Annotated Bibliography on Civil War

My annotated bibliography is focused on the Civil War in the United States which occurred from 1861-1865. Multiple areas are covered including states right vs. federal rights and succession, slavery, the difference between an agrarian society and an industrialized society, as well as the battles that occurred during the Civil War and the results of these battles.

Section 1 - Picture Books

1. Collier, C. and Collier, J. ( 2000) Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War 1831-1861 New York: Benchmark Books

This book discusses the important events regarding slavery that occurred from 1831 until 1861 that led the United States into civil war. Initially, this book discusses the slave trade and what it meant to the United States. They cover how the slave trade was put to a stop, and then move onto the Slavery itself in the South. They discuss the battle over new states trying to gain admission into the Union, and the debates over whether or not they should be free or slave states.

This book will be used on day 11 to help the students with research for their Civil War. This book will be a great tool to help explain to the students part of what led up to the Civil War. It will also help the students see what the political conflict was that was occurring within the United States leading up to 1861. They can use this information to base their ideas off of for their paper.

2. Drury, I. and Gibbons, T. (1993) New York: Dragon's World LTD.

This book initially begins with a discussion of the weapons used in the Civil War. There are multiple pictures of these weapons and descriptions of how and when these were used. The book then moves onto the different modes of transportation used between trains, and discusses the South's lack of industrial capabilities. Finally, the book wraps up with a discussion of the different naval vessels used by the Union and the Confederates.

This book will be used to help my students with research on day 11. They will use the information that they can gather from the book to help formulate their decisions about the state and their involvement in the war. This book will help the students gain knowledge about what was used to help win the war for the North, and what was done in the Southern states.

3. Edwards, P. (1997) Barefoot: Escape on the Underground Railroad New York: HarperCollins Children's Books.

This story is a Point of View story of a boy named Barefoot who is an escaped slave. He is attempting to find the Underground Railroad, but is unable to locate it. He knows that his owner is on his trail, and is out to get him. He knows that he will soon be captured if he does not find the Underground Railroad.

This book will be used on day 2 for my introduction on the Civil War about slavery and the divisions between the North and South. I will be reading this story to the students in order to have them gain an understanding about the atrocities of being a slave and having to run to freedom. I think that it will really help the students to put themselves in the shoes of an escaped slave and understand the terror and horror an escaped slave would have felt.

4. Johnson, C. and McLaughlin, M. (1977) Civil War Battles. New York: Fairfax Press.

This book covers 12 of the major battles of the American Civil War. It also covers several different strategies used by both the North and the South. There are many pictures that depict the different battles and struggles that occurred from 1861-1865. Johnson and McLaughlin spend a considerable amount of time in this book discussing different letters written by soldiers to their wives or family about what was happening during the Civil War, and connecting them to the battles which occurred. Johnson and McLaughlin use several actual images from the war including posters, flags and advertisements from the civil war period.

This book connects to day 11 of my Unit Plan where the students will be working on the Civil War Papers. I will have students doing research for a paper that they will be writing about another state. They will be able to choose from multiple books in order to help form their opinions about the state which they choose. This book does a great job breaking down the battles and what state they occurred in, and will be important in helping students develop ideas about the state which they choose.

5. Nardo, D. (2008) The Civil War. Farmington Hills, MI: Lucent Books

This book provides a step by step breakdown of the political climate just before the Civil War, and then goes onto explain the major battles of the war. Within the battles, Nardo uses multiple examples from different types of interviews as well as written letters. Nardo also offers a very detailed timeline which shows many major occurrences of the war. The pictures shown are often very graphic and really do encapsulate part of war.

The book will be used in my unit plan on day 11 to help students do their in-class research for the Civil War Paper they will be required to write. It will be very helpful for the students to have an idea of what happened before the civil war as well as what happened during the civil war. Being able to use this information as a source of facts for this paper will be a way that the students can mold their opinions about the civil war, state's rights and slavery

6. Ray, D. (1991) Behind the Blue and Gray New York: Penguin Group.

The main focus for this book is on what life would be like for a soldier in the American Civil War. The book discusses more strange issues such as the mismatch of uniforms between Confederate soldiers and Union soldiers. There is a discussion of the problems that the two sides sharing the same colors caused during battles. The book then goes onto discuss issues such as the treatment of prisoners in both Union and Confederate prisons. Finally the book ends with a discussion of what it was really like for soldiers who returned home from war. Ray discusses how many returned home to find their crops failing; their homes looted and potentially even their family dead.

This book will be used in my unit plan on day 11 to help students do their in-class research for the Civil War Paper they will be required to write. This information will add a real human aspect to this paper which they are required to