Integrated United States History
Reconstruction
SS0807
Eighth Grade Social Studies: Integrated United States History
Unit 7: Reconstruction
Big Picture Organizer
Overarching Question:
Why was the Civil War and Reconstruction Era considered a critical period in American
history?
Previous Unit:
This Unit:
The Civil War
Next Unit:
Reconstruction
America in the Last Half
of the 19th Century
Questions To Focus Assessment and Instruction:
1. How did government reconstruction policies affect race relations?
2. How did the Reconstruction era reflect America’s movement toward and/or away from its core
ideals found in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution?
3. How did issues concerning the rule of law, limited government, and individual rights affect
Americans during the Reconstruction era?
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Integrated United States History
Reconstruction
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Graphic Organizer
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Reconstruction
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High School Foundations (see USHG F1.1 and F1.2)
Public Issues
Analyze how American society moved toward or away from its core ideals as
found in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments.
• Government and Social Change
Describe the changing character of American political society by discussing
competing views on the development of governmental roles in American life,
competing responsibilities of government, and changes in suffrage
qualifications.
What role should governmental
policies play in affecting social
change?
• Balance of Power: Distribution of
power among central government,
state governments, and the
people.
Unit Abstract:
In this unit students examine the rebuilding of the United States after the Civil War from political,
social, and economic perspectives. They identify problems facing the country after the war and
analyze the Reconstruction plans advocated by President Lincoln, President Johnson, and
Congressional leaders. Through primary and secondary sources, students examine early
responses to the end of the war, including the role of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the emergence
of Black Codes. After exploring the principles embodied in the Reconstruction Amendments (13th,
14th, and 15th Amendments), students assess their intended and actual results, including the new
but short-lived role of African Americans in local, state, and federal governments. In examining the
post-war years, students also investigate the role of white resistance and its impact on African
Americans. Students explore the different views of Reconstruction and appraise the Compromise
of 1877 from the perspective of African Americans, southern political leaders, and northern
Republicans. The unit culminates as students evaluate how the Reconstruction era reflected
America’s movement toward and/or away from its core ideals found in the Declaration of
Independence and Constitution. In doing so, students use historical evidence to support their own
conclusions about the changing nature of freedom and equality in the United States.
Focus Questions
1. How did government reconstruction policies affect race relations?
2. How did the Reconstruction era reflect America’s movement toward and/or away from its
core ideals found in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution?
3. How did issues concerning the rule of law, limited government, and individual rights affect
Americans during the Reconstruction era?
Content Expectations
8 – U5.3.1: Describe the different positions concerning the reconstruction of Southern society
and the nation, including the positions of President Abraham Lincoln, President
Andrew Johnson, Republicans, and African Americans.
8 – U5.3.2:
Describe the early responses to the end of the Civil War by describing the
• policies of the Freedmen’s Bureau
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Integrated United States History
Reconstruction
•
SS0807
restrictions placed on the rights and opportunities of freedmen, including racial
segregation and Black Codes.
8 – U5.3.3:
Describe the new role of African Americans in local, state, and federal government in
the years after the Civil War and the resistance of Southern whites to this change,
including the Ku Klux Klan.
8 – U5.3.4:
Analyze the intent and the effect of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Amendments to the Constitution.
8 – U5.3.5:
Explain the decision to remove Union troops in 1877 and describe its impact on
Americans.
HS - F1.2:
Develop an argument/narrative about the changing character of American political
society by discussing:
• the birth of republican government, including the rule of law, inalienable rights,
equality, and limited government
• the development of governmental roles in American life
• competing views of the responsibilities of governments (federal, state, and local)
• changes in suffrage qualifications
(portions omitted).
Key Concepts
Freedmen’s Bureau
political corruption
radicalism
racial segregation
racism
reconstruction
Reconstruction Amendments (Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments)
separation of powers
Southern white resistance
Duration
4 weeks
Lesson Sequence
Lesson 1 – Post War Problems
Lesson 2 – Reconstruction Policies
Lesson 3 - The Freedmen’s Bureau
Lesson 4 – Separation of Powers and Radical Reconstruction
Lesson 5 – Life in the South during Reconstruction
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Lesson 6 – Emergence of African American Leaders and White Resistance
Lesson 7 - The End of Reconstruction
Lesson 8 – African-American Civil Rights
Assessment
Selected Response Items
Constructed Response Items
8 - U5.3.1: Construct a chart describing the different Reconstruction policies proposed for
Southern society.
Performance Assessments
8 – U5.3.5
Create a poster display comparing the impact of Reconstruction on race relations in
America and the consequences of removing Union troops on Americans.
8 – U5.3.2
8 – U5.3.3
8 – U5.3.4
Write a persuasive essay on whether the rule of law and limited government
protected individual rights and served the common good during the Reconstruction
era.
8 – U5.3.2
8 – U5.3.3
8 – U5.3.4
Create a children’s book that describes the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the
Constitution. The book should explain how the decisions to adopt these
amendments support core democratic values and the American ideal of equality as
stated in the Declaration of Independence.
8 – U5.3.5
Use primary and secondary sources to analyze the Compromise of 1877 and its
effect on Americans from three of the following perspectives: newly freed slaves,
northern African Americans, southern white political leaders, southern plantation
owners, and northern Republicans.
Resources
Equipment/Manipulative
Student Resource
Civil Rights During Reconstruction. American Experience. PBS, WGBH. 6 August 2008
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/activism/sf_rights.html>.
The Constitution. U.S. House of Representatives. 6 August 2008
<http://www.house.gov/Constitution/Constitution.html>.
Davidson, James West, and Michael B. Stoff. The American Nation. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, Inc., 2003. 240-241, 531-532.
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Freedmen’s Bureau of Augusta County Georgia. Valley of the Shadow. 6 August 2008
<http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/HIUS403/freedmen/introduction.html>.
The Freedman’s Bureau: Success or Failure. UMBC Center for History Education. University of
Maryland, Baltimore County. 6 August 2008
<http://asp1.umbc.edu/newmedia/sites/chetah/lessondisplay.cfm?lesson=24&heading=3>.
Jim Crow Laws. About.com. 6 August 2008
<http://afroamhistory.about.com/cs/jimcrowlaws/a/jimcrowlaws_2.htm>.
Mississippi Black Code. Pearson Longman. Pearson Education. 1995-2007. 6 August 2008
<http://wps.ablongman.com/long_longman_lahdemo_1/0,8259,1546454-,00.html>.
The Historical New York Times. 6 August 2008 <http://www.nyt.ulib.org/>.
Rebuilding the South After the War. American Experience. WGBH, PBS. 6 August 2008
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/carpetbagger/sf_building.html>.
Reconstruction. Discovery Channel School. 2007. United Streaming. 6 August 2008
<http://www.unitedstreaming.com/search/assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=25832F53-4D5F44E9-AC38-C1CC5E0C4892>.
Reconstruction Timeline. American Experience. WGBH, PBS. 6 August 2008
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/states/sf_timeline.html>.
Slave to Sharecropper. American Experience. PBS, WGB. 6 August 2008
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/sharecrop/sf_economy.html#e>.
United States History: 1860-1900: The Civil War and Reconstruction. AIMS Multimedia. 1996.
United Streaming. 6 August 2008
<http://www.unitedstreaming.com/search/assetDetail.cfm?guidAssetID=590E6853-AE154601-A5F3-DAAD8B4600DA>.
Teacher Resource
An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees. University of Maryland. 6
August 2008 <http://www.history.umd.edu/Freedmen/fbact.htm>.
American Experience: Reconstruction: The Second Civil War (DVD). 6 August 2008 Available for
$19.95 at <http://www.shoppbs.org/sm-pbs-american-experience-reconstruction-thesecond-civil-war-vhs--pi-1451597.html> (optional).
America’s Reconstruction: People and Politics After the Civil War. Digital History. 6 August 2008
<http://digitalhistory.uh.edu/reconstruction/index.html>.
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“Assessing Discussion of Public Issues: A Scoring Guide.” In Handbook on Teaching Social
Issues, edited by Ronald W. Evans and David Warren Saxe. Washington, D.C.: National
Council for the Social Studies (1996).
Frederick Douglass on Reconstruction. University of Virginia Electronic Library. 6 August 2008
<http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccernew2?id=DouReco.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag
=public&part=all>.
The Freedmen. Library of Congress. American Memory Project. The Learning Page. 6 August
2008
<http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/features/timeline/civilwar/freedmen/freedmen.html>.
The Freedmen’s Bureau. Toward Racial Equality: Harper’s Weekly Reports on Black America,
1857-1874. 6 August 2008
<http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/4Reconstruction/ReconLevelOne.htm>.
Freedmen’s Bureau Online. Christine’s Genealogy Websites. 6 August 2008
<http://www.freedmensbureau.com/>.
Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memoribilia. Ferris State University. 6 August 2008
<http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/>.
Nast Cartoon. Social Studies Help. 2006. 6 August 2008
<http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Lesson_37_Notes.htm>.
One Vote Less by Thomas Nast. The Ku Klux Klan Hearings. Harpers Weekly. 6 August 2008
<http://education.harpweek.com/KKKHearings/Illustration07.htm>.
Reconstruction: The Second Civil War 1863-1866. American Experience. WGBH, PBS. 6 August
2008 <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/>.
Richmond in Ruins. Old Pictures. 6 August 2008 <http://www.old-picture.com/civil-war/RichmondRuins-in.htm>.
Segregation Photographs. The History of Jim Crow. 6 August 2008
<http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/scripts/jimcrow/gallery.cgi?term=&collection=segregation&in
dex=12>.
Segregation Signs. About.com. 6 August 2008
<http://afroamhistory.about.com/od/jimcrowlaw1/ig/Racial-Segregation-Signs/Cafe.htm>.
Thomas Nast Cartoon. Harper’s Weekly. 6 August 2008 <http://www.impeachandrewjohnson.com/ListOfCartoons/KickingFreedmensBureau.htm>.
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Thomas Nast Cartoon. Georgetown College. 6 August 2008
<http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/HTALLANT/COURSES/his312/jcoleman/front.htm>.
The War’s Costs. Digital History. 6 August 2008
<http://digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=125>.
White Men Unite. American Experience. PBS, WGBH. 6 August 2008
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/kkk/sf_klan.html>.
Who Owns This Land? Exploring US History. George Mason University. 6 August 2008
<http://chnm.gmu.edu/exploring/19thcentury/whoownsthisland/assign_docs.php>.
Resources for Further Professional Knowledge
Foner, Eric. Nothing But Freedom: Emancipation and Its Legacy. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State
University Press, 1983.
- - - . Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. New York: Harper & Row,
1988.
- - - . A Short History of Reconstruction, 1863-1877. New York: Harper & Row, 1990.
Hahn, Steven. A Nation Under Our Feet: Black Political Struggles in the Rural South from Slavery
to the Great Depression. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005.
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Integrated United States History
Reconstruction
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Instructional Organization
Lesson 1 – Post War Problems
Content Expectations:
8 – U5.3.2: Describe the early responses to the end of the Civil War by describing the
• policies of the Freedmen’s Bureau
• restrictions placed on the rights and opportunities of freedmen, including racial
segregation and Black Codes.
Key Concepts: racial segregation, racism, reconstruction
Lesson 2 – Reconstruction Policies
Content Expectations:
8 – U5.3.1: Describe the different positions concerning the reconstruction of Southern society
and the nation, including the positions of President Abraham Lincoln, President
Andrew Johnson, Republicans, and African Americans.
8 – U5.3.2:
Describe the early responses to the end of the Civil War by describing the
• policies of the Freedmen’s Bureau
• restrictions placed on the rights and opportunities of freedmen, including racial
segregation and Black Codes.
Key Concepts: Freedmen’s Bureau, radicalism, racial segregation, racism, reconstruction
Lesson 3 - The Freedmen’s Bureau
Content Expectations:
8 – U5.3.2: Describe the early responses to the end of the Civil War by describing the
• policies of the Freedmen’s Bureau
• restrictions placed on the rights and opportunities of freedmen, including racial
segregation and Black Codes.
Key Concepts: Freedmen’s Bureau, racial segregation, racism, reconstruction
Lesson 4 – Separation of Powers and Radical Reconstruction
Content Expectations:
8 – U5.3.1: Describe the different positions concerning the reconstruction of Southern society
and the nation, including the positions of President Abraham Lincoln, President
Andrew Johnson, Republicans, and African Americans.
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Integrated United States History
Reconstruction
HS - F1.1:
SS0807
Develop an argument/narrative about the changing character of American political
society by discussing:
• birth of republican government, including the rule of law, inalienable rights,
equality, and limited government
• the development of governmental roles in American life
• competing views on the responsibilities of governments
• changes in suffrage qualifications
(portions omitted).
Key Concepts: radicalism, reconstruction, Reconstruction Amendments (Thirteenth, Fourteenth,
and Fifteenth Amendments), separation of powers
Lesson 5 – Life in the South During Reconstruction
Content Expectations:
8 – U5.3.1: Describe the different positions concerning the reconstruction of Southern society
and the nation, including the positions of President Abraham Lincoln, President
Andrew Johnson, Republicans, and African Americans.
8 – U5.3.3:
Describe the new role of African Americans in local, state, and federal government in
the years after the Civil War and the resistance of Southern whites to this change,
including the Ku Klux Klan.
Key Concepts:
racial segregation, racism, reconstruction, Reconstruction Amendments
(Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments), Southern white resistance
Lesson 6 – Emergence of African American Leaders and White Resistance
Content Expectations:
8 – U5.3.1: Describe the different positions concerning the reconstruction of Southern society
and the nation, including the positions of President Abraham Lincoln, President
Andrew Johnson, Republicans, and African Americans.
8 – U5.3.3:
Describe the new role of African Americans in local, state, and federal government in
the years after the Civil War and the resistance of Southern whites to this change,
including the Ku Klux Klan.
8 – U5.3.4:
Analyze the intent and the effect of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Amendments to the Constitution.
Key Concepts: racism, reconstruction, Reconstruction Amendments (Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and
Fifteenth Amendments), Southern white resistance
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Integrated United States History
Reconstruction
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Lesson 7 - The End of Reconstruction
Content Expectations:
8 – U5.3.5: Explain the decision to remove Union troops in 1877 and describe the impact on
Americans.
Key Concepts: political corruption, racism, separation of powers
Lesson 8 – African-American Civil Rights
Content Expectations:
8 – U5.3.4: Analyze the intent and the effect of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth
Amendments to the Constitution.
HS - F1.1:
Develop an argument/narrative about the changing character of American political
society by discussing:
• birth of republican government, including the rule of law, inalienable rights,
equality, and limited government
• the development of governmental roles in American life
• competing views on the responsibilities of governments
• changes in suffrage qualifications
(portions omitted).
Key Concepts:
Reconstruction
Amendments), separation of powers
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Amendments
(Thirteenth,
Fourteenth,
and
Fifteenth
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