angels (1974) by Michael Shaara, was released to much acclaim in 1993. More than four hours long, it offers breadth, perspective, and a gaggle of star actors, most of them semiobscured by facial hair.

In 1989 Ken Burns completed a nine-part video series on The Civil War that runs for more than eleven and a half hours. The episodes, which vary in length from sixty-two to ninety-nine minutes, run chronologically. When the series was shown on PBS in 1991, its visual and dramatic impact and the poetry of its style won wide acclaim. http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/war/Some criticism can be found in Robert Brent Toplin, editor, Ken Burns's Civil War: Historians Respond (1996). Several other videotapes of quality are available. PBS Video has two titles in The American Adventure Series, both thirty minutes long. A Frightful Conflict emphasizes military matters. The Home Fronts deals with the economic effects of the war, political problems on both sides, and the impact of the assassination of President Lincoln. A major undertaking from PBS is Lincoln, a series of four one-hour episodes, that starts with the Lincoln-Douglas debates and then concentrates on Lincoln's presidency and the nation's crisis. Other videos from Films for the Humanities and Sciences are Mr. Lincoln of Illinois (thirty minutes), a documentary portrait using period photographs, art, memorabilia, and commentary, and The Civil War (forty-two minutes), a synopsis of the events of the war. Two videos concerning specific battles from the same source are Antietam (fifty-six minutes) and The Battle of Glorieta Pass: Gettysburg of the West (twenty-eight minutes). The legal issues involved are briefly considered in The 13th Amendment: The Abolition of Slavery (ten minutes). Also, the American Heritage Media Collection offers a lengthy five-part series on the Civil War. It focuses on military issues.

A somewhat different and quite interesting resource is the American Heritage Century Collection of Civil War art, over 150 works of art and picture journalism in either sound-filmstrip or sound-and-slide format. Still another kind of source is represented by Jerry Silverman, Ballads and Songs of the Civil War.

Because the Civil War has made so deep and lasting a mark on the national psyche and because photography and popular magazines flourished in the 1850s, many nonprint resource materials are available. Instructors will do well to insist that students not get carried away but continue to ask for history that has a firm factual foundation and explanatory power. Pictures can mislead, and students must remain alert.
Document Set 15-1

The Road to Emancipation: Freedom as A War Aim

1. The Meaning of Civil War: An African-American View, 1862
2. Frederick Douglass Demands Emancipation, 1862
3. Christian Leaders Urge Emancipation, 1862
4. Horace Greeley Expresses Disappointment in Lincoln's Leadership, 1862
5. Abraham Lincoln on Emancipation, 1862
6. The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863
7. Lincoln Reviews His Policy, 1864The personality, career, and administration of Abraham Lincoln have always drawn the interest of students, who identify him with the abolition of slavery and the Civil War as a moral crusade. Consequently, many students will be surprised by the complexity of Lincoln's ideas on slavery and the cautiousness with which he proceeded toward emancipation. By focusing on the tension between his personal abhorrence of slavery and his public conduct, instructors may engage students in thoughtful exploration of the process of social and political change. Discussion of Lincoln's dilemma, including examination of his views on race, can provide an opportunity to establish past-present linkage by noting that the clash between moral zeal and political reality has surfaced in later generations as well. Students may be challenged to offer prescriptions for the moral person in an amoral environment.This discussion will force students to confront the realities of racism and political limitations as central to the situation that Lincoln faced. In the process they should gain an appreciation of Lincoln's position and an understanding of his policies. Careful review of the president's correspondence with Horace Greeley and Albert Hodges may also produce disagreement over the decisions that he made. These differences could be brought out by means of classroom debates in which teams of students are assigned to attack or defend the president's gradualism, using arguments developed through a careful reading of the assigned documents.Another issue addressed in several of the documents is the role played by African-Americans in the Union war effort. Relying on the text's coverage of the piecemeal steps taken to integrate blacks into the army, students should return to the evidence for insight into both black and white thinking on this question. Instructors might ask students to explore the relationship between the employment of African-American labor, union manpower needs, the use of African-American troops, and the Emancipation Proclamation. Moreover, it will be important for students to consider the broader, nonmilitary implications of freedom. The documents must be searched for evidence of goals beyond the granting of freedom. Instructors may encourage student analysis of these implications by asking about the major innovations in African-American political and social participation during Reconstruction.An important point brought out by these documents involves unanticipated consequences, as evidenced by Lincoln's acknowledgment that he had been controlled by events. Discussion of the evidence in this chapter should encourage students to understand not only the social/racial thought of Lincoln's generation but also the limits of power, as revealed in Lincoln's adjustment to the conditions and events unleashed by the forces of war.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 15-1


Herman Belz. Emancipation and Civil Rights (1978).

Ira Berlin, et al. Slaves No More: Three Essays on Emancipation and the Civil War (1992).

LaWanda Cox. Lincoln and Black Freedom (1981).

Eric Foner. Nothing but Freedom: Emancipation and Its Legacy (1983).

John Hope Franklin. The Emancipation Proclamation (1963).

Louis S. Gerteis. From Contraband to Freedman: Federal Policy Toward Southern Blacks, 1861-1865 (1973).

Leon Litwack. Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery (1979).

James M. McPherson. The Struggle for Equality: Abolitionists and the Negro in the Civil War and Reconstruction (1964).

Philip Shaw Paludan. The Presidency of Abraham Lincoln (1994).

Benjamin Quarles. Lincoln and the Negro (1962).

Hans L. Trefousse. Lincoln's Decision for Emancipation (1975).
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 15-1


Abraham Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation (film--20 min.). American Educational Films, P.O. Box 8188, Nashville, Tenn. 37207.

The Civil War: Anguish of Emancipation (film--28 min.). Learning Corporation of America, 711 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022.

1862--Forever Free, in Civil War Series (videotape--60 min.). PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698.

The Emancipation Proclamation (film--26 min.). McGraw-Hill Films, 674 Via de la Valle, P.O. Box 641, Del Mar, Calif. 92014.
Document Set 15-2

The Impact of Total War: War Powers Under The Constitution

1. A Humorist Looks at Lincoln's Opponents, 1863
2. Lincoln Justifies His Suspension of Habeas Corpus, 1861
3. Clement Vallandigham's Copperhead Dissent, 1863
4. New York Democrats Demand a Rule of Law, 1863
5. Lincoln's Defense of Executive Action, 1863
6. An Attack on Lincoln's Leadership, 1864The documents in this chapter afford instructors an excellent opportunity to establish continuity with the past through a discussion of war powers, as well as linkage with an important twentieth-century civil-liberties problem. Modern students may be reminded of the management of dissent in the turbulent 1960s, which will make the Lincoln administration's attempts to curb criticism a matter of interest. Given Lincoln's reputation for strong and effective executive leadership, students may find the intensity of Radical and Democratic dissatisfaction somewhat puzzling. The divergence between assessments at the time and modern evaluations provides an opening for fruitful discussion of wartime executive responsibility.Similarly, the reality of Civil War dissent enables instructors to capitalize on the text's broad coverage of the war's sweeping social impact. A complementary lecture on war as an impetus to social change should be valuable in setting the stage for classroom exploration of the Civil War as a test case. Instructors might initiate discussion of this problem by asking students why the problem of habeas corpus became an issue and why Lincoln extended the scope of suspension in 1863. As students examine his reasons, an appreciation of the demands of total war should develop.A valuable tool in this effort will be the "Lincoln Catechism," which, if read in conjunction with the excerpts from Clement Vallandigham's speech, will help students understand the president's precarious political situation. Equally helpful will be close examination of the New York resolutions and Lincoln's reaction to Democratic criticism of his action in the Vallandigham case. An effective approach to this topic would be a student assessment of Lincoln's situation, which instructors may encourage by assigning a brief prediscussion paper in support of or in opposition to the president's policy.Further insight on the impact of total war may be gained by studying the Supreme Court's action on the suspension of habeas corpus. Beginning with the text background on the Vallandigham and Milligan cases, students may be asked to explain the High Court's decisions. Examination of these cases will increase students' understanding of the problem of civil liberties under wartime pressure as well as the ongoing struggle between the executive and judicial branches of government.As students evaluate the arguments advanced by the president and his opponents, their critical faculties will be sharpened. Moreover, they will be introduced to the dilemmas of leadership responsibility as they assess Lincoln's limits on dissent and management of the political opposition. Linkage of words and context will result in better comprehension of war's centralizing tendencies.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 15-2


Jean A. Baker. Affairs of Party: The Political Culture of Northern Democrats in the Mid-Nineteenth Century (1983).

Iver Bernstein. The New York City Draft Riots: Their Significance for American Society and Politics in the Age of the Civil War (1990).

Adrian Cook. The Armies of the Streets: The New York City Draft Riots(1974).

J. Matthew Galman. The North Fights the Civil War: The Home Front (1994).

Harold Hyman. A More Perfect Union: The Impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on the Constitution (1973). See also Hyman, "War Powers in the Nineteenth Century: Abraham Lincoln and His Heirs." This Constitution (Winter 1985): 4-10.

Frank Klement. The Copperheads of the Midwest (1960).

------. Limits of Dissent: Clement Vallandigham and the Civil War (1970).

Mark Neely, Jr. The Fate of Liberty: Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties (1990).

James Rawley. The Politics of Union: Northern Politics During the Civil War (1974).

Joel Silbey. A Respectable Minority: The Democratic Party in the Civil War Era (1977).
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 15-2


The Civil War (audiotape--30 min.). Audiotape Program 12, Annenberg/CPB Project American History Series. Annenberg/CPB Project, 1111 16th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.

Ex Parte Milligan (sound recording). Supreme Court Cases Series. Educational Audio-Visual, Inc., Pleasantville, N.Y. 10570.

Homefront (During the Civil War) (film--30 min.). Westinghouse Learning Corporation, 100 Park Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017.

Lincoln: Politician or Hero? (film--25 min.). Films, Inc., 733 Green Bay Road, Wilmette, Ill. 60091.
Document Set 15-3

The Crucible of War: Life and Death as A Personal Experience

1. A Union Soldier's Opinion of the War, 1862
2. An Enlisted Man Describes Life in a Confederate Prison Camp, 1864
3. The Heat of Battle from the Southern Soldier's Perspective, 1862, 1863
4. Thomas Wentworth Higginson Assesses the Black Soldier, 1870
5. General Sherman Recalls the March Through Georgia, 1864
6. The Women's War
7. Photographic Images of War, 1863, 1865What unifies the documents is their emphasis on the war as an intensely personal affair. Instructors may wish to supplement the textbook material with a lecture stressing the sentimentalism, romanticism, and optimism present when war broke out in 1861. A follow-up discussion could explore student thoughts on the combat experience and/or their impressions of northern and southern assumptions about the prospects for a quick victory. At this point, the documents should be introduced as evidence of the gap between expectation and reality.This discussion should emphasize the private feelings and reactions to war of those who participated directly as soldiers, doctors, or nurses. As students analyze the responses of enlisted men to the carnage of combat, they might be asked to compare the thoughts of northerners and southerners to determine whether there are any universal aspects to soldiering. Student appreciation of the terrible death and destruction occasioned by the Civil War can be heightened by judicious use of selected segments of the Ken Burns's Civil War series, which goes directly to the profound impact of the war on individual participants. Of equal value are the Mathew Brady photographs that so vividly capture the horrors of war.The personal reactions and comments contained in the documents may also be used to explore the ways in which warfare had evolved by the 1860s. Students might be asked to define "modern" or "total" war as an introduction to this issue. The documents will provide evidence of the impact of modern warfare on those caught up in it. Discussion could explore casualties, deaths, mortality rates, medical care, prison facilities, and other topics covered in both text and documents.It is likely that at some point this discussion will turn to the war's justification. Here students may be challenged to explore such terms as patriotism, loyalty, duty, responsibility. and justice in warfare. Considerable debate may occur over the issue of the relationship between ends and means, as well as the causes for which so many fought and died. Instructors who are so inclined may establish past-present linkage by asking students to compare the Civil War to later wars, such as the world wars or the Vietnam War, in terms of relative justification. The result should be an increased awareness of the dangers, as well as the potential for learning, in such exercises in comparison.Still another topic that could be explored to emphasize the relevance of the Civil War experience to the lives of modern students would be the engagement of women and minorities in the conflict. Provocative topics for discussion might include the reasons for which blacks fought, the contributions to the war effort that were uniquely female, and the home-front experience. Students may be asked to probe the documents for evidence that might illuminate the special problems confronted by these traditional "outsiders." Emphasis could be placed on the events and experiences that seemed most important to people beyond the mainstream. This discussion will remind students of the truly transforming effect of the Civil War and its meaning for the generations that followed.

Recommended Readings for Document Set 15-3


Michael Barton. Good Men: The Character of Civil War Soldiers (1981).

Catherine Clinton and Nina Silber, eds. Divided Houses: Gender and the Civil War (1992).

Dudley Cornish. The Sable Arm: Negro Troops in the Union Army (1956).

Joseph T. Glatthaar. Forged in Battle: The Civil War Alliance of Black and White Officers (1990).

Gerald E. Linderman. Embattled Courage: The Experience of Combat in the American Civil War (1987).

Reid Mitchell. Civil War Soldiers: Their Expectations and Their Experiences (1988).

James McPherson. For Causes and Comrades: Why Men Fought the Civil War (1997).

Stephen B. Oates. A Woman of Valor: Clara Barton and the Civil War (1994).

Bell Irvin Wiley. The Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union (1952).

------. The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy (1943).
Audiovisual Resources for Document Set 15-3


American History Slide Collection, Group D. Instructional Resources Corporation, 1819 Bay Ridge Avenue, Annapolis, Md. 21403.

Civil War Series, especially Programs 4, 5, 6, 8 (videotape--60 min. each). PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698.

The Massachusetts 54th Colored Infantry, American Experience Series (videotape--60 min.). PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, Va. 22314-1698.

The True Story of the Civil War (film--33 min.). McGraw-Hill Films, 674 Via de la Valle, P.O. Box 641, Del Mar, Calif. 92014.

We Bring the Jubilee (audiotape--30 min.). Audiotape 13, Annenberg/CPB Project American History Series. Annenberg/CPB Project, 1111 16th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.