Reconstruction Era Scrapbook Project
The year is 1863 and President Abraham Lincoln has just issued the Emancipation Proclamation, beginning the process to
eventually end slavery in the United States. You will take on the persona of a real, historical Black American from this time
period and create a Scrapbook of artifacts that tell the story of your life from 1863 through the end of Reconstruction in 1877.
Your scrapbook should contain one page for each year from 1863-1877; each page should have at least one primary source
document and an accompanying analysis sheet. Each page should also include a timeline with important events in US History
that occurred during the year (events need not be limited to your historical figure, alone).
Use the chart below to guide you in completing your Scrapbook Project:
Steps
1. Read examples of Scrapbooks so you’ll
know what you will be doing
2. Select the historical figure you will
represent and do some basic research to
learn about them.
3. Locate 2-3 websites about your person.
Bookmark these and print out relevant
information. Single out three important facts
that are essential to understanding what
your person accomplished in life. Think
about what kind of document you could find
to illustrate those accomplishments
4. Look through the archives and read about
the Reconstruction Era. Brainstorm ideas of
“generic” documents you could use in your
scrapbook
Possible Resources
Examples of
scrapbooks provided
by teacher in class
Archives
Internet
Archives
Pages in textbook
Archives
Products
Brief vignette describing
you; a brief biography
including who you are,
what your life is like in
Reconstruction Era
America. Where are you
in 1863?
Planning/Brainstorming
sheet
Planning/Brainstorming
sheet
Notes
We will do this as a class
Try to read a variety of
sources to get a good
picture of who this person
is that you are
representing.
If possible, try to include
something accomplished
before the Civil War, during
the War, and after the Civil
War.
5. Look over Emancipation Proclamation and
Analyze with Document Analysis form
(http://www.archives.gov/education/lesson
s/worksheets/)
6. Locate documents that fit the following
criteria for your Scrapbook. If you can’t find
one, consider creating a facsimile one on
your own.
 Individualized document(s) about
your person
 Last years of the Civil War
 The Freedman’s Bureau
 Legal and Extralegal Discrimination
and Intimidation
 Sharecropping
 Material Culture
Emancipation
Proclamation copy
provided in class.
Document analysis
form from nara.gov
Archives
Document Checklist
In addition, choose ONE topic from the list
below that has the most relevance to “your”
life
 Founding of schools for African
Americans
 Role of religion in African American
life
 Contributions of African Americans to
the arts and sciences
 African Americans in state and federal
government
 African Americans and Africa
7. Fill out a Document Analysis Worksheet
http://www.archives
for each document you use
.gov/education/lesso
Document Analysis form
We will do this in class.
Documents or
Facsimile’s of
Documents for the
Scrapbook
Remember you will need
documents for each year
from 1863 to 1877. As you
look for documents, try to
locate them from across the
period of time we are
working on.
Document Analysis
Forms
Use the appropriate sheet
for each type of document.
8. Make a cover for your Scrapbook
9. Create an introductory page in your
scrapbook that includes the Emancipation
Proclamation we did in class
10. Create one page for each year from 1863
to 1877, plus a concluding page
 One the back of each page make a
timeline of events that happened in
that year in the USA
 Include a handwritten explanation for
everything you paste into the
scrapbook that tells what it is and
what it means “to you.”
11. Make a bibliography of the websites you
used for every document
12. Write an obituary or eulogy for your
person and paste it on the back of the
scrapbook
13. Present a monologue on your person to
the class (Like a funeral eulogy): Describe
the person’s life within its historical context
and share their impact on history.
ns/worksheets/
Folder or paper
provided in class
Scrapbook cover
Emancipation Proc.
from class
Introductory Page
Archives
Scrapbook pages, 18631877
Textbook pages
Paper supplies
provided in class
Archives
Textbook Pages:
 Abolition and Women’s Rights, Pages 440-445
 Events Leading to the South’s Secession, Pages 457-475
 Emancipation Proclamation, Pages 503-506
 Thirteenth Amendment, Page 521
 Reconstruction, Pages 533-549
(i.e. Poster, cartoon, etc.)
Include a title and a visual
image such as a photograph
of your assigned person.
Remember documents
should be placed in
chronological order!
Things preceding the Civil
War can be placed on the
introductory page.
Bibliography
Obituary
We will begin presentations
in class on ___________________
Websites:
 “African American History.” American Memory, Library of Congress.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/browse/ListSome.php?category=African%20American%20History

“Images of 19th Century African Americans.” Digital Schomburg, New York Public Library. http://digital.nypl.org/cgishl/vsc30b.exe/schomburg/images_aa19/toc.html?E+nyplbeta

“Teaching With Documents: The Fight for Equal Rights: Black Soldiers in the Civil War.” By Budge Weidman. U.S.
National Archives and Records Administration. http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civilwar/article.html

“This Far By Faith: African-American Spiritual Journeys.” PBS. http://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/

“Time Line of African American History, 1852-1880.” American Memory, Library of Congress.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aap/timeline.html

“Reconstruction: The Second Civil War.” PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction

“Biographies.” By Tanya Bolden. Digital Schomburg African American Women Writers of the 19th Century, New York
Public Library. http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/writers_aa19/biographies.html

“African American World.” PBS. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/aaworld/index.html
Scrapbook Examples
 “Ohio Memory: an Online Scrapbook of Ohio History.” Ohio Memory, Ohio Historical Society.
http://www.ohiomemory.org

“Selfworks: Diaries, Scrapbooks, and Other Autobiographical Efforts.” University of Delaware Library, Special
Collections Department. http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/selfwork/

“Scrapbooks.” By Susan Tucker. Tulane University. http://www.tulane.edu/~wclib/scrapbooks.html
Document Checklist
Keep track of the documents you find and try to collect a variety of different types. For each one you find, check it off the list.
Official or legal documents
____Death certificate
____Certificate of marriage
____Diploma
____Purchase of sale
____Lease
____Award
____Military record (draft, discharge, etc)
____Income tax returns
____Will
____Deed
____Inventory
____Church or other religious records
____Patent
____Census report
____Congressional report
____Passport
____Other
Printed documents
____Newspaper and magazine article
____Cards (greeting cards, visiting cards, etc.
____Advertisements
____Labels
____Photographs
____Maps
____Tickets
____Brochures
____Telegrams
____Publications (book, pamphlet, etc.)
____Other
Handwritten documents
____Correspondence
____Diaries
____Notes
____Drawings
____Handwritten drafts of publications
____Other
Planning/Brainstorming Chart
Use the chart below to note facts you want to highlight about your historical figure AND about Reconstruction. In the second
column, write your ideas about what type of document you could use to display those facts and ideas. The “Big” facts are the
three key/important facts you decided are essential to understanding what your person accomplished in life.
Fact to Highlight
Big #1:
Big #2:
Big #3:
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Type of Document to Display
Rubric
Topic
Cover and Overall
layout
Time Line
Document Analysis
Worksheet
Documents About
Your Subject
Documents on Other
Aspects of
Reconstruction
Captions
Overall Comment
Criteria
Does your cover include a relevant document?
Does it have a strong visual appeal?
Have you cut and pasted with neatness and care?
Have you written a time line on the back of every page?
Does your time line include dates and information from the textbook
and class discussion?
Have you filled out a Document Analysis Worksheet for every
document included?
Do the worksheets reflect critical thinking and analysis?
Do the worksheets include the URLs in proper bibliographical form
for every document?
Have you located three documents that reflect something important
about your subject’s life?
Have you fulfilled the requirements for finding a document on
discrimination and intimidation, sharecropping, material culture, and
one topic from the optional list?
Have you written thoughtful and complete captions for your
documents?
Do the captions connect the document to the life of your subject in a
meaningful way?
Do the captions reflect your understanding of this time period in
history?
Mark from 1-5