SUBJECTS — U.S./1861-1865 & Pennsylvania;
SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING — Courage in War; Leadership;
MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS — Trustworthiness; Citizenship.
AGE: 10+; MPAA Rating — PG for language and epic battle scenes;
Drama; 1993; 261 minutes; Color. Available from Amazon.com.
One of the Best! This movie is on TWM’s short list of the best movies to supplement classes in United States History, High School Level.
TWM offers the following movie worksheets to keep students’ minds on the film and to focus their attention on the lessons to be learned from the movie.
Film Study Worksheet for a Work of Historical Fiction;
Film Study Worksheet for ELA Classes; and
Worksheet for Cinematic and Theatrical Elements and Their Effects.
Teachers can modify the movie worksheets to fit the needs of each class. See also TWM’s Historical Fiction in Film Cross-Curricular Homework Project and Movies as Literature Homework Project.
Additional ideas for lesson plans for this movie can be found at TWM’s guide to Lesson Plans Using Film Adaptations of Novels, Short Stories or Plays.
The Union victory at Gettysburg is considered by many historians to be the turning point of the Civil War. This film is a re-creation of the battle. The movie makers attempted to portray events as they actually occurred. The film is based on the historical novel, The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara.
Selected Awards:
None.
Featured Actors:
Tom Berenger, Martin Sheen, Stephen Lang, Richard Jordan, Andrew Prine, Cooper Huckabee, Patrick Gorman.
Director:
Ronald F. Maxwell.
Almost everything in this film conforms to the historical record, including Colonel Chamberlain’s bayonet charge, Longstreet’s objections to Lee’s tactics, Lee’s statement accepting blame for the defeat, etc. Good readers ages thirteen and up should be encouraged to read books on this important battle or the historical novel, The Killer Angels, before or after they see this film.
Minor. There is some profanity in the movie. The worst problem is that some of the beards look fake. This movie is very long, more than four hours.
Tell your child that this film is true in most of its facts. When the movie is over, ask and help your child answer the Quick Discussion Question.
TWM highly recommends a trip to The Gettysburg National Military Park. Because so many men died there, because the battlefield is full of memorials, and because the Battle of Gettysburg saw the high water mark of the rebellion, a visit to Gettysburg is an emotional experience. There are memorial stones to every significant event of the battle. Look for the stone marker showing the point from which the men of Chamberlain’s 20th Maine, low on ammunition, fixed their bayonets and charged down the hill to protect the Union left flank. Walk the route of Pickett’s Charge, from Virginia’s statue of Robert E. Lee to the crown of Cemetery Hill. Cross “the Angle” from which the Union soldiers riddled the Southerners with rifle fire and then retreated. Walk the small field behind “the Angle” at which the high water mark was reached, and where, in hand-to-hand combat, Union soldiers completed the destruction of Pickett’s division. Put a flower on the memorial which marks the spot where General Armistead fell, that tortured soul who loved his friend, Hancock. There is a special energy, a special poignancy, about this place that impresses almost everyone who goes there. (If you can, visit during July 1 – 3, the anniversary dates of the battle, and attend one of the reenactments. The proceeds go to local charities.)
It was the summer of 1863. The South’s Army of Northern Virginia had been largely victorious in all of its previous engagements. But the Confederacy was having increasing difficulties supplying its troops with food, clothing, guns and ammunition. The Union Army continued to grow in strength and its advantage in men and materiel continued to improve. The rebel commander, Robert E. Lee, believed that he had two choices: either to retire to Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, and try to withstand a siege, a tactic that he knew would ultimately be unsuccessful, or to invade Pennsylvania. Lee chose invasion hoping that a brilliant victory in the North would force the Union to the bargaining table or encourage England to enter the war on the side of the South. At least, if he invaded Pennsylvania, his troops would be able to feed off of the rich Pennsylvania countryside. In addition, the pressure in Pennsylvania might cause the federal government to pull troops away from Vicksburg, which was then under siege by General Grant. (It did not.) By bringing the summer’s campaign into the North, Lee would give some respite to the war-ravaged Virginia countryside and disrupt the Union Army’s plans to march again on Richmond.
At Gettysburg, the Union put 83,300 men in the field. Of these, 23,000 were casualties. The Confederacy put 75,100 men in the field and sustained 28,100 casualties. The Federal Army of the Potomac entered the battle under a new and untested commander, General George Gordon Meade.
Some historians disagree with the view that the Battle of Gettysburg was the “The High Water Mark of the Confederacy.” They point out that Lee left the field with his army intact and that the South was able to sustain the fight for another 21 months. In any case, combined with Grant’s capture of Vicksburg later that month, Gettysburg gave the Union hope of victory. As the film makes clear, Lee made a terrible mistake in having Pickett’s division charge uphill into entrenched Union lines.
The film gives the impression that Union soldiers fought primarily to free the slaves. While this was true for many, especially soldiers from the New England states, the majority of Union soldiers would not have risked their lives to eradicate slavery. They were fighting to keep their country together. This was not simply patriotism. If states could secede from the Union, the country would eventually dissolve into several competing small countries. The dissolution of the United States would have shown that democracies could not hold together and were not stable. The cause of democracy in America and in the world would have been set back hundreds of years. (In 1860 Europe was controlled by a resurgent aristocracy with the U.S. standing as the world’s leading representative democracy. If it was not able to keep itself together, this would be further proof that democracy was not a viable governmental system. The cause of democracy would have been set back generations, if not completely discredited. However, as blacks were permitted to enlist in the Union Army and died fighting for the Union, and as the North and President Lincoln searched for a rationale for the horrific loss of life caused by the war, the abolition of slavery came to be more and more important. See Learning Guide to “Glory” and Learning Guide to “Abraham and Mary Lincoln – A House Divided“. Note that Lincoln always opposed slavery and that his initial position that he would not abolish it in the South but only stop its expansion was a matter of political expedience in a country in which, before 1864, most people would not have agreed with the abolition of slavery.)
The Gettysburg Address was given by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery. It is a key document of American history and shows how, by that time, Lincoln was combining the twin goals of saving the Union and “a new birth of freedom” (abolition of slavery).
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battle field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But in a larger sense we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled, here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. (This Version from the Hay Draft.)
This film has been criticized because it fails to explain the motivation of the Southerners in fighting the war. Some of the reasons were: the strong force of regionalism in American society at the time, the oppression of Southerners by Northern banks and industries, and resentment at the North’s efforts to impose its will on the South.
A Historical Evaluation of Robert E. Lee: Robert E. Lee was worshipped by his soldiers and by Southerners generally. He was respected by Northerners for his prowess as a general. But there is another less positive view of General Lee. Lee had been a brilliant officer in the Union Army. He disliked slavery and did not agree with secession. Just before the war, when secession was imminent, President Lincoln offered Lee the command of the Union Armies. But because of his allegiance to his native state of Virginia, Lee joined the rebellion.
An argument can be made that Lee forsook his country for a retrograde regionalism and an unworkable political theory holding that a state had the right to secede from the Union. This theory, in practice, would have done immense harm to the cause of democracy throughout the world by demonstrating that the world’s leading democracy could not hold itself together. In addition, the Confederacy that Lee fought to establish was dedicated to the institution of slavery, which was barbaric and cruel. If Lee had remained loyal to the Union, the rebellion would have been over in a matter of months. The argument continues that many hundreds of thousands of American soldiers, Northern and Southern, died or suffered grievous injuries because of Lee’s decision to side with the past, rather than the future.
There were prominent Southerners who remained loyal to the Union at great personal cost. Two examples are Thomas Hart Benton, Senator from Missouri, and Sam Houston, Governor of Texas. They sacrificed long and illustrious political careers because they refused to join the cause of disunion. Benton said, “I also am a Southern man but vote nationally on national issues … I am Southern by my birth — Southern in my convictions, interests, and connections, and I shall abide by the fate of the South in everything in which she has right on her side.” (Benton and Houston are each the subject of articles in Profiles in Courage by John F. Kennedy. The quotation is at page 98 of the Inaugural Edition, 1961.) Lee may have been a brilliant general, but was he a statesman? This is an excellent discussion topic. For a description of Lee’s reasoning behind his decision to side with the South, set in a historical novel.
This movie is four hours and twenty minutes long! Teachers can show short excerpts, for example: Chamberlain’s speech to the mutinous soldiers, Buford’s waking nightmare of how the battle could go badly, the scene at the campfire of the Southern officers and the English observer, the 20th Maine’s defense of the Union’s left flank, the charge of Pickett’s division, the meeting with the runaway slave, etc. In the alternative, the entire movie can be shown in chunks through the course of a unit devoted to study of the Civil War. After each chunk there can be a lecture and discussion or assignments such as essays, research projects, or journal entries. “Gettysburg” is particularly appropriate to chunk because of its length and because: (1) it refers to so many subjects which are important to a study of this period in U.S. history; (2) the music is so powerful that it will pull students right back into the film when it is started again after the lapse of a few days; and (3) the shifts back and forth between the Confederate and Union sides are very clear.
Give an introduction to the movie that will set the time and place of the battle in the context of the Civil War. The scope and complexity of the introduction will depend upon the sophistication of the class and how much of the Civil War they have already studied. The first section of the Helpful Background provides a good introduction for some classes.
Explain any elements of the film that the students may not recognize or understand. Look for facts that will set up an “aha” moment when students see it on the screen. Consider telling students how many men are in a company, a regiment, a brigade, a division and a corps. See “Building Vocabulary” in the sidebar.
If you are only going to use a few excerpts from the movie, be sure to include Chamberlain’s speech to the mutinous soldiers of the Second Maine Regiment. Almost every sentence can be the basis for essays, research, or class discussion. Here are some suggested activities based on this speech:
“There were a thousand of us then. There are less than 300 of us now.” — Research/Essay Project: Compare the losses in the Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars with the losses in the Civil War. Why were the losses in the Civil War so high compared to the earlier wars? Notes on Responses: Strong responses will note that in all wars fought before modern medicine, deaths from disease claimed the lives of many soldiers. Strong responses will also include a reference to the fact that at the time of the Civil War defensive weapons (a soldier in a trench or behind a stone wall with a rifle) were very powerful. A few soldiers, well-protected, could defend a position against a much larger advancing force.
“All of us volunteered to fight for the Union, just as you did. Some came mainly because we were bored at home. Thought this looked like it might be fun. Some came because we were ashamed not to. Many of us came because it was the right thing to do.” — Research/Essay Project: Test this hypothesis: One of the major reasons that young men signed up to fight in the Civil War was that they were bored at home and, at the beginning, serving in the army seemed like it would be an adventure. Notes on Responses: A good response will conclude that this was a major reason for enlistment.
“This is a different kind of army. If you look back through history, you’ll see men fighting for pay … for women, for some other kind of loot. They fight for land, [for] power. Because a king leads them, or just because they like killing. We are here for something new. This has not happened much in the history of the world. We are an army out to set other men free.”
(1) Research/Essay Project: Was Chamberlain right? Were most Union soldiers fighting to abolish slavery? Would he have been right for men in the Union army from the following states: Maine, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, or Missouri? Notes on Responses: A good answer would conclude that his statement was true only for abolitionists who were a majority in only a few states such as Maine and Massachusetts. For other states, abolitionists were a minority and most volunteers to the Union Army were fighting only to save the Union.
(2) Lecture/Class Discussion Topic: What were the Southerners fighting for? Notes on Responses: Southern soldiers thought that they were fighting the second American Revolution, trying to keep their states free from foreign domination and upholding the principles of the Founding Fathers. Note that a good response will include recognition that one of the main reasons that the Southern colonies joined the American Revolution was a realization that slavery would soon be banned in the British Empire. The Southerners built guarantees into the Constitution protecting slavery. A good response will also include a reference to economic theories of the cause of the war.
“America should be free ground. All of it. Not divided by a line between slave state and free. All the way from here to the Pacific Ocean.” — Research/Essay Project: Describe how the U.S. came to be divided into slave states and free states and the various compromises that were crafted during the first half of the 19th century in an effort to avoid the Civil War.
“No man born to royalty. Here we judge you by what you do, not by who your father was. Here you can be something.” — Lecture/Discussion Topic: It is amazing when you think about how things change. Today, it would be a joke to suggest that the United States be governed by a king. However, 150 years ago, it was no joke. Kings and aristocracy ruled in most of Europe. It was less than 100 years since the King of England’s rule in America had been overthrown. At the present time, we couldn’t even think of going back to a system like that, but they certainly could.
“Here is the place to build a home. But it’s not the land. There’s always more land.” — Lecture/Discussion topic: Where were we getting the land? What if you were a Native American and heard this speech? What would you think about the statement that “there’s always more land”?
“You and me. What we’re fighting for, in the end… we’re fighting for each other.” Lecture/Discussion Topic: Could this be said for any war?
1. See Discussion Questions for Use With any Film that is a Work of Fiction.
2. What do you think would have happened if the Union had lost the Civil War?
Suggested Response:
There is no one correct response. North America, divided, would not have been as strong as the United States. This would have had major ramifications in the world wars of the 20th century. In addition, since, in 1860 aristocratic governments were resurgent in Europe, the inability of the U.S. to hold itself together would have been taken as proof that democracy did not work; the cause of democracy in the world would have been set back for generations, if not discredited forever. Another point is that many historians believe that slavery would have withered away on its own in the face of the mechanization of agriculture; slavery was not suited to an industrial society. The sharecropper system which replaced slavery involved less investment and responsibility by the landowners. Many historians argue that it was actually better for the landowners economically than was slavery. A good discussion will mention these points.
3. Was the Battle of Gettysburg a turning point in the Civil War?
Suggested Response:
There is no one correct response. Many historians believe that Gettysburg was the turning point because the South had no reserves. There were virtually no replacements for the tens of thousands of soldiers lost in the battle. Gettysburg also showed the North that its soldiers could win a battle against Robert E. Lee. On the other hand, the war lasted for almost another two years. The Battle of Gettysburg was fought in July of 1863 and Lee did not surrender until April of 1865. A good discussion will mention these points.
4. Why were the Confederate soldiers fighting the war?
Suggested Response:
The Confederate soldiers saw the war as the second American Revolution. They were fighting for political freedom (states’ rights) and to protect the South against intruders from the North. Some were also fighting to uphold slavery, but most Confederate soldiers didn’t own slaves. Robert E. Lee himself said he was against slavery.
5. Why were the Union soldiers fighting the war?
Suggested Response:
Most Union soldiers were fighting to save the Union and the cause of democracy in the world. The U.S. was the leading democratic state in the world at the time. If the U.S. could not hold itself together, then the cause of democracy would have been set back for generations or perhaps completely discredited. Some Union soldiers, but only a minority, were fighting to free the slaves. As the war went on and the horrific losses mounted, some Americans who had not advocated abolition at the beginning of the war, searched for an even greater meaning for the conflict. They found it in the abolition of slavery. Abraham Lincoln is the primary example of a person who came to abolition by looking for a reason for the death and destruction caused by the war. Others came to oppose slavery after learning of the heroism displayed by black soldiers when they were allowed to fight.
6. Was Robert E. Lee a statesman?
Suggested Response:
One answer (other views are widely held) is: Leaving aside Lincoln’s and the North’s primary reason to oppose secession, i.e., that it would destroy the Union and do immeasurable harm to the cause of democracy in the world, the reason that Lee’s decision (and that of every man who joined the Confederacy) was morally indefensible was that at the heart of the very concept of the Confederacy was slavery, a massive and horrid crime. Lee’s decision was even worse than most because he acknowledged that slavery was wrong. A general is a leader of people and a leader cannot ignore the political and moral consequences of the wars that he fights.
7. Had Lee stayed in the Union Army, how long do you think the Civil War would have lasted?
Suggested Response:
Not very long. All the Union lacked, until General Grant took over, was a good leader for its armies. It had the equipment and brave soldiers.
8. General Meade was criticized for not following up on the victory at Gettysburg and trying to crush Lee’s Army. This “failure” especially angered President Lincoln. However, most of General Meade’s officers agreed with him that the battle had been won and an attack on Lee’s army would risk turning victory into defeat. What do you think?
Suggested Response:
A few of the possible arguments: For attack: The Army of Northern Virginia had lost 1/3rd of its men and must have been demoralized; Lee’s army was far from its supply lines; Against attack: as things stood, the Army of the Potomac had won a great victory, a counterattack would risk all that; in the war to that point, attacking had proved very risky, the advantage was with the defenders; Lee’s army was wounded but not smashed nor was its morale destroyed; the Union Army had been fighting for three days and needed to regroup.
9. List each major war fought by the United States (or your own country). What were the reasons for fighting and dying in each one? For each, was it worth it? Justify your answer.
Suggested Response:
There is no one correct answer to this question. The purpose is to get students to focus on the broad sweep of history.
1. Give some examples of leadership shown in this film. What leadership skills were shown in these examples?
Suggested Response:
Here are two examples, both by Colonel Chamberlain. In getting most of the mutinous soldiers to agree to fight, Colonel Chamberlain always showed them respect. He ordered them to be fed; he assured them that he would not shoot them. He also showed that there were limits; the unit had been ordered to move, and they had to move with it. He appealed to their patriotism and to their principles in his plea for them to rejoin the battle. The second example was when his men had exhausted their ammunition but another attack by the rebels was expected. Colonel Chamberlain ordered his men to charge down the hill, taking the Confederates by surprise and rolling up their line. This showed imagination and daring in seizing control of a situation that looked disastrous.
2. Why did Colonel Chamberlain tell his brother to distribute the soldiers of the Second Maine Regiment who had decided to fight among the companies in the regiment?
Suggested Response:
His purpose was to make sure that the mutinous soldiers bonded with the other men in the regiment and that they didn’t get together and hatch more plans for mutiny.
3. Was General Pickett branded a coward because he didn’t lead his troops from the front like General Armistead (who was one of the brigade commanders in Pickett’s division)? Was this a failure of leadership?
Suggested Response:
It was not a failure of leadership. In the Civil War, division commanders were responsible for coordinating troop movements and it was perfectly acceptable for them to lead from the rear. Pickett was not faulted by experienced military observers for his role in the battle.
4. In the Civil War, defensive technology (such as repeating rifles) gave defenders a great advantage. State a theory explaining why tens of thousands of soldiers on each side, in battle after battle, had the commitment and the courage to march in regular order against the withering fire of the defenders while those around them fell with hideous and usually fatal wounds?
Suggested Response:
TWM is not aware of the correct answer to this question. Here are some possibilities: duty, shame, unit loyalty, allegiance to a cause such as the preservation of the Union, abolition of slavery, or, for Southerners, protecting their homes against an invading force. For most, it was probably a combination of some of these elements.
Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues will facilitate the use of this film to teach ethical principles and critical viewing. Additional questions are set out below.
(Be honest; Don’t deceive, cheat or steal; Be reliable — do what you say you’ll do; Have the courage to do the right thing; Build a good reputation; Be loyal — stand by your family, friends, and country)
See questions under Citizenship and Courage in War.
(Do your share to make your school and community better; Cooperate; Stay informed; vote; Be a good neighbor; Obey laws and rules; Respect authority; Protect the environment)
1. Patriotism is love of one’s own country. However, a civil war fractures the concept of country. People on each side believe that their opponents have betrayed a principle that is vital to the essential nature of the nation and that, as a result, they have become traitors. What principles did each side of the Civil War espouse?
Suggested Response:
On the Union side, the concept was the indivisibility of the Union and the importance to the cause of democracy of demonstrating that one of the first democratic countries the world had ever known could keep itself together. A minority also wanted to free the slaves. On the Confederate side, there was a belief in the right of individual states to leave the federal government, allegiance to their state and section of the country which they believed had been invaded, and for many a desire to defend slavery.
2. Why did the soldiers of the Union and Confederate armies willingly march to their deaths in the many battles of the Civil War? The history of every country is replete with men and women who have served their country at great risk and who have died as a result. These are not only soldiers but also political leaders (who are often exposed to the risk of assassination) and other controversial people such as Civil Rights workers (Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King). What did patriotism mean for them?
Suggested Response:
The word “patriot” comes down to us from the Greek word meaning “of one’s fathers.” Patriotism is a sense of loyalty to your community, a realization that who you are and what you have become depends upon that community.
Patriotism includes more than being a soldier willing to die in war. There are patriotic people who will not kill for their country. Some of these people make a greater contribution than many thousands of soldiers combined. Here is one example: James Lawson is now a retired Methodist minister. He is black. During the Korean War, he refused service in the Army as a conscientious objector and served time in jail as a result. After he got out of jail, Reverend Lawson went to India and studied Gandhian non-violence in an ashram. In 1954, while he was still at the ashram, he heard a news report about the Montgomery Alabama bus boycott (see Learning Guide to “The Long Walk Home”). Reverend Lawson then headed home and made contact with Dr. Martin Luther King, the leader of the boycott. Reverend Lawson became the most important theoretician for non-violence for the U.S. Civil Rights Movement and the conduit for the transfer of knowledge about non-violent civil disobedience from India to the U.S. Reverend Lawson saved countless lives and helped with the peaceful resolution of a serious moral contradiction in U.S. society. You can see pictures of Reverend Lawson training college students to conduct the first lunch counter sit-ins in a documentary called A Force More Powerful. Reverend Lawson was patriotic, but he was not willing to take another life or participate in a military establishment that would.
3. How can people act in a patriotic way if their country has decided to go to war but they think that it was a bad decision? This has been a question for many people in the U.S. during the last three substantial wars that the country has fought: Vietnam and both Gulf Wars.
Suggested Response:
Patriotism is a value that can be easily manipulated by unscrupulous people, including people in the media, politicians, and government officials. See All Quiet on the Western Front. The answer requires a look at the role of the majority and the role of the minority in a democracy. In the U.S., war is declared by the majority acting through the Congress, the people’s elected representatives. In many other democratic countries, war is declared by parliament, also the people’s elected representatives. Once Congress or parliament decides that the country will go to war, citizens have an obligation to support the war effort, unless they are conscientious objectors to all wars. However, that doesn’t mean that citizens lose the right to speak out against a policy of their government with which they disagree, including the decision to go to war. Actually, a citizen has more of an obligation to speak out on issues that involve life and death, than with any other issue. Protesting a war probably does undermine to some extent the morale of the troops risking their lives on the battlefield. (People who don’t understand the proper role of dissent in a democracy will claim that there should be no dissent during a time of war.) But there is a larger and more important principle at work, that is, the necessity of free speech and public debate in a democratic society. For example, most would now agree that the Vietnam War was unwinnable, that it was bad policy, and that the lives sacrificed in that war were wasted. The people who demonstrated against the Vietnam War were right and it was important that they spoke their minds. The anti-war protests were a major impetus behind the U.S. getting out of that war. (However, those opposed to the Vietnam War who vented their frustration on the troops coming home were wrong. The troops were not at fault. Any fault lay with the majority and the government.) So, for those who oppose a war, in almost every case patriotism involves supporting the war effort but denouncing the war at the same time.
Being patriotic and supporting the war effort in some extreme cases is not the principled thing to do. Some people realize that their values differ so substantially from those of their countrymen that they cannot support the war effort at all. Since war involves life and death, it makes a strong call on the loyalties, as does opposition to a war. The situation of each person is different and must be judged on its own. However, two extremes can set some parameters. Some people who cannot support a war effort but who are drafted into the military decline to serve and take the punishment provided for by law. Reverend James Lawson, a hero of the Civil Rights Movement did this. See the response to preceding question for more about Reverend Lawson. While the action is not patriotic, it is principled and satisfies any ethical or moral test. If the punishment is jail, when these people have served their time they return to society and can be as patriotic and valuable, or more so, than many soldiers. Again, Reverend Lawson and his contribution to the Civil Rights Movement is a good example. Another principled, but unpatriotic, the action is to leave the country and resign from being a citizen. During the Vietnam War, some young men went to Canada or other countries to avoid the draft. These people have sacrificed their association with the country. Whether they are readmitted to citizenship depends upon the mercy of the majority acting through its government. Several years after the Vietnam War was over, President Jimmy Carter proposed a program to forgive young men who fled to other countries to avoid the draft and to allow them to return home. This was not an endorsement of their actions, but an act of mercy.
(Additional questions on these topics are set out in the “Social-Emotional Learning/Courage in War section above.)
See Assignments, Projects, and Activities for Use With any Film that is a Work of Fiction and Lesson Plans Using Film Adaptations of Novels, Short Stories, and Plays. Another suggestion is to assign a research project and essay on why England banned slavery decades before the U.S. Was it a moral or an economic decision?
CCSS Anchors Here.
“Gettysburg” is based on The Killer Angels, a historical novel by Michael Shaara. [Grades 9 – 12]. There are hundreds of excellent books on the Civil War. We list a few of them below, based either upon our own review or recommendations from librarians or educators. An online article entitled Civil War in Children’s Literature discusses some of the books described below and recommends several others.
National Geographic Guide to Civil War Battlefield Parks by the National Park Service; Excellent if you are going to visit any Civil War battlefield sites.
Culpeper, Va. Officers of the 80th New York Infantry, Provost Guard
For websites on the Generals who Fought at Gettysburg:
About the Gettysburg Address:
Sites about the movie:
In addition to websites which may be linked in the Guide and selected film reviews listed on the Movie Review Query Engine, the following resources were consulted in the preparation of this Learning Guide: