Learning Objectives: The students will:

1. Gather information about the Civil War draft and enlistment bounties from meeting notes, recruitment quotas and substitute enlistment forms.

2. Define pertinent vocabulary including enlist and quota.

3. Ascertain the total enlistment quota for the town in which they live.

4. Compare the total bounty to the cost of goods at that time to determine the bounties relative worth.

5. Gather information about an individual enlistee and write a diary entry as that person.

6. Examine historical record for clues to local opinions about the war.

 

NYS Social Studies Standards Correlation:
Standard 1: Key Idea 4

• Consider different interpretations of key events and /or issues in history and understand the differences in these accounts.

• Explore different experiences, beliefs, motives, and traditions of people living in their neighborhoods, communities, and State.

• View historic events through the eyes of those who were there, as shown in their art, writings, music and artifacts.

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Intermediate

• Consider the sources of historic documents, narratives, or artifacts and evaluate their reliability.

• Describe historic events through the eyes and experiences of those who were there.

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Standard 5: Key Idea 4

• Explain the role that civility plays in promoting effective citizenship in preserving democracy.

These lessons were originally developed through a grant from the New York State Archives and Records Administration, Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund. They were developed during the fiscal year 2003-2004 by Bryan Thompson, Town of De Kalb's Historian.

 

In 2009, Bryan Thompson received the Bruce W. Dearstyne Annual Archives Award for Excellence in the Educational Use of Local Government Records. This award is presented to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding initiative, leadership, and creativity in encouraging and promoting the use of local government historical records for elementary and secondary education.

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