U.S. History 8 Liberty Middle School – EDI Learning Objective: Students will be able to define secession and describe how the South used the concept of states’ rights to begin the Civil War. APK: Think of a time when you came up with a convincing reason to do something you knew was wrong. Why was it important to come up with a good excuse? Connect APK to LO: (T) Students, you already know that many people felt that slavery was wrong. But the South is willing to die to defend it. Why? Well, they had a reason to fight the North that seemed like a much better reason than just fighting to keep slavery.

U.S. History 8 Liberty Middle School – EDI Concept Development: Many people in the South before the Civil War were worried that the federal 1 government was too controlling of the states, especially over the issue of slavery. Many Southerners, such as John C.Calhoun from South Carolina, believed that the South should have its own right to decide what to do. This idea is known as States’ rights: All rights kept by the states under the Constitution, and not given to the federal government. States’ rights is an important concept. But the South used this idea in a self- serving way. Since the Constitution didn’t say anything about slavery, states should decide this for themselves, they said. Most historians agree the Civil War was fought over slavery, but the South often said that it was fought because of states’ rights. 1 federal: National government based in Washington, D.C. Southerners in 1850 Historians today Southerners don’t want the federal government to control us. States just want the right to do what the Constitution allows. Uh…no. You really are say- ing that you want to be able to have slavery no matter what. Pair-Share: Define “states’ rights” for your partner. Pair-Share: How did Southerners use the idea of states’ rights as an excuse? Where did you find this info…point to it.

U.S. History 8 Liberty Middle School – EDI Concept Development: After Lincoln’s election in 1860, the South felt particularly threatened. Ultimately, Southerners chose to try to leave or secede from the United States so they could use their states’rights to have slaves. Secession (to secede): to break away from a country, in this case the South breaking away from the United States. President Lincoln was very much against secession. He wanted to force the South to remain a part of the U.S. In a famous speech, Lincoln said, “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” Pair-Share: What does Lincoln mean by “a house divided against itself cannot stand?” DRAW a picture in the bubble to represent Lincoln’s quote. (Ideas: a house falling apart, a country divided down the middle,etc.) Pair-Share: Do you think Lincoln should have just let the South leave? Explain your opinion. Pair-Share: What ends up happening at Ft. Sumter? Lincoln The South ultimately opens fires on a Federal fort in Charleston, S.C. called Fort Sumter on April 12, This begins the Civil War which would last for 4 bloody years as the South tried to secede from the Union. The first battle:

U.S. History 8 Liberty Middle School – EDI Skill Development/Guided Practice: CW1.9 – Defining Ideas in Context: States’ Rights One of the most important concepts in this unit is the noun phrase, “States’ Rights.” Each of these terms below is related to states’ rights. The following excerpts follow a common practice in history texts- they define important terms within the text itself, using punctuation marks or phrases, like “known as,” or “called....” In the examples that follow, the authors have used commas to separate a term from its definition. Instructions: (the first one has been done for you.) 1. Highlight or underline the definition for each noun. 2. Discuss how that noun might be related to the phrase “states’ rights.” Excerpt from textHow do you think this term is related to the phrase “states rights”? Excerpts and questions from the 2 States’ Rights: All rights kept by the states under the Constitution, and not given to the federal government. Pair-Share: How did I know what the definition was/ what to underline? People who believe in states’rights want more power for their states than for the nation as a whole, and federalism defines this division of power. People who believe in states rights want the states to decide important issues for themselves, and popular sovereignty says that ______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ _____________________________. Pair-Share: What did you underline as the definition of popular sovereignty? How do you know? Concept #1: Federalism “Just as the Constitution divides power among the three branches of the federal government, it also divides power between the states and the nation, a division known as federalism.” (p. 155) Concept #2: Popular Sovereignty Both [political parties] addressed the problem [of slavery] by embracing the idea of popular sovereignty, a policy stating that voters in a territory – not Congress – should decide whether or not to allow slavery there. This idea had wide appeal, since it seemed in keeping with the traditions of American democracy.” (p. 326)

U.S. History 8 Liberty Middle School – EDI Skill Development/Guided Practice: CW1.9 – Defining Ideas in Context: States’ Rights One of the most important concepts in this unit is the noun phrase, “States’ Rights.” Each of these terms below is related to states’ rights. The following excerpts follow a common practice in history texts- they define important terms within the text itself, using punctuation marks or phrases, like “known as,” or “called....” In the examples that follow, the authors have used commas to separate a term from its definition. Instructions: (the first one has been done for you.) 1. Highlight or underline the definition for each noun. 2. Discuss how that noun might be related to the phrase “states’ rights.” Excerpt from textHow do you think this term is related to the phrase “states rights”? Excerpts and questions from the Pair-Share: Do you think the South should have seceded? Why? Concept #3: Secede (Verb Note: The act of seceding is known as secession.) “… Calhoun did not believe that Clay’s proposal gave the South enough protection. If the North would not submit to the South’s demands, “let the states agree to separate and part in peace. If you are unwilling that we should part in peace, tell us so, and we shall know what to do.” In other words, if the North did not agree, the South would secede, or break away, from the Union.” (p. 327) Concept #4: Nullification (Noun) This episode convinced [John C. Calhoun] that the future of slavery, which he supported, required a stronger defense of states’ rights. Toward that end, he began to champion [argue for] the concept of nullification, which meant that states could nullify, or void, any federal law deemed [thought to be] unconstitutional. (p. 256) People who believed in states’ rights wanted________________ ___________________________ ___________________________ so if they didn’t get their demands met they thought they had the right to___________ _____________. People who believed in states rights_____________________________ _________________________________ ________________________________ and nullification relates to this because___________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________. 2 States’ Rights: All rights kept by the states under the Constitution, and not given to the federal government.

U.S. History 8 Liberty Middle School – EDI Independent Practice: What are states’ rights?____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. How did the South use the idea of states’ rights to secede from the United States?____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. Why didn’t Lincoln want the South to secede?___________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________. What happened at Ft. Sumter?___________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________.