Introduction to Reconstruction 1865-1877
Standards:
7.1.12B Analyze the location of places and regions.
8.1.12B Evaluate the interpretation of historical events and sources, considering the use
of fact versus opinion, multiple perspectives, and cause and effect relationships.
8.3.12D Evaluate how conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations in the
U.S. have influenced the growth and development of the world.
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to define and categorize terms related to the Reconstruction
period.
2. Students will be able to identify what they already know about the Reconstruction
period and identify one new fact about the period.
3. Students will be able to describe political challenges during the Reconstruction.
Subject Matter: Racism, perspective, balance of powers, discrimination, impeachment
Materials:
 PBS Video clip: Reconstruction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJLBrDSTgng
Procedure:
1. Set:
a. Ask students where in the world a country might be “reconstructing” after a
war. Briefly talk about Iraq and/or Afghanistan and the reconstruction
efforts.
b. Ask what the students already know about reconstruction after the civil war.
c. Essential question: Was reconstruction a success? Why/why not?
2. Discussion: Introduce students to overarching questions to be discussed in this
chapter:
a. What were the opposing views of Reconstruction in the wake of the Civil
War?
b. Who supported these competing views and why?
c. Was Reconstruction a success? Why or why not?
3. Video Clip: Reconstruction
a. Ask students to identify one new fact that they learned during the video
b. Show PBS Video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJLBrDSTgng
c. Ask students to share one new fact that they learned from the video
4. Teacher Presentation:
a. Display Reconstruction map and review what the country looked like in 1865
b. Display Rail Splitter political cartoon. Ask students:
i. Who are the two characters?
ii. Do you think Andrew Johnson and Abe Lincoln are working together?
c. Display the reconstruction map. Students will be shown a map and asked
some of the following questions:
i. What state was last reinstated as a state of the union?
ii. Which state spent the longest period of time as a territory working
towards reinstatement?
d. If you were a confederate soldier during the civil war, would you vote
allegiance to the union and acknowledge the emancipation of your former
slaves? Why/why not?
5. Vocabulary Activity:
a. Distribute both activity sheets.
b. Students are asked to look at the vocabulary words and group them by
category. If he/she does not know the meaning of the word, the student should
use the textbook glossary, chapter bolded words, google, or dictionary to find
it’s meaning.
c. Review student answers in a large group.
6. Close: The instructor will complete a concise check for understanding of the
most important cognitive objective by asking, “What were some of the
similarities and differences between Lincoln and Johnson’s plans for
Reconstruction.”
Assessment:
1. The teacher will informally observe the students taking notes from Teacher and video.
2. The teacher will informally observe the students participating in class by answering
questions asked during the Teacher presentation.
3. The teacher will formally evaluate the students completing a vocabulary activity.
Reconstruction Vocabulary Activity
Directions: Group vocabulary terms and place each vocabulary term on line. Create a
category name and place in the boxes provided.
Racism
Freedmen
Perspective
Manufacturing
Balance of power
Transportation
Discrimination
Leadership
Economics
Union
Agriculture
Legislature
Regionalism
Prejudice
Impeachment
Judicial
Lynching
Sharecropper
Bureau
Disenfranchise
Carpetbagger
Compromise
Military Districts
Moderate
Radical
Scalawags
Reconstruction Vocabulary Activity
(page 2)
Multiple Perspectives of Reconstruction
(2-3 days)
Standards:
7.1.12B Analyze the location of places and regions.
8.1.12B Evaluate the interpretation of historical events and sources, considering the use
of fact versus opinion, multiple perspectives, and cause and effect relationships.
8.3.12D Evaluate how conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations in the
U.S. have influenced the growth and development of the world.
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to identify multiple perspectives related to the reconstruction
period in the United States.
2. Students will be able to complete a WebQuest activity related to reconstruction.
3. Students will be able to complete a role play activity simulating the reconstruction
era.
Subject Matter: Racism, multiple perspectives, balance of powers, institutionalism,
discrimination, economics, industrialization, agriculture, regionalism
Materials:
 Computer Lab
 WebQuest – http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=21061
Procedure:
1. Set: Students will enter the classroom and read the following quote concerning
Reconstruction.
a. “Our Southern brethren have done grievously, they have rebelled and have
attacked their father's house and their loyal brothers. They must be punished
and brought back, but this necessity breaks my heart.”
-Major Robert Anderson, defender of Fort Sumter in April of 1861,
gave this assessment of the situation between North and South.
b. Where do you believe this person was from?
c. Why do you think they had such a perspective?
2. Informal Lecture: The instructor will briefly lecture on the following topics:
a. The post-1865 conditions in the South that made any attempt at genuine
reconstruction highly difficult.
b. The differences between Conservative, Moderate, and Radical Republican
Reconstruction, and the reasons for the brief success and ultimate failure of
the Radicals.
3. WebQuest Activity: Using the following website, students will complete a
WebQuest activity on the Reconstruction of the South.
a. http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=21061
b. Directions for the WebQuest are as follows:
i. The class will be divided into six groups of four to five
students. The group may work as a whole or it may decide to divide
the work so that more content can be covered more quickly. Students
should do the following:
ii. Read and review the tasks involved in this WebQuest ; then, meet
in your assigned groups to discuss strategy.
iii. Organize your resource list around the appropriate task. Each task
should have at least two sources.
iv. Students will compare and contrast the three Reconstruction plans
by making a chart and then determining : which favored the South
which favored the newly freed people (Give reasons to back up each
position)
v. Explain the roles that each of the following groups played during
this era, whether positive, negative, or both:
 carpetbaggers
 scalawags
 Ku Klux Klan
 Freedmen
4. Close: The students will give short, brief answers to the following questions:
a. What were some of the different perspectives concerning Reconstruction?
b. What were these different beliefs?
Assessment:
1. The instructor will informally observe the students analyzing the opening quote.
2. The instructor will informally observe the students conducting their research in the
computer lab.
3. The instructor will formally evaluate the students on the WebQuest activity using the
online rubric provided.
Plans for Reconstruction
Lincoln
Johnson
Radical
Republicans
Northern & Southern Reactions
Standards:
8.1.12C Evaluate historical interpretation of events.
8.3.12A Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and
groups to United States history from 1890 to Present.
5.2.12C Interpret the causes of conflict in society.
Objectives:
1. The students will be able to compare and contrast the Northern and Southern reactions to
Reconstruction.
2. The students will be able to evaluate the condition of the South following Reconstruction.
3. The students will be able to compose a well written essay expressing the different
reactions of the North and South.
Subject Matter: conflict, racism, democracy, union, balance of power
Materials:
 Graphic Organizer – Compare and Contrast
 Computer Lab
 Essay Rubric
Procedure:
1. Set:
a. Students will enter the classroom and see image see the political cartoon of
Lincoln and Johnson. Ask students:
 Who are the two people in the cartoon?
 What do you think they are doing?
 Why would they be working together?
b. Essential Question: Did different groups of people, with different
perspectives cooperatively come together to re-construct America?
2. Teacher Presentation:
a. Review Lincoln’s position
 Lincoln’s official position was that the South had never left the
Union
 Lincoln’s opponents argued that by declaring war, the Confederacy
had broken their Constitutional ties and reverted to a territory status
 The North was stronger than ever, the South lay in ruins
 April14, 1865 Assassinated and Johnson becomes president
b. Review the Teacher “Conflicting Goals” slide
3. Compare & Contrast Research:
a. Students will be asked to compare and contrasts the reactions of the North
and the South using a graphic organizer.
b. Using the computer lab, students will be given class time to research
multiple sources in order to compare and contrast the different reactions of
the North and the South to Reconstruction.
 How did the North react?
 How did the South react?
 How were these reactions related to the social, political, and
economic factors of each individual region?
 What were some specific events expressing each region’s reaction to
Reconstruction?
4. Research Essay: Using the completed graphic organizer, students will be asked to
write a 3-5 page paper explaining in detail the different reactions of the North and
of the South to Reconstruction. Students should be sure to use specific examples
and citations to support their information.
a. A rubric for the essay paper will be given ahead of time so that students are
aware of what will be expected of them.
b. The paper is to be handed in alongside the graphic organizer.
5. Close: Ask students:
a. Did different groups of people, with different perspectives cooperatively
come together to re-construct America?
b. The students will briefly discuss alternate views and reactions of the North
and South concerning Reconstruction.
Assessment:
1. The instructor will informally observe the students conducting research in the
computer lab.
2. The instructor will informally observe the students completing the graphic organizer.
3. The instructor will formally assess the students on their research essays and graphic
organizers, including the correlation between the two.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
MAIN TOPIC:
SUB-TOPIC:
(characterize Southern reaction)
SUB-TOPIC:
(characterize Northern reaction)
ALIKE
DIFFERENT
RECONSTRUCTION ESSAY ASSIGNMENT
Using the completed graphic organizer, write a 3-5 page essay explaining the different reactions of the North and of
the South to Reconstruction. Be sure to use specific examples and citations to support your information.
CATEGORY
4
3
2
1
Organization
Information is very
organized with wellconstructed
paragraphs and
subheadings.
Information is
organized with wellconstructed
paragraphs.
Information is
organized, but
paragraphs are not
well-constructed.
The information
appears to be
disorganized.
Quality of
Information
Information clearly
relates to the main
topic. It includes
several supporting
details and/or
examples.
Information clearly
relates to the main
topic. It provides 1-2
supporting details
and/or examples.
Information clearly Information has little
relates to the main
or nothing to do with
topic. No details
the main topic.
and/or examples are
given.
Sources
All sources
(information and
graphics) are
accurately
documented in the
desired format.
All sources
(information and
graphics) are
accurately
documented, but a
few are not in the
desired format.
All sources
(information and
graphics) are
accurately
documented, but
many are not in the
desired format.
Some sources are not
accurately
documented.
Mechanics
No grammatical,
spelling or
punctuation errors.
Almost no
grammatical,
spelling or
punctuation errors
A few grammatical
spelling, or
punctuation errors.
Many grammatical,
spelling, or
punctuation errors.
Paragraph
Construction
All paragraphs
include introductory
sentence,
explanations or
details, and
concluding sentence.
Most paragraphs
include introductory
sentence,
explanations or
details, and
concluding sentence.
Paragraphs included
related information
but were typically
not constructed well.
Paragraphing
structure was not
clear and sentences
were not typically
related within the
paragraphs.
Graphic Organizer
Graphic organizer or
outline has been
completed and
shows clear, logical
relationships
between all topics
and subtopics.
Graphic organizer or
outline has been
completed and
shows clear, logical
relationships
between most topics
and subtopics.
Graphic organizer or Graphic organizer or
outline has been
outline has not been
started and includes attempted.
some topics and
subtopics.
Comments:
Reconstruction Plans
(2 Days)
Standards:
8.1.12C Evaluate historical interpretation of events.
8.3.12A Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and
groups to United States history from 1890 to Present.
5.2.12C Interpret the causes of conflict in society.
Objectives:
1. The students will be able to compare and contrast the different plans for Reconstruction.
2. The students will be able to debate their assigned side of an argument.
Subject Matter: racism, equality, civil rights, activism
Materials:
 Graphic Organizer
 Debate Rules
 Handout – Johnson’s Plan vs. Radical-Republicans
Procedure:
1. Set: Students will enter the classroom and answer the following questions:
a. Students will brainstorm ideas and discuss different options for “teaching
someone a lesson”
b. Essential Question: Which plan for reconstruction was used and why?
2. Teacher Presentation.
a. The Teacher will outline the different Reconstruction plans of Lincoln, Johnson,
and the Radical-Republicans, as well as the actions of Congress.
b. There is a matching handout as well.
3. Debate: Adapted from: Kintisch, Shelly and Wilma Cordero. Breaking Away from the Textbook
a. The class will be divided up into two groups and will pretend they are members of
Congress 1866. One half of the class will be assigned the more lenient Johnson
Plan while the other half will argue the strict Radical-Republicans. The following
questions can be used to lead the debate:
i. What is to be accomplished?
ii. Is it important to punish the South?
iii. Would being hard on the South teach them a lesson?
b. The students will finish the class by voting on which plan they feel is better.
Students will have to predict which plan won. The instructor may then announce
that the Radical-Republicans won
4. Close: The instructor will complete a concise check for understanding of the
most important cognitive objective by asking, “Which plan was used and
why?”
Assessment:
1. The instructor will informally observe the students taking notes on the Teacher.
2. The instructor will formally assess the students during the debate.
Presidents V. Congress: Reconstruction
The dispute: Both Presidents Lincoln and Johnson favored a lenient approach to reconstruction. It was their belief
that the nation could be best served by leaving the brutality of the Civil War behind quickly. Radical Republicans,
led by Thadeaus Stevens, argued that the South should be punished for starting the Civil War. Eventually, the
dispute would lead to an attempt to impeach and remove President Johnson.
Lincoln And Johnson's Plans for Reconstruction
"With malice toward none, with charity for all"
Lincoln
Both Lincoln and Johnson supported lenient plans for
Reconstruction.
10% Plan (Lincoln): Once ten percent of a southern
state's 1860 voters had taken an oath of loyalty, the
state could rejoin the Union.
Both Lincoln and Johnson provided for a generous
amnesty to allow Southerners to retain their property
and reacquire their political rights.
Johnson supported the 13th Amendment that
abolished slavery but was reluctant to support Black
suffrage believing this was an issue for states.
Radical Republicans' Plans
Believed the South should be punished for starting the war
and hoped to protect the rights of Freedmen (former
slaves).
Extended the Freedmen's Bureau (Over Johnson's Veto) to
provide food, clothing, shelter, and education to freedmen
and war refugees.
Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Passed over Johnson's Veto)
designed to grant freedmen full legal equality,
undercutting the Black Codes
Reconstruction Act of 1867 (Passed over Johnson's Veto)
 Divided the South into 5 districts and placed them
under military rule (disbanded governments
readmitted under Lincoln/Johnson plans
 Required S. States to ratify the 14th Amendment
 Guaranteed freedmen the right to vote in
conventions to write new state constitutions
15th Amendment
Failures under Lincoln and Johnson:
Reconstruction Amendments
Black Codes: Many states passed laws restricting the
rights of freedmen
13th:Amendment: Abolished Slavery
Little attempt was made to address the economic
hardships facing freedmen
Southern States admitted under Lincoln/Johnson plan
refused to ratify 14th Amendment
These failures contributed to growing support for
Radical Republicans
14th Amendment:
 Declared all person "born or naturalized in the
United States" to be citizens.
 Required "Equal Protection of the Laws"
 Citizens cannot be denied life, liberty, or property
without due process of law.
 Reduced the representation in Congress of states
that did not grant Black Suffrage
 Banned Confederate officials from taking office
 Forbade the repayment of confederate War Debt
15th Amendment: The right to vote shall not be denied on
the basis of "race, color, or previous condition of
servitude"
http://www.icsd.k12.ny.us/legacy/highschool/pjordan/ushonors/Regents%20Review/Manifest%20Destiny%20to%20Reconstruct/r
econstruction.html
Debate Rules
No put downs.
You must wait to speak until it is the designated time.
Teams lose 1 point for each interruption.
Teams lose 1 point for whispering while another speaker is talking.
TIMES
Opening statements for both sides = 3 minutes each
Arguments for both sides = 3 minutes each
Rebuttal conference = 1 minute
Rebuttals = 2 minutes each
Closing statements for both sides = 3 minutes each
The Debate
Notes
PRO
CON
South in Ruins
Standards:
8.1.12C Evaluate historical interpretation of events.
8.3.12A Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and
groups to United States history from 1890 to Present.
5.2.12C Interpret the causes of conflict in society.
Objectives:
1. The students will be able to complete a before and after chart comparing the conditions of
the South.
2. The students will be able to evaluate the roles of labor, transportation, population, and
agriculture in the development of the South.
3. The students will be able to analyze the impact of Reconstruction on the Southern states.
Subject Matter: agriculture, transportation, labor, leadership, conflict, democracy
Materials:
 Computer Lab
 Before & After Activity (http://civclients.com/nehint/recon/)
Procedure:
1. Set: Students will enter the classroom and brainstorm the following question:
a. Display image of a carpetbagger. Ask students to give their impressions of
someone who would travel to a devastated area and profit from someone’s
misery. Is there a modern day example of this? Where?
b. What do you already know about the South before Reconstruction?
i. Economy
ii. Society/Population
iii. Labor
iv. Agriculture
c. Essential Question: How was the South changed by the war?
2. Before & After Group Activity:
a. Using the Before & After handout and the following website, students will
be asked to assess the condition of the South before and after
Reconstruction. (http://civclients.com/nehint/recon/)
b. Students will break into groups of 2-3 and will be assigned a before or after
topic to research. They will then gather statistical information in order to
present their topic to the class. Topic Groups:
i. Before
(1) Gain of Total Population
(2) Blacks as a Percent of Total Population
(3) Loss in Cash Farming Values
(4) Growth in Capital Investment in Manufacturing
(5) Change in Railroad Track Mileage
ii. After
(1) Change in the Value of Farm Products
(2) Change in the Number of Farms
(3) Change in Capital Manufacturing Investment
(4) Change in Value of Manufactured Products
(5) Change in Railroad Track Mileage
b. If applicable, the “before” group will be assigned to present first, followed
by the “after” group in order to show the transition of the South during
Reconstruction.
c. Students will be asked to briefly share how the “After” groups showed the
impact of Reconstruction on the South.
3. Close: Ask students to describe how was the South changed by the war?
Assessment:
1. The instructor will informally observe the students completing the brainstorming
activity.
2. The instructor will informally observe the students conducting their research in the
computer lab.
3. The instructor will formally evaluate the students on their Before & After classroom
presentations.
BEFORE AND AFTER:
The Conditions in the South as
Reconstruction Draws to a Close
For this activity, the students will use the interactive maps [temporarily located at
http://civclients.com/nehint/recon/] as well as the documents specified below that can be found
in the Text Document for Activity 1.
Students will be organized into five small groups, each of which will be assigned a document
and a set of worksheet questions. These groups will take on the role of special investigative
committees reporting to a Congressional committee examining the effects of Reconstruction.
Each document corresponds to one of the five “Topics” in the “After Reconstruction” section of
the interactive.
The worksheet provided in the Text Document for Activity 1 asks two sets of questions: one set
relates to the document, and the other relates to the corresponding section of the interactive.
After reading their assigned document, students should answer the document questions on their
worksheet and then proceed to the interactive to answer those questions. After completing both
sections of the worksheet, the group should discuss what they have learned about their topic
through the interactive and the document. The objective is to show the students how the
combination of facts, opinions, statistics, and pictures can broaden their understanding of a
subject.
The authors of the documents were selected to show a variety of contrasting views and also to
reflect the different ways that Reconstruction affected various populations. While one document
cannot speak to the effects of the war on an entire group, it will give students an insight into what
may have represented a common experience and reaction to Reconstruction policy.
When the groups have completed their worksheets and concluded their discussion, the teacher, as
Committee chairman, should lead the groups in brief presentations to the class (the
Congressional Committee) highlighting their findings. Following the presentations, the teacher
may also wish to lead the class in a discussion of the methodology of this activity, asking
students to examine the ways in which maps, pictures, and original documents expanded their
understanding of the topic.
Black Reaction
Standards:
8.1.12C Evaluate historical interpretation of events.
8.3.12A Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and
groups to United States history from 1890 to Present.
5.1.12A Analyze the sources, purposes, functions of law, and how the rule of law protects
individual rights and promotes the common good.
Objectives:
1. The students will be able to analyze a primary document reflecting the reaction of
African Americans to Reconstruction.
2. The students will be able to empathize with the African Americans following the Civil
War.
3. Students will be able to create a timeline of events African Americans faced during
Reconstruction.
Subject Matter: leadership, civil rights, education, democracy, law, racism, prejudice
Materials:
 Computer Lab
 Video Clip: Frederick Douglass: What the Black Man Wants (1865)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzcddec5cug
 Handout – "Reconstruction" by Frederick Douglass, The Atlantic Monthly, December
1866. http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/flashbks/black/douglas.htm
 Timeline- http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/timeline.html
Procedure:
1. Set: Students will enter the classroom and brainstorm the following questions:
a. Show video clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzcddec5cug
b. Ask students what they perceived as the message of the speech.
c. Why do you believe the creator of the video kept using pictures from
Reconstruction (1860s) through today for a speech written so long ago?
d. Essential Question: What are some challenges that African Americans faced
during Reconstruction?
2. Teacher Presentation:
a. Describe the conditions Blacks were facing in the South, North and West.
b. Use the Teacher slide to describe the Freeman’s Bureau
3. Timeline Activity:
a. Using the computer lab and internet connection, students will be given a blank
timeline and will be asked to plot 8-10 important events using the following
website: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/timeline.html
b. Students will be asked to write a 2-3 sentence explanation as to why they believe
each event they chose was crucial to the events and issues facing blacks following
the Civil War.
4. Primary Document Analysis: Students will read "Reconstruction" by Frederick
Douglass, The Atlantic Monthly, December 1866.
a. With a partner, students will be asked to think-pair-share the main ideas of the
article.
b. Students will be asked to individually summarize the main ideas presented by
Douglass.
c. This summary will be handed in and formally assessed for comprehension.
5. Close: The students will give short concise answers to the following questions:
a. What are some of the issues African Americans faced in the South during
Reconstruction?
b. How do we see the African American perspective through the writings of
Frederick Douglass?
Assessment:
1. The instructor will informally observe the students completing the timeline activity.
2. The instructor will informally observe the students conducting a think-pair-share.
3. The instructor will formally evaluate the students by collecting their summaries of
"Reconstruction" by Frederick Douglass.
Reconstruction Timeline
DIRECTIONS: Plot the significant events you have chosen on the timeline below.
As originally published in
The Atlantic Monthly
December 1866
Reconstruction
by Frederick Douglass
THE assembling of the Second Session of the Thirty-ninth Congress may very properly be made
the occasion of a few earnest words on the already much-worn topic of reconstruction.
Seldom has any legislative body been the subject of a solicitude more intense, or of aspirations
more sincere and ardent. There are the best of reasons for this profound interest. Questions of
vast moment, left undecided by the last session of Congress, must be manfully grappled with by
this. No political skirmishing will avail. The occasion demands statesmanship.
Whether the tremendous war so heroically fought and so victoriously ended shall pass into
history a miserable failure, barren of permanent results, -- a scandalous and shocking waste of
blood and treasure, -- a strife for empire, as Earl Russell characterized it, of no value to liberty or
civilization, -- an attempt to re-establish a Union by force, which must be the merest mockery of
a Union, -- an effort to bring under Federal authority States into which no loyal man from the
North may safely enter, and to bring men into the national councils who deliberate with daggers
and vote with revolvers, and who do not even conceal their deadly hate of the country that
conquered them; or whether, on the other hand, we shall, as the rightful reward of victory over
treason have a solid nation, entirely delivered from all contradictions and social antagonisms,
based upon loyalty, liberty, and equality, must be determined one way or the other by the present
session of Congress. The last session really did nothing which can be considered final as to these
questions. The Civil Rights Bill and the Freedmen's Bureau Bill and the proposed constitutional
amendments, with the amendment already adopted and recognized as the law of the land, do not
reach the difficulty, and cannot, unless the whole structure of the government is changed from a
government by States to something like a despotic central government, with power to control
even the municipal regulations of States, and to make them conform to its own despotic will.
While there remains such an idea as the right of each State to control its own local affairs, -- an
idea, by the way, more deeply rooted in the minds of men of all sections of the country than
perhaps any one other political idea, -- no general assertion of human rights can be of any
practical value. To change the character of the government at this point is neither possible nor
desirable. All that is necessary to be done is to make the government consistent with itself, and
render the rights of the States compatible with the sacred rights of human nature.
The arm of the Federal government is long, but it is far too short to protect the rights of
individuals in the interior of distant States. They must have the power to protect themselves, or
they will go unprotected, in spite of all the laws the Federal government can put upon the
national statute-book.
Slavery, like all other great systems of wrong, founded in the depths of human selfishness, and
existing for ages, has not neglected its own conservation. It has steadily exerted an influence
upon all around it favorable to its own continuance. And today it is so strong that it could exist,
not only without law, but even against law. Custom, manners, morals, religion, are all on its side
everywhere in the South; and when you add the ignorance and servility of the ex-slave to the
intelligence and accustomed authority of the master, you have the conditions, not out of which
slavery will again grow, but under which it is impossible for the Federal government to wholly
destroy it, unless the Federal government be armed with despotic power, to blot out State
authority, and to station a Federal officer at every cross-road. This, of course, cannot be done,
and ought not even if it could. The true way and the easiest way is to make our government
entirely consistent with itself, and give to every loyal citizen the elective franchise, -- a right and
power which will be ever present, and will form a wall of fire for his protection.
One of the invaluable compensations of the late Rebellion is the highly instructive disclosure it
made of the true source of danger to republican government. Whatever may be tolerated in
monarchical and despotic governments, no republic is safe that tolerates a privileged class, or
denies to any of its citizens equal rights and equal means to maintain them.
It remains now to be seen whether we have the needed courage to have that cause [for rebellion]
entirely removed from the Republic. At any rate, to this grand work of national regeneration and
entire purification Congress must now address itself, with full purpose that the work shall this
time be thoroughly done.
If time was at first needed, Congress has now had time. All the requisite materials from which to
form an intelligent judgment are now before it. Whether its members look at the origin, the
progress, the termination of the war, or at the mockery of a peace now existing, they will find
only one unbroken chain of argument in favor of a radical policy of reconstruction.
The people themselves demand such a reconstruction as shall put an end to the present anarchical
state of things in the late rebellious States, -- where frightful murders and wholesale massacres
are perpetrated in the very presence of Federal soldiers. This horrible business they require shall
cease. They want a reconstruction such as will protect loyal men, black and white, in their
persons and property: such a one as will cause Northern industry, Northern capital, and Northern
civilization to flow into the South, and make a man from New England as much at home in
Carolina as elsewhere in the Republic. No Chinese wall can now be tolerated. The South must be
opened to the light of law and liberty, and this session of Congress is relied upon to accomplish
this important work.
The plain, common-sense way of doing this work is simply to establish in the South one law, one
government, one administration of justice, one condition to the exercise of the elective franchise,
for men of all races and colors alike. This great measure is sought as earnestly by loyal white
men as by loyal blacks, and is needed alike by both. Let sound political prescience but take the
place of an unreasoning prejudice, and this will be done.
"Reconstruction" by Frederick Douglass, The Atlantic Monthly, December 1866.
Racism
Standards:
8.1.12C Evaluate historical interpretation of events.
8.3.12A Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and
groups to United States history from 1890 to Present.
5.2.12C Interpret the causes of conflict in society.
Objectives:
1. The students will be able to define racism.
2. The students will be able to analyze a primary document concerning the advancement of
African Americans.
3. The students will be able to empathize with those who have experienced racism at school.
Subject Matter: Discrimination, Freedmen’s Bureau, Civil Rights, Slavery
Materials:
 Handout – Excerpt from Leon Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of
Slavery. New York: Vintage, 1980.
 Handout – Excerpt from Dorothy Sterling, ed., Trouble They Seen: The Story of
Reconstruction in the Words of African Americans. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.
Procedure:
1. Set:
a. Students will enter the classroom and view a sample of a Thomas Nast's Political
Cartoon.
b. Students will be asked to write what they see in each cartoon (freewrite) and then
share their answers.
c. Essential Question: What are examples of institutional and/or personal racism
that occurred during Reconstruction?
2. Discussion: Students will be asked to answer and discuss the following questions:
 What is racism?
 What causes racism?
a. Definition - ra·cism [ ráy sìzzəm ] NOUN
i. animosity toward other races: prejudice or animosity against
people who belong to other races
ii. belief in racial superiority: the belief that people of different races
have different qualities and abilities, and that some races are
inherently superior or inferior
a. Synonyms: racial discrimination, discrimination, prejudice,
bigotry, intolerance, xenophobia, bias, racialism
Encarta® World English Dictionary[North American Edition] © & (P) 2009
Microsoft Corporation.All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
3. Teacher Presentation:
a. Freedmens’s Bureau
i. Freedman’s Bureau made education a possibility
ii. Many blacks left their plantations in search of a family member who had
been sold
iii. The primary goal was to secure jobs and land; they expected a new
economic order and some compensation for their years in slavery
iv. The failure of Congress to provide 40 acres and a mule for the freedmen
resulted in a new economic dependency on their former masters
v. Land ownership consolidated into huge holdings and concentrated on one
cash crop, usually cotton
vi. African American signed work contracts with white landowners
b. Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between
1876 and 1965. They mandated segregation in all public facilities in Southern
states of the former Confederacy.
c. The Black Codes, and later Jim Crow laws, became the legal means by which
former slave owners sought to control free Black labor and maintain a status quo
of Black servitude in the South.
d. Terrorism became the extra-legal means to do the same. Lynching became a
primary tool to accomplish this task.
4. Document Analysis – Primary Sources:
a. Students will be given an excerpt from Leon Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long:
The Aftermath of Slavery. New York: Vintage, 1980. The instructor will give
students a few minutes to read the excerpt to themselves. Students will then
answer the questions posed on the sheet.
i. What is the main idea of the excerpt?
ii. What does this passage say about the perspective of African Americans?
iii. What is the author encouraging African Americans to do?
b. Students will then receive an excerpt from Dorothy Sterling, ed., Trouble They
Seen: The Story of Reconstruction in the Words of African Americans. New York:
Da Capo Press, 1994.
i. What are some of the issues this person has faced?
ii. How do they feel about their place in society?
iii. What does this passage say about the struggles of racism?
5. Informal Discussion: The instructor will facilitate a classroom discussion about the two
excerpts the students have read.
a. What are the two different perspectives seen in these excerpts?
b. How do these passages personify the tragedies of racism?
c. What are the causes of racism?
d. How can we teach tolerance?
6. Close: The students will complete a Free Write answering the following question:
i. What were examples of racism during Reconstruction?
ii. What can we do today to prevent racism and teach tolerance?
Assessment:
1. The instructor will informally observe the students reading the primary documents.
2. The instructor will formally collect and check the responses of the Type I Free Write.
Slavery is Over
Major Martin R. Delany, an outspoken black nationalist and
abolitionist, returned to his native South after the Civil War as an
representative of the Freedmen's Bureau. Delany addressed a group
of 500 freed slaves on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, just three
months after war's end.
Sunday, July 23, 1865
I want to tell you one thing. Do you know that if it was not for the
black man this war never would have been brought to a close with success to the Union, and the
liberty to your race? I want you to understand that. Do you know it? Do you know it?...
... People say that you are too lazy to work, that you have not the intelligence to get on for
yourselves. They have often told you, Sam, you lazy nigger, you don't earn your salt.... He never
earned a single dollar in his life. You men and women, every one of you around me, mad
thousands and thousands of dollars. Only you were the means for your master to lead the idle and
inglorious life, and to give his children the education which he denied to you for fear you may
awake to conscience. If I look around me, I tell you, all the houses on this Island and in Beaufort,
they are all familiar to my eye, they are the same structures which I have met with in Africa.
They have all been made by the Negroes, you can see it by their rude exterior. I tell you they
[whites] cannot teach you anything, and they could not make them because they have not the
brain to do it....
Now I look around me and I notice a man, bare footed, covered with rags and dirt. Now I ask,
what is that man doing, for whom is he working? I hear that he works for 30 cents a day. I tell
you that must not be. That would be cursed slavery over again... I tell you slavery is over, and
shall never return again. We have now 200,000 of our men well drilled in arms and used to
warfare, and I tell you it is with you and them that slavery shall not come back again, and if you
are determined it will not return again.
Excerpt from Leon Litwack, Been in the Storm So Long: The Aftermath of Slavery. New York:
Vintage, 1980.
Adapted from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/40acres/ps_delany.html
Were You Ever a Colored Boy?
Many textbooks of the era offered a negative view of African
Americans. A contributor to the journal of the freedmen, The New
National Era, describes a typical black boy's experience at school.
Reader, were you ever a colored boy? Have you ever gone to school
and been obliged to walk around a crowd of white boys because they
put themselves right in your path, and had "cuff that n-----!" yelled
into your ears, and after doing all that one pair of fists could do
against half a dozen pairs, were you unmercifully beaten (two or three policemen passing
meanwhile) until some old woman came along and rescued you?
Released at length, have you made your appearance just in time to "hold out your hand, sir" for
the reception of six or eight stinging blows from a heavy rattan in the hands of a white teacher
whose one article of faith was "spare the rod and spoil the child"?
Have you ever studied Smith's Geography with that very worst type of Negro presented in
painful contrast to the most perfect of the Caucasian on the opposite page? Have the words
"superior to all others," referring to the latter, ever stuck in your throat and defiant pride made
you "go down" while some other boy, no more ambitious but less sensitive, "went up"?
Have you ever tasted the sweet revenge of sticking pins into the eyes of the soul-driver in the
picture of a cotton field at the head of the lesson on Georgia? No! Then you don't know what a
jolly experience belongs to nine-tenths of the colored men in this land of liberty.
Excerpt from Dorothy Sterling, ed., Trouble They Seen: The Story of Reconstruction in the
Words of African Americans. New York: Da Capo Press, 1994.
Adapted from: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/schools/ps_lichen.html
13th, 14th, 15th Amendments
Adapted from: http://www.teachingushistory.org/lessons/reconlegislation.html
Standards:
8.1.12C Evaluate historical interpretation of events.
8.3.12A Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and
groups to United States history from 1890 to Present.
5.2.12C Interpret the causes of conflict in society.
Objectives:
1. The students will be able to summarize the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
2. The students will be able to discuss how the Southern states responded to these
amendments.
3. The students will be able to evaluate why the 15th Amendment was necessary.
Subject Matter: racism, segregation, democracy, civil rights, abolitionism
Materials:
 Amendments Handout
Procedure:
1. Set:
a. Show political cartoon related to the 14th amendment (slide #12)
b. Essential question: How did the Southern states respond to the 13th, 14th and
15th Amendments?
2. Teacher Presentation and Classroom Discussion:
a. 13th Amendment
i. Students will be asked to discuss the impact of the 13th Amendment on
the United States and how this could and would affect Congressional
representation.
ii. Students should be aware that even though the 13th Amendment abolished
slavery, the South would pass laws subjecting African Americans to
second class citizenship known as the Black Codes.
b. 14th amendment
i. Promised perpetual protection of the civil rights of black Americans by
legally defining them as citizens
ii. Granted suffrage to black males in the South
c. 15th amendment
i. prohibits the federal government and the states from using a citizen's race,
color, or previous status as a slave as a voting qualification.
3. Document Analysis:
a. Students will receive the Amendments handout.
b. In groups of 3-4, students will read and summarize each Amendment.
c. Groups should put each Amendment into their own words.
d. Following this activity, a representative of each group should stand and explain
their summaries in the group’s own words.
e. Provide corrective guidance as necessary.
4. Classroom Discussion:
a. The instructor is to lead students in a discussion of why the 15th Amendment was
necessary.
b. It is important for students to understand that this amendment was designed to
prohibit discrimination against voters on the basis on race or previous condition of
servitude. Before the 15th Amendment, the states had determined voter
qualifications.
5. Close: The instructor should revisit the essential questions of the lesson and provide a
concise check for understanding.
a. What were the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments?
b. How did the Southern states respond to the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments?
Assessment:
1. The instructor will informally observe the students participating in the classroom
discussion.
2. The instructor will informally observe the students completing a summary of the
amendments.
Amendment 13
Abolition of slavery
Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof
the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject
to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce these article by appropriate legislation.
December 6, 1865.
Amendment 14
Civil rights
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction
thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall
make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the
United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due
process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Section 2. Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their
respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not
taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice
President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers
of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of
such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way
abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein
shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole
number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
Section 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President
and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any
State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the
United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of
any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or
rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by
a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts
incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or
rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay
any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or
any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims
shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions
of this article.
July 9, 1868.
Amendment 15
Black suffrage
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
February 3, 1870.
http://www.ushistory.org/documents/amendments.htm#amend13
Discrimination: Black Codes & Ku Klux Klan
(2 days)
Standards:
8.1.12C Evaluate historical interpretation of events.
8.3.12A Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and
groups to United States history from 1890 to Present.
5.2.12C Interpret the causes of conflict in society.
Objectives:
1. The students will be able to discuss the Black Codes that were enforced in Louisiana.
2. The students will be able to write a newspaper editorial protesting the Black Codes.
3. The students will be able to research the beginning and end of the first Ku Klux Klan.
Subject Matter: racism, supremacy, discrimination, institutionalization, conflict
Materials:
 Image: http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Multimedia.jsp?id=m-1265
 Questions to Consider handout
 Louisiana Black Codes handout
 Newspaper Editorial rubric
 KKK in the Reconstruction Era worksheet
 KKK Membership Questionnaires
Procedure:
1. Set: Students will enter the classroom, view the following image, and brainstorm the
following question:
a. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Multimedia.jsp?id=m-1265
b. Ask the following questions:
i. Does the KKK have the right to assemble? Where? Why or why not?
ii. The KKK may assemble in any public place.
c. Essential Question: What role did the KKK play in helping or hindering
African Americans from assuming full citizen rights?
2. Teacher Presentation:
a. First Amendment Rig
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Understanding Freedom of Assembly
A Look at the First Amendment Right to Gather Freely
Aug 28, 2008 Theresa Willingham
“Peaceable” remains the operative word. The First Amendment protects
peaceful, not violent, assembly, although there must be a "clear and
present danger" or an "imminent incitement of lawlessness" in order for
government to restrict assembly rights.” Generally, though, the Supreme
Court maintains that it is imperative to protect the right to peaceful
assembly, even for those with whose speech many may disagree, such as
Ku Klux Klan (KKK) gatherings, which many perceive as hateful, ruling
(in National Socialist Party v. Skokie, 1977) that "it is better to allow
those who preach racial hatred to expend their venom in rhetoric rather
than to be panicked into embarking on the dangerous course of permitting
the government to decide what its citizens may say and hear.")
Fear of newly freed slaves
Almost all societal norms in the South had been reversed as a result of losing the
war
“Black Codes” passed the first year after the war to secure white dominance
Students will receive the “Questions to Consider” handout.
3. Newspaper Editorial: Students will be asked to write a fictional newspaper editorial
protesting the Black Codes.
a. Using the handout and the Questions to Consider worksheet, students will need to
use reasoning and details to support their argument.
b. A rubric will be handed out ahead of time to inform students of the expectations
of the assignment.
4. Computer Lab Research:
a. Using the following website, students will fill out the KKK in the Reconstruction
Era worksheet.
b. (http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-694)
5. Membership Activity:
a. Adapted from: http://www.bsu.edu/learningfromhate/t_questionnaire.htm
b. To begin, ask students to fill out the generic “Membership Application” that is
provided.
c. Second, ask questions #1-6 to engage students in a discussion about the
application.
i. What type of organization might use this application (e.g., a bank, a
church, a club)?
(Teachers might want to write these answers on the board to keep track of
students’ responses. Discuss why students answered as they did.)
ii. List some words that describe the organization that this questionnaire
represents (e.g., patriotic, family-oriented, religious, political, employer).
(1) From our discussion, do you think that you would like to be a
member of this organization?
(2) Are there any particular questions that confused you or didn’t
seem to belong?
(3) What do you think is meant by “pure Americanism”?
(4) What would your reaction be if I told you that this
questionnaire is based on an actual application to join the Ku
Klux Klan from the early 1900’s?
iii. Third, explain that the questionnaire is actually based on an application
used by the Ku Klux Klan around 1920-1930. Show them the actual Ku
Klux Klan application questions Ask them to comment on this application.
Use questions #7-9 to initiate and guide this discussion.
iv. Why do you think this questionnaire appealed to so many people?
(Make the point that it is vague and doesn’t single out targets)
v. Do you think the vagueness of the questionnaire helped or hurt the KKK?
How?
(It allowed them to portray themselves as patriotic and family-oriented so
people would join)
vi. Do you think there is anything about this questionnaire that would make
the applicant feel special? The instructor will ask the students the kind of
questions that one might find on the KKK Membership Questionnaire.
vii. The instructor will then pass out the KKK Membership.
6. Close: Students will be asked the following question to check for understanding:
a. What were the Black Codes and how did they impact African Americans living in
the South?
b. How did the KKK help or hinder African Americans with achieving full
citizenship?
Assessment:
1. The instructor will formally collect and evaluate the newspaper editorial project.
2. The instructor will informally observe the students conducting research in the
computer lab.
3. The instructor will formally collect and check the KKK in the Reconstruction Era
worksheet.
Ku Klux Klan in the Reconstruction Era
1. What were the goals of the Klan?
2. What is the origin of the Klan?
3. Where did the name Ku Klux Klan come from?
4. What was Nathan Bedford Forrest’s role in the KKK?
5. What were the leadership roles of the KKK?
6. With what event did the Klan’s organized terrorism begin?
7. How did the Klan inspire violence throughout Georgia?
8. How did the Klan influence politics?
9. How did the Klan’s power fade in the 1870s?
10. When and where would the Second Ku Klux Klan form?
Membership Questionnaire and Application
Name: _______________________________________ Age: __________
Address: _________________________________________________________
City: __________________________ State: _______ Zip Code: ___________
Marital Status: ____ Married ____ Single ____ Divorced ____ Widowed
Religion: ______________________ Race: ________________________
Eye Color: ________ Hair Color: ________ Height: _______ Weight: ______
Occupation: ______________________________________________________
How long have you lived at your current residence? ______________________
Place of Birth: _____________________________________________________
Were your parents born in the United States? _________ If yes, State? ________
What religion are your parents? _______________________________________
Highest level of education completed: __________________________________
What other groups or organizations are you currently involved in?
Do you belong to a religious organization? If so, what religion? Where do you worship?
What is your political affiliation?
Do you believe in the principles of pure Americanism?
Do you have any kind of allegiance to any foreign nation, government, institution, sect,
people, ruler, or person?
I most solemnly assert and affirm that each question above is truthfully answered by me
and in my own handwriting and that my signature below is authentic. I swear that the
motive prompting my inquiry into this organization is serious.
__________________________________________
Signature of Applicant Date
Louisiana Black Code
(1865)
Introduction
After the region's slaves were freed, Southern communities passed laws called "black codes" to control
black citizens. The first states to pass black codes were Mississippi and South Carolina; other Southern
states soon followed. Exact provisions of these laws varied from state to state, but their effect was similar.
Read the following provisions of a Louisiana parish's black codes and evaluate their impact.
Source
. . . Sec. 1. Be it ordained by the police jury of the parish of St. Landry, That no negro shall be allowed to
pass within the limits of said parish without special permit in writing from his employer. Whoever shall
violate this provision shall pay a fine of two dollars and fifty cents, or in default thereof shall be forced to
work four days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as provided hereinafter. . . .
Sec. 3. . . . No negro shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within said parish. Any negro violating
this provision shall be immediately ejected and compelled to find an employer; and any person who shall
rent, or give the use of any house to any negro, in violation of this section, shall pay a fine of five dollars
for each offence.
Sec. 4. . . . Every negro is required to be in the regular service of some white person, or former owner,
who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said negro. But said employer or former owner may
permit said negro to hire his own time by special permission in writing, which permission shall not extend
over seven days at any one time. . . .
Sec. 5. . . . No public meetings or congregations of negroes shall be allowed within said parish after
sunset; but such public meetings and congregations may be held between the hours of sunrise and sunset,
by the special permission in writing of the captain of patrol, within whose beat such meetings shall take
place. . . .
Sec. 6. . . . No negro shall be permitted to preach, exhort, or otherwise declaim to congregations of
colored people, without a special permission in writing from the president of the police jury. . . .
Sec. 7. . . . No negro who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry fire-arms, or any kind of
weapons, within the parish, without the special written permission of his employers, approved and
indorsed by the nearest and most convenient chief of patrol. . . .
Sec. 8. . . . No negro shall sell, barter, or exchange any articles of merchandise or traffic within said parish
without the special written permission of his employer, specifying the article of sale, barter or traffic. . . .
Sec. 9. . . . Any negro found drunk, within the said parish shall pay a fine of five dollars, or in default
thereof work five days on the public road, or suffer corporeal punishment as hereinafter provided.
Sec. 11. . . . It shall be the duty of every citizen to act as a police officer for the detection of offences and
the apprehension of offenders, who shall be immediately handed over to the proper captain or chief of
patrol. . . .
http://college.cengage.com/history/us/resources/students/primary/blackcode.htm
Questions to Consider
 What were the black codes?
 List some of the restrictions placed on black citizens in this Louisiana parish.
 Why were these black codes so restrictive?
 Speculate about how these laws were enforced.
 What impact would these laws have had on the black community?
Newspaper Editorial: Protesting the Black Codes
CATEGORY
4
3
2
Writing Process
Student devotes a lot
of time and effort to
the writing process
(prewriting, drafting,
reviewing, and
editing).
Student devotes
sufficient time and
effort to the writing
process (prewriting,
drafting, reviewing,
and editing).
Student devotes some Student devotes little
time and effort to the time and effort to the
writing process but
writing process.
was not very
thorough.
Introduction
First paragraph has a
"grabber" or catchy
beginning.
First paragraph has a
weak "grabber".
A catchy beginning
was attempted but
was confusing rather
than catchy.
No attempt was made
to catch the reader's
attention in the first
paragraph.
Focus on Assigned
Topic
The entire story is
related to the assigned
topic and allows the
reader to understand
much more about the
topic.
Most of the story is
related to the assigned
topic. The story
wanders off at one
point, but the reader
can still learn
something about the
topic.
Some of the story is
related to the assigned
topic, but a reader
does not learn much
about the topic.
No attempt has been
made to relate the
story to the assigned
topic.
Organization
The story is very well
organized. One idea
follows another in a
logical sequence with
clear transitions.
The story is pretty
well organized. One
idea may seem out of
place. Clear
transitions are used.
The story is a little
hard to follow. The
transitions are
sometimes not clear.
Ideas and scenes seem
to be randomly
arranged.
Spelling and
Punctuation
There are no spelling There is one spelling There are 2-3 spelling The final draft has
or punctuation errors or punctuation error in and punctuation errors more than 3 spelling
in the final draft.
the final draft.
in the final draft.
and punctuation
errors.
Accuracy of Facts
All facts presented in Almost all facts
Most facts presented
the story are accurate. presented in the story in the story are
are accurate.
accurate.
There are several
factual errors in the
story.
Illustrations
Original illustrations
are detailed,
attractive, creative
and relate to the text
on the page.
Illustrations are not
present OR they are
not original.
Original illustrations
are somewhat
detailed, attractive,
and relate to the text
on the page.
Original illustrations
relate to the text on
the page.
1
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Standards:
8.1.12C Evaluate historical interpretation of events.
8.3.12A Identify and evaluate the political and cultural contributions of individuals and
groups to United States history from 1890 to Present.
5.2.12C Evaluate political leadership and public service in a republican form of
government.
Objectives:
1. The students will be able to discuss the term impeachment.
2. The students will be able to analyze the impeachment process.
3. The students will be able to conduct a retrial of Andrew Johnson.
Subject Matter: impeachment, trial, democracy, judicial system, leadership
Materials:
 Retrial Activity from USHistorySite.com: http://www.impeachandrewjohnson.com/15ImpeachmentSimulationGame/ProceedingsOfTheSenateSittings.h
tm
Procedure:
1. Set: Students will enter the classroom and answer the following questions:
a. What is impeachment?
i. Impeach – to bring an accusation against; to charge with a crime or
misdemeanor; to charge (a public official) before a competent tribunal
with misconduct in office. (Merriam Webster Dictionary)
ii. To be impeached does not mean to be fired from a position. It is just the
accusation and the trial.
b. How many U.S. Presidents have been impeached?
i. Two – Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. Richard Nixon resigned before
he was able to be impeached.
a. Essential Question: What was the outcome of President Johnson’s
impeachment?
2. Teacher Presentation:
a. One of the most dramatic events in the political life of the United States during
Reconstruction
b. First impeachment in history of a sitting United States president.
c. The impeachment was the consummation of a lengthy political battle between the
moderate Johnson and the Radical Republican movement that dominated
Congress and sought control of Reconstruction policies.
d. Tenure of Office Act
e. Johnson acquitted
3. Simulation – The Retrial of Andrew Johnson: Students will receive the Retrial Activity
handout sheet.
a. The instructor will discuss the background information presented from the
website.
b. The instructor will randomly assign students a role to play during the simulation.
Roles are as follows:
i. -Attorneys
ii. -Senators
iii. -Witnesses
iv. -Andrew Johnson
c. The students will follow the directions given on the website and will conduct
research in the computer lab in order to prepare for the retrial.
d. The retrial will take place within the classroom and will follow the directions
outlined on the handout.
e. At the end of the trial students will write a paper defending their vote by citing
evidence introduced in the course of the trial.
3. Close: Exit Slip - Students will be asked the following questions to check for
understanding: What was the outcome of President Johnson’s impeachment?
Assessment:
1. The instructor will informally observe the students conducting research in the
computer lab.
2. The instructor will informally evaluate the students on the classroom retrial.
3. The instructor will formally collect and evaluate the students on their papers
defending their vote.
Review of Reconstruction 1865-1877
Standards:
7.1.12B Analyze the location of places and regions.
8.1.12B Evaluate the interpretation of historical events and sources, considering the use
of fact versus opinion, multiple perspectives, and cause and effect
relationships.
8.3.12D Evaluate how conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations in the
U.S. have influenced the growth and development of the world.
Objectives:
1. Students will be able to evaluate the political and cultural contributions of groups
and individuals to United States history from 1865-1877.
2. Students will be able to complete a map activity outlining the significant locations
mentioned throughout the unit.
Subject Matter: Review of chapter concepts
Materials:
 Reconstruction review Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M5-exrJaeQ
 Sample flash cards for review game: http://quizlet.com/5613010/reconstructionvocabulary-words-flash-cards/
Procedure:
1.Set:
a. Show short movie clip that reviews the Reconstruction Era.
b. Essential Question: Did the South win Reconstruction?
2. Review: Teacher Presentation:
a. Reconstruction Perspectives
b. Reconstruction Plans
c. Assassination of Lincoln
d. Freedmen’s Bureau
e. Radical Republicans
f. Johnson Impeachment
3. Review Game: http://quizlet.com/5613010/reconstruction-vocabulary-words-flashcards/
a. Divide the class into two sides
b. Show definitions from flashcards and have the class guess what vocabulary
term is being described.
4. Close: The instructor will complete a concise check for understanding of the
most important cognitive objective by asking, “What were some of the
issues the South faced during Reconstruction.”
Assessment:
1. The teacher will informally observe the students taking notes from Teacher.
2. The teacher will informally observe the students participating in class by answering
questions asked throughout the Teacher presentation.