Photograph Sources

Reconstruction and the Rights of African Americans

Nancy Lehman

7^th Grade Social Studies

Westmoreland Middle School

Introduction:

The Reconstruction Era (1865-1877) was a time of turmoil in American history. The abolition of slavery and the passage of the 14^th and 15^th amendments raised complicated issues for Americans, especially newly emancipated African Americans. These amendments guaranteed freedom and equality under the law for Blacks in America. In this WebQuest you and your partner will investigate the following questions: Were these new rights truly guaranteed? What obstacles stood in the way of newly freed slaves in achieving equality?

Task:

Image you are an investigative reporter from the North. With a partner you will examine photographs and primary sources from the Reconstruction Era. You will gather evidence on the problems and roadblocks newly freed slaves faced in trying to achieve the freedom they were guaranteed with the passage of the 13^th, 14^th, and 15^th amendments. In addition, you will identify the causes of these problems and present your findings to a special meeting of Congressional Representatives.

Process and Resources:

Click on the first link below. Review the information on identifying social problems. Then open worksheet 1 and save it to your files. Minimize this page so that you can go from the webquest to worksheet 1 easily.

Step 1: Identifying the Problem

Worksheet 1

View the images below from the Reconstruction Era. Complete worksheet 1 by identifying obstacles emancipated African Americans faced after the Civil War. Summarize the quality of life for African-Americans at this time as presented in the images.

Click on the Step 2 link below. Review the information on gathering evidence. Then open worksheet 2 and save it to your files. Minimize this page so that you can go from the webquest to worksheet 2 easily.

Step 2: Gathering the Evidence

Worksheet 2

Use the resources below to gather your evidence. Be sure to complete worksheet 2 as you go.

Resources

African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship. This site is a museum-like exhibit that offers documents, images, maps and artifacts relating to African-American history from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. The exhibit on Reconstruction contains everything from Thomas Nast images and prints of various African-American leaders to plantation account books and church pamphlets.
Harper's Weekly: Reports on Black America 1867-1874 contains a wide variety of articles, illustrations and political cartoons from the Reconstruction era.
The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow contains background information on the Reconstruction Era and segregation in the South after the Civil War.

Click on the Step 3 link below. Review the information on identifying causes of the problem. Open worksheet 3 and save it to your files. Minimize this page so that you can go from the webquest to worksheet 3 easily.

Step 3: Determine Causes of the Problem:

Worksheet 3

The following links provide information that will help you understand the factors that contributed to denying newly freed slaves their rights. As you read, focus on why African Americans were denied their new rights during the time period following the Civil War. Be sure to complete worksheet 3.

· http://www.ferris.edu/JIMCROW/what.htm

America's Reconstruction: This site is an exhibit based on the work of the well-known scholar of Reconstruction, Eric Foner. This site has a useful Visual Timeline (found under "additional resources"), and there are documents, lithographs and other visual images too.

Performance Task:

Review the information you and your partner uncovered during your investigation of the obstacles newly freed African-Americans faced and the causes of those obstacles. You have been asked to present your findings to a special committee of Congress. Summarize your findings in writing and make suggestions to the representatives of how these obstacles can be overcome. You will be evaluated on the rubric below.

Evaluation:

Name______________________________________ Period________

Rubric for Congressional Meeting/Panel Discussion

	Exemplary 4	Satisfactory 3	Needs Improvement 2	Incomplete 1
Presentation X4	Sophisticated and creative format; appeared rehearsed and professional; engaging, effective eye contact, clear and audible	Creative format; appeared rehearsed; good eye contact, clear and audible	Standard format, appeared unrehearsed; inconsistent eye contact; easy to hear and understand some of the time	Lack of format; clearly unrehearsed; difficult to hear and understand
Content X5	Key beliefs of characters were fully and accurately portrayed; historically accurate and relevant; demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of the roles and assignment; insightful questions and thorough answers	Most of the key beliefs of characters were accurately portrayed; historically accurate; demonstrated a complete understanding of the roles and assignment; most questions were effectively asked and answered	Some of the key beliefs of characters were accurately portrayed; may include historical inaccuracies; demonstrated a basic understanding of the roles and assignment; limited questions and answers	Lacking key beliefs of characters; may include significant historical inaccuracies demonstrated poor understanding of roles and assignment; few questions asked and answered
Organization X2	All materials and members present and fully prepared; creative, flowing progression	All materials and members present and prepared; logical progression	Most materials and members present and prepared; fair progression	Significant materials missing and or members absent/unprepared; distracting progression
Decorum and Dynamics X2	Smooth, professional group interactions; respectful, effective interaction with audience; remained on task consistently; attire, demeanor and extras enhanced the performance	Smooth interaction with the group; respectful, meaningful interaction with audience; remained on task most of the time; attire and demeanor aided the reality of the performance	Positive interactions within the group most of the time; respectful interaction with audience; off task occasionally; attire or demeanor did not add or detract from the performance	Little to no group interactions; may be disrespectful and/or inappropriate; frequently off task; demeanor interfered with the performance

Conclusion:

Thank you for your hard work! The Representatives at your meeting will determine whether to take action on the issue you presented to them.

New York State Learning Standards:

Common Core Standards for English Language Arts

Key Ideas and Details

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.

Craft and Structure

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.

Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8,read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.

NYS Learning Standards for 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 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 U.S. and other nations; the U.S. Constitution; the basic civic values of American constitutional democracy; and the roles, rights, and responsibilities of citizenship, including avenues of participation.

Additional Resources

Library of Congress, the Civil War and Reconstruction. The Library of Congress website contains many valuable primary sources on all eras of U.S. History including Reconstruction as well as some brief overviews of the period.
The Freedmen's Bureau Online. This site is completely focused on the Freedmen's Bureau and provides many valuable documents and records (e.g. marriage records, labor contracts).
Born in Slavery: Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938 contains over 2,300 WPA slave narratives, as well as photographs, prints, music and other sources. In addition to the audio recordings , this site contains thousands of interviews with former slaves who speak of their experiences during and after slavery and the civil war.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. This site is devoted to the global study of Black culture-- the collection emphasizes the Americas, the Caribbean and, Sub- Saharan Africa. Nice collection of visual sources from the Reconstruction years.
American Experience | Reconstruction: The Second Civil War | PBS. This site has some interesting primary sources as well as short Video Clips from the PBS series on Reconstruction on topics such as suffrage or sharecropping. Also check out The Myths of Reconstruction as discussed by historians.
University of North Carolina: Documenting the American South. This site is sponsored by the University Library of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Especially interesting is the "First-Person Narratives of the American South"-- a collection of diaries, autobiographies, memoirs, travel accounts, and ex-slave narratives written by Southerners.
History Matters. This site, a joint project sponsored by the American Social History Project with George Mason University, is an extremely useful site for exploring primary source documents in all of American History. Great set of links to all major U.S. History websites.

Photograph Sources

http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Politics/images-2/segregation-drinking-fountain.JPG

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/ppmsc/00200/00209r.jpg

http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/white-only.jpg

http://www.jewishjournal.com/images/bloggers_auto/whitesonly.jpg

http://www.nebraskahistory.org/images/museum/collect/recent_acquisitions/WhitesOnly.jpg

https://eastchestermhs.wikispaces.com/file/view/Elliott_Erwitt_Segregated_Water_Fountains_North_Carolina_1255_67.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TcIH2lPiz_o/R55R6TtICxI/AAAAAAAAAlY/rMLJWzFboEY/s400/bus.jpg

https://ce-wiki.wikispaces.com/file/view/tkam_turtola_20_3.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SSrRQXGMD8I/SSQy8Ko61YI/AAAAAAAAE9k/N5wMPYy38yg/s400/Sharecroppers.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_473nrD5vEv8/SONc0p7tnMI/AAAAAAAAAzA/pfUSrwbTnjA/s400/Sharecroppers-wife.jpg

http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/content/womens_leadership/exhibit/photos/sharecropper2.jpg