Teaching with SOURCES to learn about the Overseer Law and to build historical thinking skills

Purpose The history behind the Confederacy’s Overseer Law is filled with complications and controversies that ultimately can provide insight into some possible reasons for the South losing the war. Examining the impacts of this law through an authentic historical inquiry-based approach employing the SOURCES Framework for Teaching with Primary and Secondary Sources creates an exciting learning opportunity for students to draw their own conclusions regarding the effects this law had on the Confederacy and their eventual demise. Design/methodology/approach The investigation outlined in this paper was designed to teach secondary students about the Overseer Law and to build historical thinking skills through the utilization of the SOURCES Framework for Teaching with Primary and Secondary Sources. Findings Through this approach, students were able to better understand the Overseer Law through an authentic investigation of primary sources from the 1800s. Originality/value This is an original manuscript and has not been submitted elsewhere.