Instructor Access (optional grading support) for Unlimited Access families is available for this course!

In this deep-dive American history course, learn all about the American Civil War and get excited about history. Students will go beyond the causes & consequences and also study the military events, politics, and personalities of the time. 

How to get the most out of The Conflict That Made a Nation: The American Civil War with Christopher Martin, PhD:

• Download the pre-course materials (e.g., syllabus) found at the end of the course introduction, but before the weekly materials.

• Review the week's PowerPoint slides before watching the recorded class meeting.

• Have a notebook ready and available for class notes during each recorded class meeting.

• Watch the recorded class meeting, take notes.

• Do the assignments, quizzes, and any extra work assigned for that week.

• Repeat the above for each week.

• Once the course is completed to the parent's and professor’s satisfaction, there is a Certificate of Completion at the end to be filled in for your records.

 Note: This course includes a writing component.

Total classes: 14

Duration: 55 minutes per class

Prerequisite: None

Suggested grade level: 9th to 12th grade (NOTE: adjustments can be made to assignments in order to accommodate middle school students)

Suggested credit: One full semester History or American History

Instructor:  Christopher Martin, PhD

Course Description: The American Civil War, in many ways, finished the work of the American Revolution, settling the future course of the nation for years to come. The struggle of this conflict is one of the most American and epic stories in all of recorded history. This class briefly examines the causes and consequences of the Civil War, but focuses, primarily, on the politics, personalities, and military events that forged America into a unified country.

Course Outline:

Week 1: Introduction and overview of syllabus and assignments

         Background: Weeks 2-3

Week 2: Slavery, Anti-Federalism, and the Birth of the Nation

Week 3: The Crisis of the 1850s

         The Glory of the Confederacy: Weeks 4-7

Week 4: The Spirit of ‘61

Week 5: The War at Sea

Week 6: Antietam, and the cost of War

Week 7: Devastation near Fredericksburg

         Crushing the Rebellion: Weeks 8-11

Week 8: Gettysburg and Vicksburg

Week 9: The politics and society of war

Week 10: Overland, and to the Sea

Week 11: Medicine and Trenches

Week 12: The final campaigns

         The Legacy of the Civil War: Weeks 13-14

Week 13: Reconstruction

Week 14: The Lost Cause

Course materials: Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, by James McPherson, ISBN-10 : 019516895X, ISBN-13: 978-0195168952, (https://amzn.to/3b4WpeK or bookfinder.com).

NOTE: Middle school students are exempt from the course materials and required readings.

Homework: Writing is an integral part of demonstrating both the assimilation of knowledge, and the articulation thereof. Therefore, students will be guided through the process of writing a short (3- to 5-page, double-spaced) research paper on a subject related to the Civil War.

NOTE: Middle school students taking this course must instead write a one- to two-page book report.

One to two short (5-10 minutes), ungraded review quizzes based on classroom lectures and discussions.

Technical Help: If you have any technical trouble or questions about course content, please email us at homeschoolconnections@gmail.com.