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What is your favorite Civil War movie for homeschooling?


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Gettysburg is good-- but not for young children.  Teens and up would appreciate it better.  There are ( obviously) battle scenes, and there are parts that are quiet- "just some  guy thinking out loud " (to quote my son ;) )

 

Glory (with Matthew Broderick and Denzel Washington) is excellent. Highly recommended.

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In addition to the previous suggestion of Glory (1989) -- and the obvious choice of the Ken Burns' 1990 documentary on the Civil War:

 

Gone with the Wind (1939) gives you a before/during/after look at life in the South. The "home front" from the perspective of a spoiled Southern aristocratic woman, so no battles and not from a poor or black point of view.

 

Friendly Persuasion (1956) gives you a southern Indiana Quaker family perspective. Again, the "home front" and how the war tore up families, but no battles.

 

The Red Badge of Courage (1951) is a realistic portrayal (as much as the early 1950s would get) of the novella by Stephen Crane. The story focuses on one young man's reactions to being in battle for the first time.

 

Gettysburg (1993) is based on Michael Sahaara's epic novel, and is battle-based. Not graphically glory, but not the best film -- it feels like a made-for-TV-movie that was an "okay documentary" thinly disguised as a feature film.

 

Lincoln (2012) is Spielberg's focus on the President as he wrestles through the pros and cons of slave emancipation. No battles, and not so much about the Civil War, but about Lincoln's words/arguments, and the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln signed the EP in hopes that freed Southern slaves would become another fighting force within the South that the Confederacy would have to deal with.

 

For a sweeping epic of US History overall, with the Civil War as one segment, check out How The West Was Won (1962).

Edited by Lori D.
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In addition to the previous suggestion of Glory (1989) -- and the obvious choice of the Ken Burns' 1990 documentary on the Civil War:

 

Gone with the Wind (1939) gives you a before/during/after look at life in the South. The "home front" from the perspective of a spoiled Southern aristocratic woman, so no battles and not from a poor or black point of view.

 

Friendly Persuasion (1956) gives you a southern Indiana Quaker family perspective. Again, the "home front" and how the war tore up families, but no battles.

 

First we watched Friendy Persuasion that showed the Northern side. Then we watched Gone w/ the Wind -- the South's side. It was a interesting order to watch them in. Interesting juxtaposition.

 

Alley

 

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