1. Document Based Questions

2. Why did soldiers fight in the American Civil War during the years 1861-1865?

3. Doc. A
(1863) Field of Gettysburg, July 1st, 2nd & 3rd, 1863 Prepared by T. Ditterline. Retrieved from 3824g+cw %29%29

5. Doc. B
Baker & Godwin, NY. ca Forward, volunteers! Take the bounties while the opportunity lasts! The draft is inevitable. It can't be shirked. Enlist in Duryea's Zouaves Second Battalion, 19th Ward, Brooklyn. [Poster]. Retrieved from

6. Poster Analysis Worksheet1.   
What are the main colors used in the poster? 2.
What symbols (if any) are used in the poster? 3.
If a symbol is used, is it
clear (easy to interpret)? ________________________
memorable? _________________________________
dramatic? ___________________________________ 4.
Are the messages in the poster primarily visual, verbal, or both? 5.
Who do you think is the intended audience for the poster? 6.
What does the Government hope the audience will do? 7.
What Government purpose(s) is served by the poster? 8.
The most effective posters use symbols that are unusual, simple, and direct. Is this an effective poster?
Retrieved from

7. Doc. C
(January 1862) 24 Weeks on the Potomac
SUMMARY Larger than life Union and Confederate generals, [McClellan and Beauregard] each seated leisurely in a chair with drink nearby, view each other through telescopes. They are separated by a river, on each side military camps are set up, and soldiers throw stones across the river at each other.

8. Doc. D
Moore, H. P. (c.1863). U.S.S. "Wabash." After pivot gun. X in. Dahlgren. Retrieved from 05%29%29
SUMMARY Sailors surrounding large gun on deck of ship, officers stand above them on raised deck.
NOTES From "U. S. Navy. Edisto Island. Morris and Folly Islands. Fort Warren, Mass. Andersonville Prison, Miscellaneous." photographic album, p 48 (Naval).
Series: Photographs of the War of the Rebellion

9.  Gettysburg Address
1. For what occasion did Lincoln give this speech?
2. What is the mood of Lincoln's speech?  
3. What reaction is Lincoln trying to provoke from the audience?
4. What is Lincoln defending in this speech?
5. Why does this speech resonate with Americans today?
Doc. E

10. Doc. F
Volck, A. J. (1864). Caricature of Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation in V. Blada's War Sketches. Retrieved from

11. Doc. G
A letter from President Lincoln that appears on the front page of the August 25, 1862, New York Times was written in response to Horace Greeley's New York Tribune (August 20, 1862) editorial entitled "The Prayer of Twenty Millions," in which he beseeched the President to free the slaves at once. The Times, one of the leading Republican papers of the country, was unwavering in its determination that the Federal union should be preserved. It is not surprising that Lincoln sent his letter to the New York Times for publication.
Emancipation or Preservation of the Union? The New York Times (New York, August 25, 1862) Retrieved from

12. Doc. H
Washington, District of Columbia. Maimed soldiers and others before office of U.S. Christian Commission (1865 Apr.). Retrieved from
Washington, District of Columbia. Maimed soldiers and others before office of U.S. Christian Commission
Divide the photo into quadrants and discuss the people you see in each part.
How does this photo show how life was different for Americans after the war?
What questions do you have about the image/title?

13. Doc. I
Barnard, George N Departure from the old homestead. Retrieved from

14. Doc. J
To the patriotic women of Philadelphia. A meeting of the ladies of the City of Philadelphia will be held this day, at 4 o'clock, P. M., at the School Room, in Tenth Street ... to devise means to give aid and comfort to our noble soldiers
Philadelphia, 1861.

15. Doc. K
Fitzburg, L. (c.1910). Map of the Confederate States of America. Days of long ago: half century Confederate memorial. Retrieved from
Map is surrounded by portraits of Jefferson Davis and Generals Lee, Gordon, Jackson, Beauregard, J. E. Johnston, A. S. Johnston, Stuart, Hood, and Longstreet and pictures of Confederate money and postage stamps, the Virginia capitol building, war memorials, the flags of the Confederacy and a certificate of military service in the Civil War with blanks to be filled in.

16. Steps to Build a DBQ Decide on a topic.
Collect all the materials you can of varying types: photos, maps, newspaper articles, letters, diaries, etc.
Review the sources you found, try to find commonalities.
Come up with a question that could be answered by some/many/all of the documents you found.
Look for more sources that will assist in answering the question.
Be sure to utilize the DBQ checklist.