The Civil War is a controversial subject in American history. It brings back a time when the United States went against its name and was divided. It recalls painful memories of slavery and oppression. It reminds us of thousands of lives lost in bloody battles.
However disturbing, the Civil War offers important lessons—about racial equality, war, politics, and other issues—that are relevant today. Stories from the Civil War presents the history of the Civil War in North Carolina and ideas on teaching this difficult subject to your students.
The workshop is a six-week, self-paced program. Progress through the sessions and activities at your own pace. Expect to spend approximately six hours per week on the workshop and related assignments.
Access information in the following ways throughout the workshop:
- sessions on selected topics
- links to related Web sites
- interaction with museum staff and other participants via the Bulletin Board
- printable handouts
Submit assignments by e-mail. You will earn eight contact hours for each completed assignment (maximum of forty hours). After completing the workshop, you will receive a certificate of completion listing the contact hours earned.
To fully access this workshop, you will need a computer with Internet access and an e-mail address. Although the three primary source recording sets and some outside Web site links require a sound card and speakers to listen, written transcripts are provided. A free plug-in for Macromedia Flash Player 4 or later is necessary to use the audio components and interactive quiz, but text options are provided for those browsers that don't accept Flash.
Navigating the Workshop Web Site
Choose any of the five main sessions or other workshop sections from links listed under Contents on every page. The Participant Background section provides the subject and grade level that each participant teaches, as well as their current school. Use this information to learn about others taking the course and, using the workshop's bulletin board, to network with educators having similar interests.
To view the workshop photos on a separate page, which you may also print, click once on the photo. Click on Back on your browser to return to the main text.
If you have difficulty navigating the workshop, please contact Jessica Humphries at 919-807-7971 or at jessica.humphries@ncmail.net.
The Division of State History Museums promotes the understanding of the history and material culture of North Carolina for the educational benefit of North Carolinians. Through collections and historical interpretation, its museums encourage citizens and visitors to explore and understand the past; to reflect on their own lives and their place in history; and to preserve state, regional, and local history for future generations.
In 1998 the North Carolina Museum of History offered a pilot electronic teacher workshop, The Role of Women in North Carolina History, as a new way to serve educators across the state. Since that time, the museum has developed six additional online workshops: Stories from the Civil War; American Indians in North Carolina, Past and Present; Legends of North Carolina; Civil Rights in North Carolina; and North Carolina Geography, as well as this course. These workshops are offered annually, and the museum continues to plan new workshops.
Stories of the Civil War was developed in conjunction with the exhibit North Carolina and the Civil War, which opened on September 17, 1999. The exhibit closed in 2005.
A small portion of the recently closed Civil War exhibition.
The photographs and illustrations throughout the workshop are courtesy of the North Carolina Division of Archives and History and the North Carolina Museum of History.
Thanks go to RaeLana Poteat and Tom Belton, members of the North Carolina and the Civil War exhibit team, for their assistance with research and graphics. Additional thanks go to Amanda Foss, Michael Daul, and Robin Baneth for their technical assistance and Janice Jordan for her editorial expertise.