NC Essential Standards:
AH1.H.4.1 Analyze the political issues and conflicts that impacted the United
States through Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted.
AH1.H.4.2 Analyze the economic issues and conflicts that impacted the United
States through Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted.
AH1.H.4.4 Analyze the cultural conflicts that impacted the United States through
Reconstruction and the compromises that resulted.
Grade Level
11
Summative Performance
Task
Argumentative Essay and/or
Debate
WS/FCS Unit
Unit 6 – A house Divided
Compelling Question: Did Reconstruction after the Civil War succeed or Fail in its
goals?
Supporting Question I
Supporting Question II
Supporting Question III
What were the successes of
Reconstruction?
What were the failures of
Reconstruction?
1 day
1 day
What was the lasting impact on
American society due to
Reconstruction?
1 day
Historical Sources
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



Historical Sources
The U.S. Constitution 1868
First Black Legislature in South
Carolina 1878
The Establishment of Historically
Black Colleges
The first Vote 1867
A Yankee Visits the South 1887





W.E.B. DuBois, Black Reconstruction
in America
The Black Codes, Opelousas
Louisiana, 1865
Albion Tourgee, Letter on Ku Klux
Klan Activities. New York Tribune,
May 1870
Sharecroppers’ Cycle of Poverty
Petition by Freedmen to Congress 1871
Historical Sources




The Era of Reconstruction,
(Vintage Books, 1967, p. 193)
John McCoy Lay My Burden
Down
Gerald Danzer et al., The
Americans
Jennifer Lemak, ”Southern Life,
Northern City
Formative Performance Task I
Formative Performance Task II
Formative Performance Task III
Identify the documents that support the
supporting question and fill out the
graphic organizer.
Identify the documents that support the
supporting question and fill out the graphic
organizer.
Identify the documents that support the
supporting question and answer the
questions below each document.
Summative Performance Task: (2 days)
Essay: Was Reconstruction a success or failure? After reading the following documents, write an essay that
addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the texts, your knowledge, and your
notes. Be sure to acknowledge competing views and consider both political and economic justifications.
Debate: Create a student debate on whether Reconstruction was a success or failure . Have the students
do a little more research on their own, pick a side, write an opening statement, and some notes. You can
either do small mini groups debating or as a whole class. Students will either debate that Reconstruction
was successful or not, considering both political and economic justifications.
SUPPORTING QUESTION 1
SOURCE A
Amendment 13:
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall
have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or and place subject to their jurisdiction.....
Amendment 14:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are
citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State
deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws....
Amendment 15:
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United
States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude.......
-U.S. Constitution 1868
1. What was the purpose of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment above?
2. How might a state or local government manipulate the statements in the amendments to
restrict a person’s rights?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 1
SOURCE B
-First Black Legislature in South Carolina 1878
1. What does the above picture tell you about politics in the South during Reconstruction?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 1
SOURCE C
1. According to the graphic, how did Reconstruction impact the development of historically black
colleges?
2. What lasting impact do you think this will have for the United States?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 1
"The First Vote." From Harper's Weekly, November 16, 1867.
1. How significant is the act of voting for any group of people?
SOURCE D
SUPPORTING QUESTION 1
SOURCE E
“A Yankee Visits the New South” (Written 1887)
“When we come to the New Industrial South, the change is marvelous… Instead of a South
devoted to agriculture and politics, we find a South wide awake to business, excited and
astonished at the development of its own immense resources….
The South is manufacturing a great variety of things needed in the house, on the farm,
and in the shows and already sends to the North and West several manufactured products. The
most striking industrial development today is in iron, coal, lumber and marble. More
encouraging for the Southern people is the multiplication of small industries in nearly every city
I visited.
It cannot be too strongly impressed upon the public mind that the South, to use and
understandable phrase, “has joined the procession.” Its mind is turned to the development of its
resources, to business, to enterprise, to education, to economic problems; it is marching with the
North in the same purpose of wealth by industry. It is true that railways, mines, and furnaces
could not have been without huge investments of Northern money, but I was continually
surprised to find so many important local industries, the result of Southern funds, made and
saved since the war.”
1. How did the South’s economy change as a result of Reconstruction?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 2
SOURCE A
“...the slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.”
-W.E.B. Dubois
"But the decisive influence was the systematic and overwhelming economic pressure. Negroes
who wanted work must not dabble in politics. Negroes who wanted to increase their income must
not agitate the Negro problem. . . in order to earn a living, the American Negro was compelled to
give up his political power."
- W.E.B. DuBois, Black Reconstruction in America
1. In your own words, what do you think W.E.B. Dubois point is on the effects of Reconstruction
on former slaves?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 2
SOURCE B
The Black Codes Created After the Civil War
1. "No negro or freedmen shall be allowed to come within the limits of the town of Opelousas
without special permission from his employers. Whoever breaks this law will go to jail and work
for two days on the public streets, or pay a fine of five dollars.”
2. “No negro or freedman shall be permitted to rent or keep a house in town under any
circumstances. No negro or freedman shall live within the town who does not work for some
white person or former owner.”
3. “No public meetings of negroes or freedmen shall be allowed within the town.”
4. “No freedman shall be allowed to carry firearms, or any kind of weapons. No freedman shall
sell or exchange any article of merchandise within the limits of Opelousas without permission in
writing from his employer.”
5. “Every negro is to be in the service of (work for) some white person, or former owner.”
- Opelousas Louisiana, 1865
1. Do the 13th-15th Amendments protect African Americans entirely from the Black Codes? Why
or Why not?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 2
SOURCE C
“It is my mournful duty to inform you that our friend John W. Stephens, State Senator
from Caswell, is dead. He was foully murdered by the Ku-Klux in the Grand Jury room of the
Court House on Saturday… He was stabbed five or six times, and then hanged on a hook in the
Grand Jury room… Another brave, honest Republican citizen has met his fate at the hands of
these fiends…
I have very little doubt that I shall be one of the next victims. My steps have been dogged
for months, and only a good opportunity has been wanting to secure to me the fate which
Stephens has just met… I say to you plainly that any member of Congress who, especially if
from the South, does not support, advocate, and urge immediate, active, and thorough measures
to put an end to these outrages…is a coward, a traitor, or a fool.”
- Albion Tourgee, Letter on Ku Klux Klan Activities. New York Tribune, May 1870.
1. Why might Albion Tourgee argue that the living situation for freed slaves had not
improved during the time of Reconstruction?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 2
SOURCE D
After the Civil War, Freedmen and women had no money, no land, and very few skills, many former
slaves became sharecroppers, sometimes even on the plantations owned by their former masters.
Sharecroppers farmed on land they rented from a landlord, in exchange for a share of the crop they
produced. Because sharecroppers needed to borrow money for necessities, like tools and food, they
seldom were able to make or save any money.
1. Compare this system with slavery, what are some positives and negatives of
sharcropping.
SUPPORTING QUESTION 2
SOURCE E
Oppression of Freedmen in the South
“We the colored citizens of Frankfort and vicinity do this day memorialize upon the condition of affairs
now existing in this state of Kentucky. We would respectfully state that life, liberty and property are
unprotected among the colored race of this state. Organized bands of desperate and lawless men, mainly
composed of soldiers of the late Rebel armies, armed, disciplined, and disguised, and bound by oath and
secret obligations, have by force, terror, and violence subverted all civil society among the colored
people… We believe you are not familiar with… the Ku Klux Klan’s riding nightly over the country,
going from county to county, and in the towns spreading terror wherever they go by robbing, whipping,
ravishing [raping], and killing our people without provocation, compelling colored people to break the ice
and bathe in the chilly waters of the Kentucky River… Our people are driven from their homes in great
numbers… We would state that we have been law-abiding citizens, pay our tax, and, in many parts of the
state, our people have been driven from the polls - refused the right to vote, Many have been slaughtered
while attempting to vote; we ask how long is this state of things going to last. We appeal to you… to
enact some laws that will protect us and that will enable us to exercise the rights of citizens… the senator
from this state denies there being organized bands of desperadoes in this state… we lay before you a
number of violent acts occurring during his administration…”
-This petition was made to the United States Congress by Freedmen on March 25, 1871
1. Freed slaves are now able to vote but what are obstacles getting in the way?
2.
Is there any other obstacles that you can think of, besides what is mentioned in this
document?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 3
SOURCE A
Meanwhile southern Democrats gained strength when Congress finally removed the political disabilities
from most of the prewar leadership. In May 1872, because of pressure from the Liberal Republican,
Congress passed a general amnesty act which restored the right of office-holding [and voting] to the vast
majority of those who had been disqualified… After the passage of this act only a few hundred exConfederates remained unpardoned.
This excerpt is from The Era of Reconstruction, 1865 - 1877, by Kenneth M. Stampp (Vintage Books,
1967, p. 193). Stampp was a professor of history at the University of California at Berkeley.
1. Explain how this quote is describing a political failure of Reconstruction and why is was trying
to prevent this in the first place?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 3
SOURCE B
1. Describe a realistic way that the United States could have fixed this issue of freedom not being
different?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 3
SOURCE C
...in the 1870s, Northern voters grew indifferent to events in the South. Weary of the 'Negro
Question' and 'sick of carpet-bag' government, many Northern voters shifted their attention to
such national concerns as the Panic of 1873 and corruption in Grant's administration....Although
political violence continued in the South... the tide of public opinion in the North began to turn
against Reconstruction policies.
-Gerald Danzer et al., The Americans, McDougall Littell, 1998.
1. If Northern voters grew indifferent, how can this impact the south and our country?
SUPPORTING QUESTION 3
SOURCE D
Reality of Life in the South
The political schema in the South prior to World War I had not changed much since post Civil
War Reconstruction. Jim Crow laws, like the black codes and the slave codes, were legally mandated
laws designed to replace the social controls of slavery, and thus insured racial segregation between 1877
and the 1950s. These laws maintained that blacks and whites were not social equals. Blacks suffered with
inferior schools, libraries, hospitals, law enforcement, and public accommodations.
To make matters worse, blacks were not recognized by the judicial system. If they were found
guilty of a petty crime, they could be put Into a chain‐gain and forced to work. Dogs and guns hunted
down black sharecroppers, who left their plantation before their debt was paid or harvest gathered. In his
book about the Great Migration, Peter Gottlieb stated, “The real slavery of buying and selling blacks
before the Civil War gave way to the semi‐slavery of peonage, convict lease labor, and the exchanging of
black tenants’ debts among white landowners.”
Furthermore, blacks had few options at the voting polls. Many blacks did not vote because they
had to pass difficult literacy tests, pay a large poll tax, own property, or were threatened with violence.
Worse than these intimidations, many felt that their vote would not make any difference. Eddie
McDonald, an African American migrant from Mississippi, said that he “remembers having to look at a
jar of jelly beans and be able to know how many there were before they would let blacks vote.” Not
having a voice in government was one of the reasons McDonald migrated to Chicago, Illinois.
Disenfranchised southern African Americans had no political recourses to change the politics and laws
that kept them poverty‐stricken. As a result, many looked to the North as a political and economic arena
they could participate in and benefit from. Upon arrival in the North, many new migrants immediately
registered to vote. In some instances the large number of blacks voting as a block swayed an election for a
candidate. For example, in Chicago's 1915 mayoral election, William Hale Thompson won because the
majority of African Americans voted for him.
Cultural factors in the South best illustrate why such a large number of African Americans moved
north. Blacks were considered and treated like second‐class citizens in the South. Segregation and
oppression were widespread, and southern society would not allow African Americans to succeed.
Working hard as an employee was unlikely to bring advancement. Historian James Grossman found that,
“most black southerners were well aware of the ‘Dixie limit’ beyond which no black could advance.”
Signs of black prosperity could attract white retaliation and violence
- Jennifer Lemak PhD, ”Southern Life, Northern City: The History of Albany’s Rapp Road Community”
(2004)
1. Overall, do you think Reconstruction was a success or a failure? Why or Why not?
Formative Performance Task 1 & 2: After reviewing the documents as a class put Reconstruction
successes in the center circle and when doing performance task two, Reconstruction Failures. In each of
the boxes place details from the documents that pertain to this supporting question. Be sure to have
students annotate and underline key passages and words to help with this process. Use your notes and
outside information to fill in any extra boxes.
Argumentative Essay Rubric:
CATEGORY
4321Above Standards Meets Standards Approaching Standards Below Standards Score
Support for
Position
Includes 3 or more
pieces of evidence
(facts, statistics,
examples, real-life
experiences) that
support the
position statement.
The writer
anticipates the
reader\'s concerns,
biases or
arguments and has
provided at least 1
counter-argument.
Includes 3 or
more pieces of
evidence (facts,
statistics,
examples, reallife experiences)
that support the
position
statement.
Includes 2 pieces of
evidence (facts,
statistics, examples,
real-life experiences)
that support the
position statement.
Includes 1 or
fewer pieces of
evidence (facts,
statistics,
examples, real-life
experiences).
Grammar &
Spelling
Author makes no
errors in grammar
or spelling that
distract the reader
from the content.
Author makes 1-2
errors in grammar
or spelling that
distract the reader
from the content.
Author makes 3-4
errors in grammar or
spelling that distract the
reader from the content.
Author makes
more than 4 errors
in grammar or
spelling that
distract the reader
from the content.
Audience
Demonstrates a
clear
understanding of
the potential
reader and uses
appropriate
vocabulary and
arguments.
Anticipates
reader\'s questions
and provides
thorough answers
appropriate for
that audience.
Demonstrates a
general
understanding of
the potential
reader and uses
vocabulary and
arguments
appropriate for
that audience.
Demonstrates some
understanding of the
potential reader and
uses arguments
appropriate for that
audience.
It is not clear who
the author is
writing for.
Sequencing
Arguments and
support are
provided in a
logical order that
makes it easy and
interesting to
follow the
author\'s train of
thought.
Arguments and
support are
provided in a
fairly logical
order that makes
it reasonably easy
to follow the
author\'s train of
thought.
A few of the support
details or arguments are
not in an expected or
logical order,
distracting the reader
and making the essay
seem a little confusing.
Many of the
support details or
arguments are not
in an expected or
logical order,
distracting the
reader and making
the essay seem
very confusing.
________(out of 16) * 6 = ________ + 4 = _________ (final total)
Teacher Debate Rubric:
1. Is the opening statement well written/said with no mistakes?
2. Is the student’s information/ research relevant and reliable
_______ Of 11
________ Of 11
3. Does the student offer relevant rebuttals or seems prepared for them?
________ Of 11
4. Does the student present two or more facts in his statement or during the debate?
________ Of 11
5. Does the student appear to participate throughout the debate?
________ Of 11
6. Does the student appear to have a good understanding of the topic?
________ Of 11
(Teacher rubric score)
_______
Of 66
(Student rubric score)
_______
Of 34
(Combined total score)
_______ Of 100
Student Debate Rubric:
Instructions: Students should be given a set amount of time to do some research on the topic after the
class has gone over the documents. Students will create an opening statement and you either give them
what side they are on in advance, or don’t tell them, and have them ready to argue both sides. Have
students debate the compelling question in small groups. The teacher should bounce around the groups
to listen and manage the groups. Students should each have a student rubric and grade each other as
the debate goes on. Students at the end should submit their opening statements, research, and their
rubrics. The teacher then uses the teacher rubric and grades each student off of what they submitted
and what you observed.