Unit 6: reconstruction 

"What is the legacy of Reconstruction on the nation's identity?"

Unit Description 

​Students analyze problems that existed at the end of the Civil War and the attempts made to address those problems through the rebuilding of the United States.

Topic  1: Reconstruction 

Connections:  Students will explore the most pressing problems the United States faced post Civil War, the different political plans to address those problems, and analyze the actions that were taken and their impact on all factions of society, in order to determine the way conflict resolution during reconstruction impacted the legacy and identify of the United States.
Standards:  (7.1.1-5; 7.4.3; 7.5.1-3; 7.6.1-4; 7.8.7; 7.10.1-2)

Key Questions:

  • What problems existed at the end of the Civil War that needed to be resolved?
  • Which events should be considered turning points during Reconstruction?
  • What were the different approaches to Reconstruction and what methods were most successful?
  • What were the immediate and long term effects of Reconstruction on the growth of the United States?
  • What were the social, political, and economic problems the United States faced at the end of the Civil War?
  • Why was the promise of Reconstruction unfulfilled?

​assessments:

  • Students analyze the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction by completing the Amnesty and Reconstruction graphic organizer.
  •  Students will analyze the Wade Davis Bill and complete Wade Davis Bill split-page notes.
  • Students will analyze Presidential Reconstruction through completing the Reconstruction anticipation guide.
  • Students will complete a GIST writing handout on Radical Reconstruction.
  • Students will write an essay in which they compare and contrast the different approaches to Reconstruction andwhat methods were most successful, then explain whether the promise of Reconstruction was fulfilled or unfulfilled.

topic 2:  life  for african americans during reconstruction

​Connections: Students explore a variety of sources to learn about the outcomes of Reconstruction policies on the lives of African Americans. Students engage in this learning to form a deeper understanding of the extent to which the unresolved conflicts of the Civil War were addressed, and the impact that had on the nation’s identity.
​Standards: (7.1.1-5; 7.4.3; 7.10.1-2)

Key   Questions:

  • Were sharecroppers truly free?
  • What rights did the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments guarantee American Citizens
  • What were the outcomes of the Black Codes?
  • What was life like for freed men and women after the Civil War?
  • What was the importance of education for freed men and women after the Civil War?
  • Were African Americans free during Reconstruction?

Assessments: 

  • Students will write a paragraph answering the question “were sharecroppers truly free?”
  • Students will complete responses for guiding questions aligned to documents in writing.
  • Students will complete a discussion on the task’s focus question of “Were African Americans free during Reconstruction?”
  • Students will complete an essay answering the question “were African Americans free during Reconstruction?”

Topic  3: The last years of reconstruction 

Connections: Students will explore documents to investigate the events that lead to the end of Reconstruction, and analyze the long term outcomes of Reconstruction and the impact that this failed form of conflict resolution had on the national identity.
Standards: (7.1.1-5; 7.4.3; 7.10.1-2)

KEY   QUESTIONS:

  • How did Reconstruction end?
  • What were some of the failures of Reconstruction?
  • What are the long term outcomes of segregation policies that were instituted after Reconstruction?
  • What were the long term impacts of the ruling in Plessy v Ferguson?
  • What are the long term outcomes of the failures of Reconstruction?

Assessments:

  • Students will complete a graphic organizer analyzing the outcomes and impacts of the presidential election of 1876.
  • Students will write answers to guiding questions about segregation policies.
  • Students will write a paragraph answering the question, “What were the long term impacts of the Plessy v Ferguson case?”
  • Students will culminate the task by answering the question in essay form, “what are the long term outcomes of the failures of Reconstruction?”

Unit 6 Videos