The War That Won't Go Away.

• Author: MCCOLLUM, SEAN
• Position: Effects of Civil War on modern society

The bloody, four-year conflict that split the nation in two ended in 1865. So why, in 2001, are Americans still battling over it?

FOCUS: The Civil War, Which Ended 136 Years Ago, Still Creates Controversy Today

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand why, as controversies over flags and Cabinet nominees prove, the long-ago Civil War still stirs passions among Americans.

Discussion Questions:

* Why do you think symbols of the Civil War have such importance in the minds of Americans today?

* Do you agree with Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton that states have to stand up against the federal government's gaining too much power?

* Historian David W. Blight says that for a long time, the South's view of the Civil War prevailed. Why does it matter how such history is recalled?

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

Photo Study/Critical Thinking: Refer to photos of the battle flag protests. Discuss the power of symbols. What is it about a flag that can inflame emotions?

Debate/Discussion: Next, weigh the conflicting claims that the Confederate battle flag represents (a) a racist regime that was defending slavery, or (b) a region's brave struggle for independence. Can the flag represent both? Note Attorney General John Ashcroft's worry that people might be taught that brave Confederates gave their lives "to some perverted agenda." If the South was fighting to preserve slavery, was that a "perverted agenda"? Critics of honoring the Confederacy also point out that its army was in rebellion against the U.S. Government. Was that treason? How might Ashcroft react tO such a rebellion today? On the other hand, should a part of a country have the right to break away from that country if it wishes to?

Writing: Historian James M. McPherson has written that after the Civil War, Southern leaders worked to purge their "lost cause ... of any association with the now dead and discredited institution of human bondage." Ask students to compare the two statements by Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens and write a paragraph arguing that they either do or do not furnish evidence for McPherson's point.

Research: Students can search the Internet and news reports around April 17 to learn the results of Mississippi's flag referendum. Use the results to discuss whether attitudes toward the flag are changing.

You'd think the guns were still smoking. Last year, when a group of Mississippians considered removing an image of the Confederate battle flag from the state...