Across Five Aprils

Across Five Aprils

FICTION

Irene Hunt

1964

Open Ended

What are some things you already know about the Civil War?

Poll

Where did your background knowledge about the Civil War come from?

• History Class

• Friends

• Television Shows or Movies

• Books

• Family Members

Introduction

Irene Hunt (1907–2001) was the author of many popular books for young adults. Across Five Aprils, one of her best-known works, tells the story of nine-year-old Jethro Creighton, who has two older brothers fighting in the Civil War for the North—and another fighting for the South. Following the war through newspaper articles and weathering the conflicts at home on the family farm in Illinois, Jethro takes his first steps into manhood as the only son remaining in a household that’s as divided as the country. In this excerpt from Chapter 2, war is on the horizon as a dinner among Jethro, his older brothers, and a cousin, Wilse Graham, turns to a heated discussion of the impending conflict.

In This Bundle...

The excerpt from Across Five Aprils, read with “Letters of a Civil War Nurse” and the “Gettysburg Address,” will introduce you to the debate surrounding and causes of the Civil War and introduce you to the ways in which characters and people use their words to challenge or console an audience.

Genre

This text is historical fiction. While the author draws on factual information, the text also incorporates fictional elements, such as characters, dialogue, and plot.

The novel excerpt begins in the middle of the action, in chapter 2. You should make inferences to fill in missing information.

Dialogue

The dialogue in the excerpt includes dialect. Dialect is language used by people of a specific time or region.

Prior Knowledge

The excerpt explores the conflicts in a family torn apart by opposing loyalties in the months before the Civil War.

Causes of the Civil War

Prior to the war, the North and the South had been divided for decades over the issue of slavery.

The Southern economy was based largely on plantation agriculture, and African American slaves did most of the work on the plantations. The Northern economy, on the other hand, relied more on manufacturing. 

Causes Continued

In the wake of Lincoln’s election, 11 Southern states seceded from the Union to protect what they saw as their right to keep slaves.

Lincoln was intent on preserving the Union. Disregarding Lincoln’s vow, Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. This marked the beginning of the American Civil War.

Effects of the Civil War

In September 1862 Lincoln called on the seceded states to return to the Union or have their slaves declared free. When no state returned, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. 

Despite a string of early Confederate victories, the Union forces ultimately prevailed in the war.

Roughly 2 percent of the 1860 population of the United States died in the war. The war remains the bloodiest conflict in American history.

Effects Continued

The South was devastated by the war, but the Union was preserved, and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1865, officially abolished slavery in the entire country.

After the war the defeated states were gradually allowed back into the United States. The period after the war in which attempts were made to solve the political, social, and economic problems arising from the readmission to the Union of the former Confederate states is known as Reconstruction (1865–77).

Time to Read Across Five Aprils

Please read the excerpt found on Canvas. Make sure you pay attention to the bolded and highlighted words.

Open Ended

For what are Nancy and Jenny preparing at the chapter’s opening?

Open Ended

What does the supper conversation turn to? How does it relate to your knowledge of Civil War?

Open Ended

What state are the characters most concerned about in the discussion?

Open Ended

How does Wilse feel about the North?

Open Ended

Who is “Ol' Abe from this fair state of Illinois”? Make a connection to previous knowledge.

Open Ended

What is the main thing the characters are arguing about in the final paragraphs?

Overview

This chapter features the dinner-time reunion of an Illinois farming family that included brothers who are fighting for opposing sides of the Civil War. For a while no one speaks about the war, focusing instead on family affairs, but eventually, Uncle Matt wonders aloud which side Kentucky will take. Cousin Wilse supports the confederacy and believes that the family should as well, considering they are from Southern Illinois. The others push back, arguing that if the country divides, it will be weaker. One of the women raises the issue of slavery, stating that it becomes more awful every year. Wilse, a slave owner, admits that he can’t ethically justify slavery but points out that the country has had slavery since its founding. The argument grows heated, and they debate whether the war is about the decency of humans or money. In the end, there are no clear answers.

Time to Take a Reading Comprehension Check

Take the Across Five Aprils Quiz on Canvas

Time to complete the Exit Slip

go to Canvas and complete the exit slip for today (KWL)