Tasks:
- Begin class by looking at different Civil War photographs.
- What is the photograph's subject?
- What do the photographs tell us about war?
- Analysis of Lincoln's 2nd Inaugural Address in small groups.
- Contextualize the speech by identifying the events that led Lincoln to this moment:
- Won election 1864
- General Grant takes command of Union Army and decides on war of attrition
- 13th Amendment abolishing slavery has passed Congress
- Discuss contents of his speech:
- What is Lincoln's tone?
- How does Lincoln attempt to restore the Union?
- Return together as whole class to brainstorm how to answer the question: How do Lincoln's speeches reflect the changing goals and course of the war?
- To write this reflection, you will want to keep a few things in mind:
- Your writing should reflect not only what changed in Lincoln, but why it changed.
- For example, in his First Inaugural Address, Lincoln claims he will not touch slavery where it existed, but by his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln used the phrase "were slaves" (line 20). A writer should identify not only what changed (Lincoln's stance on slavery), but why it changed (events of the war allowed him to take a different stance on the issue).
- Your writing should make an argument about Lincoln's change:
- Was the change you see in Lincoln from the first to last document radical? Slow? Progressive? Cautious?
- Your writing should be four paragraphs in length (introductory paragraph, two body paragraphs, conclusion).
- Introduction paragraph should contextualize the war, and provide a thesis that addresses the question.
- Body paragraphs should expand upon the thesis to support the change you are arguing. Possible topics to explore are Lincoln's stance on:
- Slavery
- Goal of the war
- Course of the war
- Lincoln's stance toward the South
- Conclusion
