Reference no: EM133541461

PART I: The Meaning of the Civil War

Gettysburg Address (1863)

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln consecrated the battlefield at Gettysburg with arguably one of the greatest (and shortest) speeches in American History.

Fourscore 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 on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, 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 this.

But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate-we cannot 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 it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. 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 here gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Question 1: What great task does Lincoln assign the living in consecrating the battlefield at Gettysburg? Do you believe Lincoln intended this task to end with the conclusion of the Civil War or would he consider it an everlasting responsibility? Why or why not?

Question 2: What specific issue(s) today do you believe we have a personal and collective responsibility to address? Do you believe we are capable of making the sacrifices necessary to resolve those problems as Americans in the past have? Why or why not?

PART II: The Meaning of Learning Our History

This course has hopefully shown you that studying History is far more than simply memorizing names and dates. As you look back at all that we have covered, I would like you to consider what you learned not just about this country, but perhaps yourself as well.

Question 1: What is the most important thing you learned about American History in this class and why? If you were tasked with teaching this chosen topic(s), what would you emphasize to your students and why? (Please be specific)

Question 2: What challenged you most in this class and why? This could be a particular historical subject or process or it could be even a specific assignment. What do you feel you were most successful in accomplishing this semester and why? (Please be specific)

Please remember to be specific in your responses with the expectation for you to far exceed the minimum length requirements which in this case is a total of at least ((two)) full pages in answering the four question prompts above (two for each Part).