INTRODUCTION:

After the Civil war, the nation faced the huge task of restoring the Union. Conflicting plans for Reconstruction produced bitter political battles that led to the impeachment of a President. Many resources were given to the south to rebuild the economy. Also, new political gains for African Americans were gradually taken away as whites regained power. Black Codes, Secret Societies, Poll Taxes, Literacy Tests, and the Grandfather Clauses were ways that the White southerners took away rights that were gained following the Civil War, such as, the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th amendment. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) ruled that segregation was legal as long as African Americans had access to “equal but separate” facilities. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had two different ideas for how African Americans should pursue their future. Washington believed that African Americans should focus on economic security and vocational skills. Du Bois believed that African Americans should demand social and political equality.

TASK:

Throughout the course of this webquest you will analyze and evaluate the impact that Reconstruction and the passage of the Jim Crow Laws had on African Americans. Working with one other person you will create a power point presentation as well as handout for each student in the class.

PROCESS:

Meeting with your partner you will research the outcome of Reconstruction and the nature of the “Jim Crow Laws” and the perceived problems they were designed to address. You will use the American History Public Policy Analyst to guide you in this webquest. As part of the study process you will complete four worksheets that highlight aspects of your research. Each of these worksheets deals with a different aspect of analysis. You only need one worksheet for both of you.

AHPPA: American History Public Policy Analyst

Step 1– Identify the Problem

Step 2 – Gather the Evidence

Step 3 – Determine Causes

Step 4 – Evaluate the Policy -This page also leads to three additional steps of Identifying the Benefits of the Policy, Identifying the Costs of the policy, and finally considering a Comparative Analysis of a similar problem today.

EVALUATION:

CATEGORY	Excellent (A 90-100pts)	Good (B 89-79 pts)	Satisfactory (C-D 78-65 pts)	Unsatisfactory (F 64 or below)
Content - Accuracy	All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors.	Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.	The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.	Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error.
Originality	Presentation shows considerable originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in a unique and interesting way.	Presentation shows some originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in an interesting way.	Presentation shows an attempt at originality and inventiveness on 1-2 slides.	Presentation is a rehash of other people's ideas and/or graphics and shows very little attempt at original thought.
Sequencing of Information	Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to anticipate the type of material that might be on the next slide.	Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One slide or item of information seems out of place.	Some information is logically sequenced. An occasional slide or item of information seems out of place.	There is no clear plan for the organization of information
Cooperation	Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively all of the time.	Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively most of the time.	Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively some of the time.	Group often is not effective in delegating tasks and/or sharing responsibility.
Hand Out	Provided the class with a handout that included an overview of the product and follow up questions.	Provided everyone in the class with a handout.	Provided the teacher with a handout.	Did not have a handout.

CONCLUSION:

Following Reconstruction white southerners began to regain their power and created “Jim Crow Laws” which began an era of discrimination and prejudice that lasted for more than a hundred years. It is hoped that your study of these policies will give you and the students who view your presentation a better understanding of that era and its impact on American life. It is also hoped that you will come to appreciate how governmental policies reflect the thinking and conditions of the era in which they were formed. Thank you for your research and presentation.

STANDARDS:

The following are standards that should be met by this webquest.

Social Studies

Standard 1: History of the United States and New York: 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.

Standard 4: Economics: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of how the United States and other societies develop economic systems and associated institutions to allocate scarce resources, how major decision-making units function in the United States and other national economies, and how an economy solves the scarcity problem through market and nonmarket mechanisms.

Standard 5: Civics, Citizenship, and Government: Students will use a variety of intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for establishing governments; the governmental system of the United States and other nations; the United States Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

English Language Arts:

Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.

Standard 2: Language for Literary Response and Expression: Students will read and listen to oral, written, and electronically produced texts and performances from American and world literature; relate texts and performances to their own lives; and develop an understanding of the diverse social, historical, and cultural dimensions the texts and performances represent. As speakers and writers, students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for self-expression and artistic creation.

Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4: Language for Social Interaction: Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. Students will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people. As readers and listeners, they will use the social communications of others to enrich their understanding of people and their views.

RESOURCES: