The multimedia and interactive character of the Crisis at Fort Sumter program makes it an effective means of teaching history. By examining a topic in considerable depth, students become aware of the complexity of historical events, particularly their contingent quality. For example, the program's rigid chronological framework reveals that what appears in retrospect to be an almost inevitable sequence of events is actually a series of discrete occurrences. A different decision, a change in timing, or a different happening would yield different results. The program encourages counterfactual thinking and hypotheses.
Students become aware of the hard choices involved in political decision-making.
They realize, for example, that a decision-maker must assess various possible outcomes of different choices and must evaluate conflicting advice. For example, in deciding whether to retain federal troops at Fort Sumter, students must, like Lincoln, consider how their decision will affect the Confederate government, the Upper South states still in the Union, various members of the Republican party, and so forth. They must also evaluate the reasoning and motives of those offering advice. In using a problem-solving approach to history, the program encourages critical thinking. Students must define clearly the problem to be resolved, evaluate and interpret information, analyze their assumptions and values, and defend their decision against alternative choices.