Teaching the Causes of the American Civil War, 1850-1861

Michael E. Karpyn teaches history, economics and U.S. government at Marple Newtown Senior High School in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. He earned a BA in history from Gettysburg College, an MA in education from The Johns Hopkins University and an EdD in teaching, learning and curriculum from the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as a summer teacher fellow and sits on the Teacher Advisory Group for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

“Like all history, the Civil War ‘is never dead. It’s not even past.’ The authors in this volume highlight the many ways the Civil War continues to loom large in our national memory and offer thoughtful suggestions for how teachers might help their students critically examine the relationship between the past and present. As this volume persuasively argues—only by understanding our past can we collectively envision our future.”—Abby Reisman, University of Pennsylvania

• Images and Tables – Acknowledgments – Caroline R. Pryor/Erik Alexander/James Mitchell/Charlotte Johnson /Whitney Blankenship: Foreword – Michael E . Karpyn: Introduction – Kevin Caprice/Ricky Dale Mullins/David Hicks: Struggling to "Remember" the Causes of the American Civil War – David Childs: Slavery Was God’s Will: How Abolitionists Challenged Social and Theological Justifications for the Civil War – Emily D. Moses: Through the Heart: "Jim Brown" and the Murder of Dr. Walter Alves Norwood in Henderson County, Kentucky – John H. Bickford/Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz: A Historical Inquiry into John Brown and His Raiders – Elizabeth Barrow: 1860: The Election That Started the War – Bonnie Laughlin-Schultz: Facing Hard History: Confronting the Disconnect in Student Understanding of the Causes of the Civil War – Carly Muetterties/Ryan A. Lewis: Why Did the South Secede? Using Inquiry to Confront Contentious History – Kevin Caprice/Ricky Dale Mullins/David Hicks: Civil War Memories: Untangling the Long and Difficult History of the Causes of the Civil War – Gabriel A. Reich/Melanie L. Buffington/William R. Muth: Collective Memory of Secession: On Outbreaks and Moral Acts – S.G. Grant/Kathy Swan/John Lee: The Civil War and the Inquiry Design Model – Caroline R. Pryor/Charlotte Johnson/Whitney Blankenship/Amy Wilkinson: Resources for Classroom Teachers – Appendix: Teaching the Causes of the American Civil War Using Inquiry Design Model: Lesson Plans and Resources for Classroom Teachers – Contributors – Index.