The Civil War Brought to Life: Civil War re-enactments and their use in the classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis paper was to examine re-enactments and how they could be used as educational tools in the classroom. The paper starts with explaining re-enacting and what has been written about it. The research discusses how in the realm of re-enacting there is a major focus on authenticity. Authenticity is never completely defined as it is different for each individual re-enactor. The research also talks about the two main reasons why people choose to re-enact. Though every re-enactors decision to join a group is different, the two main reasons seem to be to educate the public or to entertain. The paper then takes the discussion of authenticity and why people re-enact and apply them to a local re-enactment group. There is a brief history of the 1st NY Light Artillery and their fight in the Civil War, followed by a look at the re-enactment group. The paper is concluded by looking at how re-enactments could be used in a classroom. It is suggested that re-enactments be used as a supplemental tool to teach the Civil War. It is shown that the sights and smells and other senses allow the students to remember and store information that will help solidify what they have learned.