John Stewart’s The Daily Show on Comedy Central recently aired a clip about Obama’s “Team of Rivals.” Many compare this move to the team of rivals Lincoln created during his administration. While the clip may not have as much information as other resources, it certainly is a creative and comical way to introduce the topic to students in the high school grade levels.

Yesterday at a teacher training workshop at the Lincoln Cottage in Washington, I discussed Abraham Lincoln’s use of war powers and his approach to civil liberties with a group of K-12 colleagues from the DC and northern Virginia area. We had an excellent exchange at a forum hosted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and funded by the NEH. They still have spaces available for qualified teachers who would like to participate. The program offers a monthly series of workshops on topics related to teaching Lincoln and his legacy. Teachers who prepare related lesson plans receive stipends. For more information, contact Scott Ackerman at Scott_Ackerman@nthp.org. Also, if you’re interested in the question of Lincoln’s approach to civil liberties, we have posted an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Mark Neely in the House Divided video channel that offers a thoughtful assessment of Lincoln’s civil liberties record.

A House Divided has a great clip on the Video Channel of Kate Clifford Larson and her book Bound for the Promised Land.  In this clip, Larson explains one of the many myths that surrounds the story of Harriet Tubman.

PBS did a four part series on slavery in America with supplemental narratives and teacher’s guides online.  One of the parts is Judgement Day focusing on 1831-1865.  The segment of the narrative about the Underground Railroad mentions several people that can be found on House Divided.

The issue of civil liberties during wartime is as crucial today as it was during the Civil War. The detention of suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay prison has led to endless debate and confusing equivocation regarding the rights of detainees and civil liberties during war time. The confusion is nothing new. Curbing civil liberties during war time is something the United States experienced not only in the Civil War, but also in World Wars One and Two. Is the introduction of internal securities measures curbing civil liberties ever justified? Is it necessary? Civil War historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Mark Neely took some time to answer these questions for the House Divided project at our June 13th workshop.

Mark Neely on Civil Liberties

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative political think-tank, examines Lincoln’s restrictions of civil liberties during the War. The Hon. Frank J. Williams uses his article to examine also the restriction of civil liberties enacted by the Bush Administration as a part of the War on Terror. Williams acknowledges the unique situation of the rebellion faced by the Federal government during the 1860s, and draws a parallel between the uniqueness of that era and that of our current war.

Abraham Lincoln and Civil Liberties in Wartime

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates is a topic often written about and discussed, certainly in this blog, and certainly among teachers, historians, and political scientists. The Debates are always relevant in telling the story of the nation, especially of those steps into civil war. This year in particular, much has been said about the Debates, whether by students of the Debates or by politicians wishing to replicate them for a modern election. Allen Guelzo, Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, recently published a new book exploring the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. According to a Gettysburg College News Detail on the event of an interview given by Guelzo, the book “…dramatizes and underscores the historical significance of the 1858 campaign for the U.S. Senate in Illinois….” Professor Guelzo gave two recent interviews regarding the debates and his book, one with Jon Stewart of the Daily Show, and another with WHYY, an NPR affiliate serving southeastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and southern New Jersey.

Guelzo’s Daily Show interview is perhaps one of the more serious conducted on the show, and serves to give basic context for the debates, while advertising the book.

The WHYY interview provides much more context for the debates, and proves a good resource for introduction to the debates, or good context for wide discussion about antebellum politics and the events leading up to civil war.

History Net is an online collection of history magazines that has daily posts of the latest articles from history magazine.  The site also features images, videos, and daily quizzes from all periods of modern history.  Under features for today there was an article about Confederate discontent following their defeat at Gettysburg.  The History Net also provides an RSS feed so you can be notified when updates occur.

PBS has made a film exploring the illustrious and radical abolitionist John Brown. Called “John Brown’s Holy War,” the film explores John Brown’s life and crusade for abolition of slavery, asking if the man was “…a martyr or a madman, a fanatic or a hero…”. PBS provides a webpage advertising the film and also giving an overview of John Brown’s life, including time lines and an interactive map. A teacher’s guide is also included.

Knox College’s Lincoln Studies Center has created a podcast series featuring Lincoln scholars and co-directors of the center Rodney Davis and Douglas Wilson. The podcasts give a brief overview of each debate and then commentary and analysis. The podcasts are each no longer than ten minutes in length. Good content for middle school and high school study of the Debates.

Douglas Wilson’s Lincoln’s Sword won 2007’s Lincoln Prize. The book explores the power of Lincoln’s writing and his development as a writer by exploring notes, drafts, and speeches written by the president. The House Divided Project provided copies of this book to teachers attending its June 13th teacher’s workshop at Dickinson College.

I was reading Mark Neely’s The Boundaries of American Political Culture in the Civil War Era and thought the first chapter had a very interesting story that can be used to provoke discussion among students about politics of the 1864 presidential election in comparison to the politics of the 2008 presidential election.
Neely tells the story of Walt Whitman and his return from Washington D.C. to Brooklyn in order to vote. While at a bar, he noticed the barmaid wearing a McClellan pin. He asked the girl about the pin and she said that all the barmaids who worked at this bar supported McClellan and those that didn’t were not tolerated. Whitman describes how this was “one of those places where the air is full of scent of low thievery, foul play, & prostitution gangrened”*–not a place one would expect much political involvement. Neely uses this anecdote to introduce his point about the high level of involvement of the general public in politics during the Civil War Era.

Some points to take away in order to lead a discussion among students include the fact that barmaids would be so involved in politics when they did not have the right to vote and how that reflects the prevalence of politics on all levels of society. How does this compare to the current election?

There are several points made just even in this first chapter that present a range of ideas and points that can easily create a discussion among students. Neely will be presenting at the House Divided workshop on Friday, June 13 on the Politics of the 1850’s. Look on A House Divided YouTube Channel for an interview of Neely from this workshop.

*Mark E. Neely Jr., The Boundaries of American Political Culture in the Civil War Era (Chapel Hill:The University of North Carolina Press, 2005), 2.