Mott Hall II Middle School Bob Feldman and Ana De Los Santos

8^th Grade WebQuest Project 2005-2006

Policies of Reconstruction in the Aftermath of the Civil War

The Introduction.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the new challenge was bringing the country together. The political and economic infrastructure of the country was in shambles. As newly freed slaves would soon learn, freedom was not as they had anticipated. They did not get the freedoms promised. Citizens in both the North and the South were faced with the political, economic, social, psychological reconstruction of our devastated country.

The Task.

You are a reconstruction investigator. Your task is to write a (5 page) policy analysis where you are to review and analyze the policies of the government during the reconstruction. In addition to reviewing these policies, you are to assess the success or failure of these policies. Finally, you are to present your findings and recommendations at a Policy Analyst Forum in the auditorium to be attended by your peers and invited guests.

You will work in groups of four to thoroughly research the topic. Within each group there will be:

recorder/editor of shared researched information

timekeeper to keep the group on track with their designated tasks,

reporter will share the groups’ data with the class or teacher

runner will be responsible for obtaining materials essential to the completion of the PSA

public relations manager will guide the group in the best methods to create their campaign.

The Process

You are to review and choose, at least, five problems facing the citizens charged with reconstruction. You must choose, at least, one problem from each of the following categories: political, social, economic, and psychological. Identify the problems. Using different sources, (documents, books, webquest pages, statistics) you are to prove that these are, in fact, problems. You are to fill out work sheets provided for these purposes and to hand these in at the completion of each section. You are to discuss, using details from sources) how the reconstruction policies have succeeded or failed and make recommendations for future post war reconstruction.

You will also follow the six steps of the public policy analyst in the section below.

Public Policy Analyst Process:

Step 1: Defining the Social Problem

Step 2: Gathering Evidence of the Problems

Step 3: Identifying Causes of the Problems

Step 4: Identify and Evaluate Existing Pubic Policy

Step 5: Develop Public Policy Solutions

Step 6: Selecting the Best Policy

Standards:

English Language Arts:

E1C: Read and comprehend informational materials

E2C: Read and comprehend informational materials

E3B: Participate in group meetings

Social Studies

Standard 1: History of the United States.

Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, developments, and turning points in the history of the United States and New York.

The Resources.

You are to use the following sources, along with documents, primary sources and secondary sources.

Aftermath of Civil War:

The Black Codes of 1865:

Reverend. Elias Hill's 1871 Testimony to Congress about Ku Klux Klan Attack:

Frederick Douglass, Reconstruction:

Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth (1889):

Photographs, L.O.C., American Memories Collection: "Touring Turn-of-the-Century America," from the Detroit Publishing Co. (1890-1920):

Photographs of the Mid-Atlantic states--New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut--from the 1850s to the 1910s, from the Robert N. Dennis Collection of Stereoscopic Views at the New York Public Library.

Pioneering the Upper Midwest: Books from Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, ca. 1820-1910: (click on this title in Collections list at following WebPages:

Little Old Sod Shanty on the Plain (song words):

Broadsides (posters): Prepare to meet us at Chetopa, Kan. a large area of the beautiful Indian territory open to homesteaders … the Indian Territory Colonization Society [1879]

(Type in "Chetopa, Kan." in search box after "Search key words" at following web pages):

Broadside (poster) for Lecture: "Three days longer! New route to California via Wentworth's Hall! Original panorama of the gold regions of California! (Type in "three days longer" in search box after "Search key words" at following web pages):

Broadside (poster): Millions of acres. Iowa and Nebraska. Land for sale on 10 years credit by the Burlington & Missouri River R. R. Co. (Buffalo. N. Y.1872) (Type in "millions of acres" in search box after "Search key words" at following web pages):

Broadside (poster): Ho! for the New Eldorado! 1,400 second-hand six-shooters for sale. Also 1,100 double-barrel shot guns and 1,000 winchester rifles! As the route from Independence to Carpenter City lies through the Cheyenne and Arrapahoe Country, it is necessary that all parties should go well armed ... Independence Arms Co., Independence, Kansas (1879) (Type in "Eldorado" in search box after "Search key words" at following web pages):

Library of Congress' Geography and Map Division web pages containing Panoramic (Birds'-eye view) Maps of Cities and Towns in the U.S., 1847-1920

From Library of Congress' "American Memories" Website, "California As I Saw It" Collection of First-person narratives of California's early years, 1849-1900:

History of the American West, 1860-1920: Photographs from the Denver Public Library Collection, at L.O.C., "American Memories":

An 1870's Iron Making primer: How iron was made in the Nineteenth Century

Debate on woman suffrage in the Senate of the United States, 2d session, 49th Congress, December 8, 1886, and January 25, 1887:

On-line book about formation and development of National Parks System:

Ramblings through the High Sierra. By Joseph Le Conte (1900) (Type in "Conte" in search box at following web pages):

"The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920" Library of Congress collection: books, pamphlets, government documents, manuscripts, prints, photographs, and motion picture footage

Large collection of photographs documenting natural environments, ecologies, and plant communities in the United States (1891-1936), American Memories Collection, L.O.C., from University of Chicago Library:

"The Feather Trade and the American Conservation Movement", "Virtual Exhibit" from Smithsonian American History Museum on the first conservation and Audubon Society movements of the late 1800's:

The Evaluation

Research Report Rubric

The topic of research was clearly defined.

1

2

3

4

5

Concepts are accurately identified and clearly understood.

1

2

3

4

5

The information researched addressed a problem.

1

2

3

4

5

The information researched addressed alternatives for solution.

1

2

3

4

5

The information researched addressed the best solution.

1

2

3

4

5

The end product has some kind of visual aspect.

1

2

3

4

5

The student demonstrated understanding of topic during small group discussion.

1

2

3

4

5

Total Points Possible: 35 points

Total Points Earned:__________________

The Conclusion

How has your research shown the successes, failures, and shortcomings of the government’s attempts to bring the country together? How has your research shown that there could have been better ways to reconstruct the country after the Civil War?

What were the government’s motivations for entering the Civil War? How have the government’s motivations changed in subsequent wars after the Civil War?

What is our government of today doing in its attempts to reconstruct to country of Iraq? Do you see any parallels to the government’s attempts of today to their attempts in past wars?

If you were a member of the President’s Reconstruction Advisory Council, What advice could you give the rest of the members in order to reconstruct Iraq in a fair and equitable manner.