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1
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Attend a reenactment
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2
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Hold a mini-reenactment
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3
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Draw a battle plan*
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4
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Read a fictional book that takes place during the Civil War
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5
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Wear blue one day; grey the next
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6
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Design a flag
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7
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Raise money for a battlefield preservation group
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8
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Build a replica U.S.S. Monitor or C.S.S. Virginia
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9
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Volunteer to clean up a Civil War monument
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10
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Watch a Civil War movie like Glory or Gettysburg
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11
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Scour antique stores for Civil War-era objects
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12
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Hide a Civil War-related fact or object in a geocache
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13
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Eat hardtack and beans*
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14
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Visit the website of a Civil War battlefield or museum
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15
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Learn to play Taps
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16
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Be like Walt Whitman – write a poem
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17
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Recite the Emancipation Proclamation
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18
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Count to 620,000 (the approximate number of Civil War deaths)
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19
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Draw a map of the states that existed during the War
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20
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Give yourself a cool Civil War nickname (like Stonewall)
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21
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Memorize the Gettysburg Address
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22
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Find out if there’s a Civil War hero from your town
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23
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States’ Rights or Union? Argue both sides
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24
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Create a soldier’s uniform*
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25
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Write a newspaper-style account of a battle as if you were there
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26
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Write a note to your sweetheart using berry ink*
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27
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Carry 60 pounds (the weight a soldier might carry)
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28
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Study the history of a particular regiment
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29
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Learn how to bandage a wound*
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30
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Walk a battlefield
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31
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Write a pretend letter to a soldier who served during the Civil War
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32
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Write a real letter to a soldier who is serving today
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33
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Interview a descendent of a slave
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34
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Create a Civil War website or fan page
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35
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Make a drum*
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36
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Play what if… (as in “What if Lee had won at Gettysburg?”)
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37
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Read today’s newspaper and see if any stories have a link to the Civil War
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38
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Be like Julia Ward Howe – write a song
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39
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Research your family history – did anyone fight in the war?*
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40
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No family in the War? Interview a descendent of a soldier
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41
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Decorate your room with bunting
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42
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Try to compromise
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43
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Signal with flags*
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44
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Memorize the major battles, in order
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45
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Learn the alternative names for the battles
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46
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Send a secret message*
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47
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Teach your friends a drill*
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48
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Be like Sarah Morgan – write a journal as if you lived during the War
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49
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Attend a meeting of a local Civil War Roundtable
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50
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Make a stovepipe hat+
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51
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Join the cavalry – learn to ride a horse
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52
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Visit a soldier’s grave on Memorial Day
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53
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Play Civil War charades
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54
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Make a Civil War scrapbook*
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55
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Write a letter to yourself to be opened in four years (the length of the war!)
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56
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Sleep under the stars
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57
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Make a daguerreotype+
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58
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Be like Mathew Brady – reproduce a famous Civil War photo with your friends
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59
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Say “Action!” – direct a video of your friends acting out a Civil War scene
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60
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Argue who’s better – Grant or Lee?
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61
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Tweet about “this day in history”
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62
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Draw a political cartoon+
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63
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Cook over a fire (ask your parents first)
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64
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Yell like a Rebel*
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65
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Read out loud to a friend (like soldiers did)
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66
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Learn the words to Dixie and John Brown’s Body
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67
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Read a history book
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68
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Run for student office+
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69
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Write your governmental representatives about your concerns
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70
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Give a rousing speech
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71
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Think of three ways to cross a river*
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72
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Find out how many friends can fit in a two-man tent
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73
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Visit a museum or website dedicated to the history of slavery
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74
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Search attics and basements for family memorabilia
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75
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Watch the Ken Burns’ documentary, The Civil War
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76
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Build a lean-to shelter*
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77
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Locate the sites of major battles on a modern map
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78
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Name ten generals on either side
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79
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Paint a panoramic scene from the War+
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80
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Volunteer at a veterans’ hospital
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81
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Learn Morse Code+
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82
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Ask people from different walks of life what the Civil War means to them
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83
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Write to a historian
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84
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Make a quilt*
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85
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Play children’s games like Crack the Whip and Blind Man’s Buff
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86
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Play grown-up games like chess, checkers and backgammon
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87
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Find the North Star
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88
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Create a time capsule+
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89
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Read a first-hand account of the War by a soldier who was there
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90
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Trace the progress of an advance on a map
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91
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Try to find photos of your town during the Civil War era
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92
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Read original letters or journals written by Civil War soldiers
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93
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Work to pass just laws
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94
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Learn the role your state played in the Civil War
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95
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Collect Lincoln pennies
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96
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Pick a favorite general
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97
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Visit the Library of Congress website to see original photos from the Civil War
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98
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Volunteer at a library (and learn about archives and reference materials)
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99
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Form a mess with three of your friends
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100
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Write an article about the War for a blog – or for a children’s magazine
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101
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Wear a black armband on the anniversary of battles
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114
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Study topography and learn to draw maps
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115
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Make a recruiting poster for the North and one for the South
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116
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Look up Civil War-era slang and try to talk like a soldier for a day
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117
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Make a fort
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118
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Whittle
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119
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Think of a password for the day
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120
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Challenge your friends to a Civil War trivia contest
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121
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Read Uncle Tom’s Cabin
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122
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Study a map of the U.S. and trace the waterways that surround the South
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123
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Make a collage of images that reflect your thoughts about the Civil War
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124
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Row a boat and pretend you are passing the batteries of Vicksburg
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125
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Ride in a train and pretend you are troop reinforcements, heading to battle
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126
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Read the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
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127
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Walk in ill-fitting shoes
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128
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Shake hands with an opponent
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129
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Dig a trench
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130
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Learn to dance the Virginia Reel and the Grand March
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131
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Start an aid society to work for worthy causes
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132
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Welcome returning soldiers home
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133
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Write a play about a Civil War event or person
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134
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Make cartes de visite (visiting cards) and exchange them with friends
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135
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Search the internet for illustrations by famous Civil War artists
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136
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Look up soldiers, regiments and battle histories at the National Park System’s Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System website
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137
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Count the generations since the Civil War
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138
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Measure out 6’4” (Lincoln’s height) and see how you compare
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139
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Wear calico
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140
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Host a “starvation party” (music and dancing but no refreshments)
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141
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Ask friends around the country to send you Civil War postcards
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142
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Play the bones*
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143
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Make homemade butternut dye*
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144
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Count how many Civil War reminders you see in one day (for example, you might walk past Union Station or drink from a Dixie cup)
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145
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Take rubbings from headstones, monuments, and cornerstones
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146
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Visit your local, state or national representatives to see government in action
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147
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Create a Civil War cyber-scavenger hunt for your friends
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148
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Research a Civil War person and impersonate him or her
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149
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Attend a Sesquicentennial event
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150
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Come up with your own activity and send it to telegraph@janisherbertforkids.com – the best ones will be posted!
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