Social Studies Lesson Plan Template
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Title: South under Reconstruction
Lesson Author: Tommy George
Key Words: Reconstruction, Republican Party
Grade Level: 11th U.S. History
Time Allotted: 1 50-minute period
Rationale/ Purpose (so what?)
This lesson follows how even after the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were passed, but southern legislatures and
southerners instituted a system of sharecropping, a new form of servitude and the transition from Reconstruction to a
unified nation after the Compromise of 1877.
Key Concept(s) include definition:
Scalawags- southerners that supported the Republican Party, wanted economic development in their
state and peace
Carpetbaggers- northerners that migrated south included investors to set up new businesses,
missionaries, and teachers who had political ambitions
Sharecropping- landowner provided the seed & other needed supplies in return for a share (usually half)
of the harvest and became a new form of servitude.
NCSS Standard(s)
SOL Information (As written in the Virginia SOL “Curriculum Framework” for the grade level)
NCSS Theme (s) with indicators: Personal Connection
SOL: VUS.7c – The student will demonstrate knowledge of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era and its
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importance as a major turning point in American history by examining the political, economic, and social
impact of the war and Reconstruction, including the adoption of the 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments to the
Constitution of the U.S.
Essential Knowledge
Essential Skills
(minimum for SOL Resource Guide)
(minimum for SOL Resource Guide)
Economic and Social Impact of Reconstruction
Develop perspectives of time and place (VUS.1d)
Guiding Question(s): What was the institution of sharecropping and what were its impact in the
South under Reconstruction.
What happened in the Election of 1876, what was the significance of the election, and what was the
resulting compromise?
Assessment Tool(s): Sharecropping Exercise and Worksheet
Background: How does this lesson fit into a unit of study? Looking backwards, looking forwards
Backward: Lesson follows the passing of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
Forward: Reconstruction has ended, the U.S. will enter into a Progressive Era.
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Lesson Objective(s):
Students will be able to:
1. Analyze and Interpret the impact of sharecropping in the south
2. Discuss the importance of Reconstruction, the election of 1876, and the resulting Compromise
of 1877
Historical Source(s): (include copies in materials
Additional Materials/Resources: (include
section)
copies in materials section)
Quote from Sharecropper (JDI)
PowerPoint Slides of Notes (Material A)
Procedure/Process:
JUST DO IT! The “Hook”: (A high-interest activity that introduces new content with connections to students’ prior
knowledge. Between 1-5 minutes (Could also introduce the days guiding question)
Read and analyze a quote: (from personal journal of a sharecropper)
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Obj #
See
above.
Just do it.
Transition:
Objective
#1
Processing Activity and
Procedure -include directions,
question frames, assignment
detail to be given to students
(these should all be made into
explicit materials (e.g. see
material A), and time estimates
Analysis and Interpretation of a quote
from a sharecropper
Check for Evidence of
Understanding
-Either Formal or Informal(Checks Essential
Knowledge and Skills)
Informal: discussion of
journal entry
From the journal, we well next talk about the institution of
sharecropping through a personal activity
Sharecropping Activitydetermining how in debt a
worker will become and how
they signed a work contract Informal: completion of
and has to continue to work the class activity
on a particular plantation
(Materials A, B)
Transition:
From their results, the class will discuss the notes about
sharecropping
Objective
#1
Notes on sharecropping and South
under Reconstruction (Material A,B)
Transition:
This institution leads us into the Election of 1876 and the
Compromise of 1877
Informal: discussion and
personal interpretation of
material
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Objective
#2
Notes on Election of 1876 and the
resulting Compromise of 1877 and
how this ended Reconstruction in the
South (Material A,B)
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Informal: completion of
notes and discussion of
events
Closure/Writing Prompt: Study for their quiz on “South under Reconstruction”
Materials (one resource per page- so it becomes a teacher or student handout, or overhead directions or ppt
presentation):
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Material A: PowerPoint Slides
“Just Do It” Activity:
Read this quote and be ready to discuss:
“I thought I was doing fine…one Monday morning I started for work…but [the Captain] found it out before sundown. [He]
came over to the new place and brought some kind of officer of the law. The officer pulled out a long piece of paper…and
read it to my new employer. When this was done I heard my new boss say: ‘I beg your pardon, Captain. I didn’t know
this [person] was bound out to you, or I wouldn’t have hired him.’ ‘He certainly is bound out to me…until he is 21, and I’m
going to make him know his place.”
The South Under Reconstruction
•State Governments
–Whites held majority of elected seats except in South Carolina
–Scalawags – southerners that supported the Republican Party
•Wanted economic development in their state & peace
–Carpetbaggers – northerners that migrated south
•Inventors looking to set up new businesses
•Missionaries
•Teachers
•Political Ambitions
•Lasted as short as 1 year in Tennessee and as long as 9 years in Florida
“80 Acres and a mule” Activity
•Each of you are newly freed men and looking for employment.
•Based on your skills, you find work on the George/Torrence Plantation
•We will give you:
–Land (80 acres) and a Mule
–Wage: $100 signing bonus
–Salary: half of the annual yield (production) of the crop (which you can sell for money after the harvest)
–Work Contract: guaranteeing employment for the year
–Nearby food and lodging are also available
In return…
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•You must produce a great harvest (more money for you and me)
•Do we have a deal?
•Or better yet…do you even have a choice not to?
But first, you will need some supplies
•To produce a high yield harvest, you’ll need:
–Pitchfork and Plow
•Buy: $50
Rent: $35
–Seeds (for 80 acres)
•Buy: $20
–Lodging/Rent
•2-room house: $30/year 1-room shack: $15/year
–Food (from the local Kroger)
•From Kroger: $40/year
Home-grown: $20/year
–Clothing (because you have to look good in the field)
•New: $15/year
Homemade: $10/year
–Entertainment/Other Expenses
•$5/year
•Don’t worry, I’ll cover your costs until the harvest
And the harvest arrives…
Half of the yield, earns you $15 bucks.
How’d you do? Break even? Still in debt? Make a profit?
If you owe me money, you have to work it off in the next harvest (a clause in the work contract you didn’t/couldn’t read)
If you broke even or made a profit, we still have a position open for next harvest. Interested? (Where else would you go
anyways?)
Plantation Agriculture
•Sharecropping – the landowner provided the seed & other needed supplies in return for a share (usually half) of
the harvest.
•By 1880, no more than 5% of southern blacks became independent landowners.
–Sharecropping became a new form of servitude.
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Election of 1876
•By 1876, federal troops had been withdrawn from all but 3 southern states.
–South Carolina, Florida, & Louisiana
–Democratic Party had regained power throughout the south except in the 3.
•Republicans nominate Rutherford B. Hayes (Ohio Gov.)
•Democrats nominate Samuel J. Tilden (Gov. of NY)
–To win the election Tilden needed 1 electoral vote from contested returns
•20 electoral votes were disputed
Congress Gets Involved
•Because the Constitution did not provide an answer for such a dispute, Congress appointed a 5-member commission
–Made up of members from the House, Senate, and Supreme Court
–Tilden only need 1 vote! Hayes needed all of them
•So what happened?
–Voting went along party lines and the commission awarded all 20 disputed electoral votes to Hayes on March 2, 1877 (2
days before inauguration)
•If you were a Southern Democrat, how would you feel?
Compromise of 1877
•An informal deal was made between the 3 contested southern states & the Republican Party
•Rutherford B. Hayes would become President
•Immediate end to military reconstruction of the South
•Federal money to build a southern transcontinental railroad
Electoral Votes of 1876
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Material B: Sharecropping Handout
The South under Reconstruction
State Governments
- ________ held majority of elected seats except in ________________
- ____________ - southerners that supported the ______________ Party
o Wanted economic development in their state and ________
- ______________ - northerners that migrated south.
o Inventors
o Missionaries
o __________
o Political Ambitions
Lasted as short as 1 year in _________________ and as long as 9 years in ___________.
Plantation Agriculture
______________ - the landowner provides the seeds and other materials in return for a share (usually half) of the harvest.
By 1880, no more than ______ of southern blacks became independent landowners
- ________________ became a new form of ____________.
Election of 1876
By 1876, federal troops had been withdrawn from all but _____ southern states.
– South Carolina, Florida, & Louisiana
– ____________ Party had regained power throughout the south except in the 3.
• Republicans nominate ___________________
• Democrats nominate _________________
– To win the election __________ needed 1 electoral vote form contested returns
Compromise of 1877
•
An informal deal was made between the 3 contested southern states & the Republican Party
1. _____________________ would become President
2. Immediate end to military ______________ of the South
3. Federal money to build a southern ___________________________.
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“80 Acres and a Mule” Activity
Work Contract Signature ______________________
Item:
Pitchfork and Plow
Seeds
Lodging/Rent
Food
Clothing
Entertainment/Other
Total Costs (Subtract from $100 signing bonus)
Total Profit (add _____ for salary from harvest)
How’d you do?
Cost:
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Teacher Notes (Reflections/clarifications/explanations):
This lesson worked really well for every class. The students were engaged and interested in the subject
material. With giving them decisions, and putting the learning in their shoes, they were active in their
education, providing their own perspectives and interpretation of the material in the activity. The notes
were brief and covering the key points and were a reiteration of the ideas and concepts discussed in the
activity. And the notes on the Election of 1876 and Compromise of 1877 were the culmination of the
South under Reconstruction. The kids responded with positive comments about the lesson, as being a
step out of the normal lecture-style classroom and liked the interaction and personal perspective.