Overview

Lesson Procedure

60-75 minutes of class time across 5 phases.

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes
2. Direct Instruction20 minutes
3. Guided Practice15 minutes
4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes
5. Closure5-10 minutes

1. Warm-Up5-10 minutes

   Warm-Up Prompt

   "The word union can mean a marriage, a workers' group, a school club or a country. Write one sentence about what holds any union together, and one sentence about what might make one of its members want to leave."

   List the answers in two columns, "what holds it together" and "why someone leaves." Students usually name shared rules, shared interests and loyalty on one side, and unfair treatment on the other. Tell students they will read three famous American documents written over 31 years, from 1830 to 1861, when States threatened to override or leave the Union. RI.9-10.9 asks them to analyze such seminal documents and how they address related themes and concepts: here, what the Union is, where its power comes from and what breaking it would mean.

2. Direct Instruction20 minutes

   Part 1: What makes a document seminal. A seminal document is one that later writers and readers keep returning to, because it shaped how Americans think about an idea. Its historical significance comes from the moment it answered and what followed; its literary significance comes from language memorable enough to be quoted long after the occasion. The standard's examples show the range: George Washington's Farewell Address (1796), which urged Americans to value the Union above sectional quarrels; Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (1863); Franklin D. Roosevelt's Four Freedoms speech (1941); and Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963). This lesson reads three documents on one theme, the Union, placed on the timeline in Diagram 1.

   Three questions to ask of every seminal document

   Question	What to look for	Example of a concept it reveals
   Occasion	What crisis or event the document answers, and who the audience is	A State claims it can cancel a federal law
   Ideas	The key terms and concepts the author defines or repeats	The people, sovereignty, the Union, disunion
   Language	Images, repetition, questions, short or long sentences	A flag, an abyss, a question left unanswered

   Part 2: The first document. In January 1830, Senator Robert Y. Hayne of South Carolina argued in the Senate that a State could judge for itself whether a federal law was constitutional. Daniel Webster of Massachusetts answered him in a speech that lasted two days, January 26-27, 1830, known as the "Reply to Hayne." Read Passage 1 aloud, then model the worked examples.

   1This leads us to inquire into the origin of this government and the source of its power. Whose agent is it? Is it the creature of the State legislatures, or the creature of the people? [...] It is, Sir, the people's Constitution, the people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people. The people of the United States have declared that this Constitution shall be the supreme law.

   [...]

   2I have not allowed myself, Sir, to look beyond the Union, to see what might lie hidden in the dark recess behind. I have not coolly weighed the chances of preserving liberty when the bonds that unite us together shall be broken asunder. I have not accustomed myself to hang over the precipice of disunion, to see whether, with my short sight, I can fathom the depth of the abyss below; nor could I regard him as a safe counsellor in the affairs of this government, whose thoughts should be mainly bent on considering, not how the Union may be best preserved, but how tolerable might be the condition of the people when it should be broken up and destroyed. While the Union lasts, we have high, exciting, gratifying prospects spread out before us, for us and our children. Beyond that I seek not to penetrate the veil. God grant that, in my day, at least, that curtain may not rise! God grant that on my vision never may be opened what lies behind! When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time the sun in heaven, may I not see him shining on the broken and dishonored fragments of a once glorious Union; on States dissevered, discordant, belligerent; on a land rent with civil feuds, or drenched, it may be, in fraternal blood! Let their last feeble and lingering glance rather behold the gorgeous ensign of the republic, now known and honored throughout the earth, still full high advanced, its arms and trophies streaming in their original lustre, not a stripe erased or polluted, nor a single star obscured, bearing for its motto, no such miserable interrogatory as "What is all this worth?" nor those other words of delusion and folly, "Liberty first and Union afterwards"; but everywhere, spread all over in characters of living light, blazing on all its ample folds, as they float over the sea and over the land, and in every wind under the whole heavens, that other sentiment, dear to every true American heart,--Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!

   • A concept defined by a question

     Webster asks of the national government, "Whose agent is it? Is it the creature of the State legislatures, or the creature of the people?" He answers: "It is, Sir, the people's Constitution, the people's government, made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people" (paragraph 1).

     Result: The concept is popular sovereignty: the people, not the State legislatures, created the government. Webster repeats "people" five times in one sentence, so the answer sounds settled before any proof is given.

   • Literary significance: repetition and images

     Paragraph 2 opens with three sentences that begin "I have not" and warns against those who "hang over the precipice of disunion" to "fathom the depth of the abyss below." Two sentences then begin "God grant."

     Result: Repeating the same opening (anaphora) gives the ending the rhythm of a vow. The images turn disunion into a fall from a cliff, so the theme of the Union becomes a matter of feeling as well as of law.

   • Seminal: later documents return to it

     Webster's "made for the people, made by the people, and answerable to the people" (1830) and Lincoln's closing words at Gettysburg (1863), "government of the people, by the people, for the people."

     Result: Both treat the people as the source of the government. Lincoln's wording is shorter and more famous, and it echoes Webster's sentence. A seminal document's phrases travel into later documents on the same theme.

3. Guided Practice15 minutes

   In November 1832, a South Carolina convention declared the federal tariff laws of 1828 and 1832 "null and void" in the State. On December 10, 1832, President Andrew Jackson answered with a proclamation. Pairs read Passage 2 and add it to their Concept Tracker (Activity 1). Model the first question with the worked example below.

   1The Constitution of the United States, then, forms a government, not a league; and whether it be formed by compact between the States or in any other manner, its character is the same. It is a Government in which all the people are represented, which operates directly on the people individually, not upon the States; they retained all the power they did not grant. But each State, having expressly parted with so many powers as to constitute, jointly with the other States, a single nation, can not, from that period, possess any right to secede, because such secession does not break a league, but destroys the unity of a nation; and any injury to that unity is not only a breach which would result from the contravention of a compact, but it is an offense against the whole Union. To say that any State may at pleasure secede from the Union is to say that the United States are not a nation, because it would be a solecism to contend that any part of a nation might dissolve its connection with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without committing any offense. Secession, like any other revolutionary act, may be morally justified by the extremity of oppression, but to call it a constitutional right is confounding the meaning of terms, and can only be done through gross error or to deceive those who are willing to assert a right, but would pause before they made a revolution or incur the penalties consequent on a failure.

   [...]

   2But the dictates of a high duty oblige me solemnly to announce that you can not succeed. The laws of the United States must be executed. I have no discretionary power on the subject; my duty is emphatically pronounced in the Constitution. Those who told you that you might peaceably prevent their execution deceived you; they could not have been deceived themselves. They know that a forcible opposition could alone prevent the execution of the laws, and they know that such opposition must be repelled. Their object is disunion. But be not deceived by names. Disunion by armed force is treason. Are you really ready to incur its guilt?

   • Defining a concept by contrast

     Jackson writes that the Constitution "forms a government, not a league" and that secession "does not break a league, but destroys the unity of a nation" (paragraph 1).

     Result: A league is an alliance of independent members, which any member might leave; a government forms one nation. By defining the Union through what it is not, Jackson makes secession an attack on a single body, not a withdrawal from a club.

   Guide the pairs with three more questions. (1) Jackson says secession "may be morally justified by the extremity of oppression." What does he call it instead of a constitutional right? (2) Which phrase in paragraph 1 addresses the same concept as Webster's question "Whose agent is it?" (3) Webster's paragraph 2 speaks of feelings and images. What kind of language does Jackson's paragraph 1 use instead? Students should find "revolutionary act," the government that "operates directly on the people individually, not upon the States," and the plain, step-by-step language of definitions ("league," "compact," "solecism").

4. Independent Practice15-20 minutes

   By March 4, 1861, seven Southern States had declared that they had left the Union, and Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office in a divided country. Students read Passage 3, from his First Inaugural Address, and answer the quiz on their own. They also complete the Lincoln column of their Concept Tracker (Diagram 2 shows the Webster and Jackson columns).

   1I hold that in contemplation of universal law and of the Constitution the Union of these States is perpetual. Perpetuity is implied, if not expressed, in the fundamental law of all national governments. It is safe to assert that no government proper ever had a provision in its organic law for its own termination. Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution, and the Union will endure forever, it being impossible to destroy it except by some action not provided for in the instrument itself.

   [...]

   2Physically speaking, we can not separate. We can not remove our respective sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other, but the different parts of our country can not do this. They can not but remain face to face, and intercourse, either amicable or hostile, must continue between them. Is it possible, then, to make that intercourse more advantageous or more satisfactory after separation than before? Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make laws? Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends? Suppose you go to war, you can not fight always; and when, after much loss on both sides and no gain on either, you cease fighting, the identical old questions, as to terms of intercourse, are again upon you.

   [...]

   3I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.

5. Closure5-10 minutes

   Exit ticket: "In one sentence, name a concept that two of today's documents share. In a second sentence, explain one difference in how they present it, with a short quotation." Sort the tickets into "names a shared topic" and "explains a difference" to plan the next lesson.

   Teacher note on context. The passages are quoted exactly as printed in 1897 and 1903 and contain no slurs; Passage 3 uses "aliens" in its older sense of foreigners. The excerpts leave out what the documents say about slavery, which was bound up with every one of these crises: in 1832 South Carolina's leaders feared that a strong federal government could one day act against slavery, and in 1861 several seceding States named the protection of slavery as a cause. Tell students this before reading, and present the other side fairly: Hayne and John C. Calhoun argued that the Union was a compact among sovereign States, each of which could judge federal laws for itself.

   Homework passage. Passage 4 is a sample comparison written for this page by an imagined student. Students evaluate it and then write a stronger one.

   1Daniel Webster, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln all talk about the Union. Webster gave a speech in the Senate in 1830. He says the Constitution is "the people's Constitution," and he ends with the words "Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and inseparable!"

   2Jackson wrote a proclamation in 1832. Like Webster, Jackson says that the people, not the States, made the Constitution. He also says that "Disunion by armed force is treason."

   3Lincoln gave his First Inaugural Address in 1861. He says that "We are not enemies, but friends." All three men loved their country and wanted to keep it together. Their speeches are very important documents in American history, and they show that the Union was important.

Differentiation Strategies

Assessment Guidance

1. Question 1 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In paragraph 1 of Passage 3, on what grounds does Lincoln say the Union is perpetual?

   AUniversal law and the Constitution BA new vote of the people in each State CThe Articles of Confederation of 1778 DThe will of the President and Congress

2. Question 2 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which reason in paragraph 1 of Passage 3 supports Lincoln's claim that "Perpetuity is implied"?

   AEvery national government includes a way to end itself BNo real government writes its own ending into its basic law CThe States joined the Union only for a fixed number of years DThe Union has lasted longer than any other government

3. Question 3 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In paragraph 1 of Passage 3, the phrase "organic law" most nearly means

   Aa law about farming and the land Ba law passed by a single State Ca government's founding law Dan unwritten custom of the people

4. Question 4 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Paragraph 2 of Passage 3 begins "Physically speaking, we can not separate." How does this argument differ from the one in paragraph 1?

   AIt rests on the Bible rather than on history BIt repeats the legal argument in fewer words CIt admits that separation would help trade DIt rests on geography and daily life, not law

5. Question 5 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What point does Lincoln make by comparing the sections of the country to a husband and wife?

   AUnlike a divorced couple, the sections cannot part BThe Union, like a marriage, may be ended by agreement CThe North and the South have always been equal partners DA separation is painful but is soon forgotten

6. Question 6 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What do the two questions "Can aliens make treaties easier than friends can make laws?" and "Can treaties be more faithfully enforced between aliens than laws can among friends?" suggest?

   AThe Southern States should sign treaties with Europe BLaws among friends are always obeyed without force CSeparate nations would find it harder to agree DCongress should replace its laws with treaties

7. Question 7 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   Which feature of language do the same two questions use?

   AParallel questions that pair opposites BA list of wrongs committed by the other side CA quotation from an earlier President DA series of exact dates and numbers

8. Question 8 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   What is Lincoln's point in the last sentence of paragraph 2 of Passage 3 ("Suppose you go to war...")?

   AThe North would win a war in a few weeks BA war is the only way to settle the questions CThe South would refuse ever to stop fighting DThe old questions would still be unsettled

9. Question 9 of 20 · Multiple Choice

   In paragraph 3 of Passage 3, the "mystic chords of memory" stretch "from every battlefield and patriot grave." Which shared memory is Lincoln calling on?

   AThe battles already fought between Northern and Southern troops BThose who died together for the country in its earlier wars CLincoln's own memories of his childhood on the frontier DThe music played by the band at the inauguration

10. Question 10 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    How does the closing sentence of Passage 3 turn the Union's bonds into an extended metaphor?

    AIt lists the States that had already left the Union BIt compares the Union to a house that cannot stand divided CIt uses words from music: chords, chorus, touched DIt describes a flag with stripes and stars

11. Question 11 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Jackson ends Passage 2 with "Are you really ready to incur its guilt?" Lincoln ends Passage 3 with "the better angels of our nature." How do the two endings differ?

    AJackson praises the opponents; Lincoln warns them BJackson warns of guilt; Lincoln appeals to shared feeling CBoth threaten to use the army against South Carolina DBoth ask the opponents to hold a new convention

12. Question 12 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In paragraph 2 of Passage 1, Webster says he has "not allowed myself, Sir, to look beyond the Union" and prays that what lies behind may never be opened to his vision. How does Lincoln's paragraph 2 in Passage 3 treat the prospect of separation differently?

    AIt pictures separation as a fall into an abyss BIt works out what separation would change CIt refuses to look beyond the Union at all DIt welcomes separation as a peaceful settlement

13. Question 13 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    In paragraph 1 of Passage 2, Jackson says it would be "a solecism" to claim that any part of a nation could leave it "without committing any offense." What does "solecism" mean here?

    AA statement that contradicts its own terms BA law passed by only one State CA crime punished by the national courts DA speech given by a single person

14. Question 14 of 20 · Multiple Choice

    Paragraph 2 of Passage 2 includes "Their object is disunion. But be not deceived by names. Disunion by armed force is treason." What is the effect of these sentences?

    ALong, balanced sentences soften a harsh message BQuestions invite the audience to decide for itself CImages of nature make the danger feel distant DShort, blunt sentences build to a plain verdict

15. Question 15 of 20 · Short Answer

    Complete the Passage 3 column of Diagram 2. For each row (kind of Union, what disunion would mean, style of the key lines), give a short answer and a quotation from Passage 3.

    Show model answer

16. Question 16 of 20 · Short Answer

    Both Webster (Passage 1, paragraph 2) and Lincoln (Passage 3, paragraph 3) close with an image. Explain one way Lincoln's approach to the theme of the Union differs from Webster's, quoting both.

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17. Question 17 of 20 · Short Answer

    Explain why Passage 3 is a document of historical significance. Use the date of the address and one sentence from the passage.

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18. Question 18 of 20 · Short Answer

    Which passage do you think was most persuasive to its first audience? Name the audience each speaker addressed and support your choice with evidence.

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19. Question 19 of 20 · Short Answer

    Jackson writes, "The laws of the United States must be executed" (Passage 2, paragraph 2). Lincoln writes, "Continue to execute all the express provisions of our National Constitution" (Passage 3, paragraph 1). Compare how each presents the duty to carry out the law and what that duty means for the Union.

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20. Question 20 of 20 · Short Answer

    Write a thesis statement for an essay on how Passages 1, 2 and 3 address the theme of the Union. Then give one short quotation from each passage that you would use.

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These standards connect to RI.9-10.9: prerequisites to review first, parallel standards at the same level, and next steps that build on it.

Standard text: Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy. © Copyright 2010. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.