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Go directly to the collection, Washington during the Civil War: The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865, in American Memory, or view a Summary of Resources related to the collection.

• Chronological Thinking: Creating and Interpreting Timelines
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• Chronological Thinking: Continuity and Change Over Time |
• Historical Comprehension: Personal Bias |
• Historical Comprehension: Evidencing Historical Perspectives |
• Historical Analysis and Interpretation: Comparing Different Stories About an Event |
• Historical Research: Interrogating Historical Data |
• Historical Issues-Analysis and Decision-Making

Chronological Thinking: Creating and Interpreting Timelines

The Civil War Photographs collection in American Memory includes a detailed timeline of the Civil War. Choose one of the years for which Horatio Nelson Taft made a significant number of entries. Use the Civil War Photographs timeline for that year as a base for a timeline. Expand the timeline by incorporating selections from the Taft diaries corresponding to important campaigns and battles.

• What do the diaries reveal about public response to successes and failures on the battlefield?
• What other sources could you check to learn more about public responses to events of the war?
• If you were to create a timeline about the Second World War or Vietnam War, how much information would you include about public response to the war? Why?