Terms of Use
Last updated September 18, 2026
These terms cover your use of GeoInquiries Lab web apps, including A Nation Divided: Civil War Map Missions, and the pages that accompany them. By using an app you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.
What the apps are for
The apps are free educational tools for teachers and students. They present historical and geographic content as map-based activities for classroom or independent study. They are not a substitute for a course of study, a textbook, or a teacher's judgment, and they are not intended for any commercial purpose.
License
Unless noted otherwise below, the apps, including their code, text, questions, and design, are © Tom Baker and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). In plain terms you may:
- Share — copy and redistribute the app in any medium or format;
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon it, for example by swapping in your own map layers or questions;
provided that you:
- give credit to Tom Baker and link to the license, and indicate if changes were made;
- do not use it commercially; and
- share alike, releasing anything you build from it under the same license.
The license text governs if this summary and the license differ. Ordinary classroom use, including by fee-charging schools, is not considered commercial use.
Third-party content and services
Parts of what you see in an app belong to others and are not covered by the license above. Your use of them is subject to their owners' terms:
| Component | Owner and terms |
|---|---|
| ArcGIS Maps SDK for JavaScript, basemaps, and the USA States layer | Esri. Use is governed by the Esri Master Agreement and the ArcGIS Online terms of use. Esri, ArcGIS, and GeoInquiries are trademarks of Esri. |
| Civil War battle locations and attributes | A public ArcGIS Online hosted feature layer compiled from Civil War Trust (now American Battlefield Trust) battle pages and National Park Service Civil War Sites Advisory Commission data. Published by a third-party ArcGIS Online account; we do not control its availability or content. |
| Historical facts in the questions and feedback | Drawn from National Park Service battle summaries (public domain) and American Battlefield Trust battle pages. Links in the app lead to those sources. |
| Lesson framework | Based on the Esri GeoInquiries lesson "A Nation Divided: the Civil War" for U.S. History. |
| Typefaces (Old Standard TT, Source Sans 3) | Google Fonts, under the SIL Open Font License. |
| Creative Commons license badge | Creative Commons, under its trademark policy. |
Accuracy of content
We take care to source every historical statement, and the app's Sources panel lists where each fact comes from. History is nonetheless a matter of scholarship, and figures such as casualties and even battle names vary between sources. The battle layer is maintained by a third party and may change. Present-day state boundaries are used on the map. If you find an error, please tell us so it can be corrected; do not rely on the app as a sole authority for graded work or publication.
Acceptable use
You agree not to use the apps to harass or harm others, to attempt to interfere with the third-party services the apps rely on, or to misrepresent the apps or their content as your own or as endorsed by Esri, the National Park Service, or the American Battlefield Trust.
Student work
Answers and written arguments students create in an app belong to the students. The app stores them only in the student's own browser and produces a downloadable text file at the student's request; see the Privacy Policy. How that work is collected, graded, or shared is a matter between students and their teachers or schools.
No warranty
The apps are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any warranty of accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, or uninterrupted availability. The apps depend on services operated by others, and we cannot promise those services will remain available or unchanged.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Tom Baker will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, the apps or their content.
Links to other sites
The apps link to outside websites for further reading. Those sites are not under our control, and a link does not imply endorsement. Their content and terms are their own.
Changes
These terms may be updated from time to time. The date at the top shows the current version. Continued use after a change means you accept the revised terms.
Contact
Questions about these terms, licensing requests, or corrections can be sent to Tom Baker through tbaker.com.