Name: ______________________________
Date: _______________________________
Period: _____________________________
Reconstruction Analysis
Guiding Question: To what extent were African Americans free during Reconstruction?
Answer all the following questions in complete sentences. [If not, -25 points.]
Document Questions [100 points total]
Document A: The Reconstruction Amendments
1. Why do you think the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed? [8 points]
2. What rights did they guarantee for American citizens? [8 points]
Document B: Black Codes
3. Who do you think wrote these laws? [8 points]
4. Why do you think they wrote these laws? Be specific on how they could be effective at
oppressing people. [9 points]
5. Why would white Southerners pass laws that controlled the movement of African
Americans? What would happen in African Americans left the South in huge numbers?
[9 points]
6. How do these laws help you understand what life was like in Louisiana and other
Southern states after the Civil War? [8 points]
Document C: Henry Adams’ Statement
7. Who wrote this document? When and why was it written? [9 points]
8. According to Adams, what was life like for freed men and women after the Civil War?
[8 points]
9. Do you trust the account in this document? Why or why not? [9 points]
Document D: African American Political Representation
10. What does this information about African American politicians tell you about what life
was like for African Americans during Reconstruction? [8 points]
Document E: Education
11. Why do you think education was important to former slaves during Reconstruction?
[8 points]
12. How does this description of life for freedmen compare to Henry Adams’ statement?
[8 points]