Reconstruction mini-unit, including text

As the Civil War came to its bloody conclusion, the country was faced with a monumental task: bring the Confederate states back into the body politic, rebuild the war-ravaged Southern economy, and integrate over three million former slaves into free society. The nation’s successes, and more importantly its failures, would come to define the United States for the next hundred years.

In this three to five day mini-unit, students will learn about the political, economic, and social struggles of the ten year period we now call Reconstruction, and the legacy left behind by its ultimate failure. This lesson is part of Unit 10 of We Take Nothing by Conquest, a 10 Unit, full-year course of American history, covering Columbus through Reconstruction.

Materials include:
* 18 pages of informative and interesting text (divided into three chapters) from my textbook “We Take Nothing by Conquest”);
* an inquiry based study guide for the text to focus students on the main points and supporting details;
* three PowerPoints with answers to the study guide for review, including pictures to stimulate discussion and enhance understanding;
* a 24 page Teacher’s Guide which provides day-by-day and step-by-step instructions how to use all of the materials;
* a primary source activity in which students will read and analyze the three Civil War Constitutional Amendments (13th, 14th and 15th);
* a primary source activity in which students will read excerpts from and analyze two Supreme Court decisions: Plessy v. Ferguson and Brown v. Board of Education.
* a 20 multiple choice question unit quiz to assess student learning.

Answer keys for the study guide and unit quiz are included in the Teacher’s Guide. Materials are provided as word documents and PDFs in one zip file. 

Created by Cliff Baker - Ye Olde History Emporium