War at Home: The Civilian Side

Alice Lee 5^th Grade

Summer Fellowship, 2008

To download this lesson in PDF format, click here.

Lesson 2—A Call for 20,000 Men!

1. Review with students the difference between a primary resource and a secondary resource.

2. Introduce the Written Document Analysis worksheet as a way to evaluate primary resources. Consider having students cut the edges and paste it as a template in their journal.

3. Use this worksheet to guide students through an analysis of Governor Yates’ “Call for 20,000 Men for One Hundred Days!” Consider also using the following excerpts to guide discussion. Ask students to think about 1) the tone and voice used, and 2) how Illinois citizens might have felt in response. How might the text appeal men to enlist? How might the text appeal to family members sending their men off to war?

a. “It will be sufficient for you to know that it is evident from the circumstances which surround us, that the battles which are to decide the fate of the country are soon to be fought. The enemy has, during the past winter, been concentrating all his strength for the summer campaign, which is before us. It is of the utmost importance that the Government be prepared to meet them with the greatest force, and with the most overwhelming numbers which it is possible to be brought to bear.”

b. “It is confidently hoped hat by the aid which may thus be given our veteran army, the last blow may be give to this wicked rebellion, and the Government re-established, the Union restored, and all the blessings of a stable and lasting peace secured.”

c. “Let us do all in our power to uphold and strengthen their arms. Glorious Illinoisans! in every period of this war you have done your duty! The shining achievements of your sons are the admiration of the world. In this eventful hour you will not fail.”

4. Ask students to journal their thoughts about what it might have been like to be either enlisted or a family member of someone enlisted in Illinois during the Civil War.

5. Review the anchor chart from lesson 1 that activated students’ background knowledge. Connect how they might have felt similarly to Illinois citizens during the Civil War.