Gideon Welles

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/gideon-welles

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Gideon Welles born?July 1, 1802
2. Where was Gideon Welles born?Glastonbury, Connecticut
3. What is the presidential nickname?Referred to by President Abraham Lincoln as 'Neptune'
4. What did Gideon Welles do as Secretary of the Navy?He grew the Navy almost ten times bigger and built a strong blockade of Southern ports, helping the Union win the Civil War.
5. Why was Gideon Welles called "Neptune"?President Lincoln liked to call him Neptune because he thought Welles was very good at working with the sea.

Secretary of the Navy: The civilian head of the U.S. Department of the Navy, responsible for naval policy, administration, and operations.
Civil War: The internal armed conflict fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865 between the Union and the Confederacy.
Anaconda Plan: The Union's strategic plan during the Civil War to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River, thereby 'squeezing' the Confederacy.
Union Blockade: The naval strategy employed by the Union to prevent the Confederacy from importing war materials and exporting goods, particularly cotton.