Harper's Academy U.S. History and American Literature

Here is the full speech, part of which I read in class today, discussing the principles of Confederacy. You do not need to answer the questions, but those of you interested in Confederate history might want to become familiar with its roots. Alexander H. Stephens' “Cornerstone Speech”             Former Georgia Congressman Alexander Stephens gave this speech just weeks after taking the oath of office as Vice President of the Confederacy. This speech explains the principles upon which the Confederacy was based, and how it differed from the 1787 U.S. Constitution. Savannah, Georgia, March 21, 1861 … I was remarking that we are passing through one of the greatest revolutions in the annals of the world. Seven States have within the last three months thrown off an old government and formed a new. This revolution has been signally marked, up to this time, by the fact of its having been accomplished without the loss of a single d...

The Idealism and Horror of Civil War Battle Your assignment this week in history is to look into some of the stories of the soldiers that fought in the Civil War. Here are some letters and diary entries, so that we are all on the same page. The questions will replace the academic paragraph, and also, help guide our discussion next week. I have not corrected any of their grammar or spelling, so you will read these primary sources as they were written.  Directions: Read the following letters and diaries from soldiers of the Civil War and answer the questions below. Idealism: Sullivan Ballou's Letter to his Wife (1861) Major Sullivan Ballou of Rhode Island wrote the following letter a week before he was killed in battle during the first battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. The battle, which the South called Manassas (after the nearby railroad junction), was the first major battle of the war and was a disastrous defeat for the Union. Ballou had been hit by a confederat...