The American Civil War Era Essay

  Final Essay Prompt The Civil War left a lasting impact on the United States, shaping the next several decades for the country. In this course, you've learned how the course of the war, important battles, and the plans for reconstruction after the war ended. Write two separate 2000 to 3000-word essays based on two of the prompts below. 1. President Lincoln was assassinated before his plans for reconstruction were realized. Considering his goals for reconstruction, do you think he would have considered the Reconstruction Period a success or a failure? Speculate on how Lincoln might have planned and carried out the reconstruction differently from how it actually happened. 2. Imagine that the Southern states had succeeded in seceding from the Union. How would the Confederacy have fared as an independent nation? How would success have affected their relationship with the North as westward expansion continued? How would the Confederacy have established international relationships? Consider the resources they had as a country, their economy, and the policies of Jefferson Davis and his government. 3. The effects of the Civil War didn't cease with the end of the Reconstruction Period. Connect and consider how the changes during the Reconstruction era affected the efforts for equality in the U.S. through the Civil Rights era to the present. 4. While the Civil War had an indelible mark on U.S. history, the resolution of the war had consequences for many other foreign nations that were dealing with the issues of slavery and expansion. Assess how the end of the Civil War affected the global slave trade and the prominent powers in Europe. 5. It is believed that Abraham Lincoln referred to Harriet Beecher Stowe as 'the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.' Consider Lincoln's assessment of Harriet Beecher Stowe and analyze the effect of Uncle Tom's Cabin on the events that led to the war. Defend or criticize Lincoln's statement and support your position. 6. Compare the backgrounds, political experiences, and leadership styles of President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Evaluate their styles for strengths and weaknesses, and explain how those styles contributed to each man's successes and failures during their respective presidencies. Using Sources You may refer to the course material for supporting evidence, but you must also use at least five credible, outside sources and cite them using APA format. Please include a mix of both primary and secondary sources, with at least two sources from a scholarly peer-reviewed journal. Please include any Study.com lessons you used as sources (including the lesson title and instructor's name). ● Primary sources are first-hand accounts of historical events, such as speeches, recorded interviews, diary entries, articles from the time period, letters, and documents such as census records. ● Secondary sources must be from reputable, peer-reviewed sources. At least two of your secondary sources must be articles from peer-reviewed scholarly journals such as the American Historical Association and Journal of American History . Websites must have .edu, .org, .gov in the domain. Wikipedia is not considered a reputable source, although the sources listed in Wikipedia articles may be acceptable.

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