Download msse 570 - reconstruction lesson

Heather Linger (103189095)
Subject: U.S. History
Date: October 17, 2007
Grade Level: 11
Topic: Reconstruction Role Play
Essential Questions/Big Ideas:
- Why is it difficult to come up with terms for settling issues at the end of a war or
conflict?
- How is/can compromise be reached?
General Objectives:
Virginia Standards of Learning
VUS.7 The student will demonstrate knowledge of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era and
its importance as a major turning point in American history by
a) identifying the major events and the roles of key leaders of the Civil War Era, with
emphasis on Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and Frederick
Douglass;
c) examining the political, economic, and social impact of the war and Reconstruction,
including the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution
of the United States.
NCSS Standards
V- Individuals, Groups, and Institutions—Social studies programs should include experiences
that provide for the study of interactions among individuals, groups, and institutions, so that the
learner can:
e) describe and examine belief systems basic to specific traditions and laws in
contemporary and historical movements;
f) evaluate the role of institutions in furthering both continuity and change;
g) analyze the extent to which groups and institutions meet individual needs and
promote the common good in contemporary and historical settings.
VI- Power, Authority, and Governance—Social studies programs should include experiences
that provide for the study of how people create and change structures of power, authority, and
governance, so that the learner can:
a) examine persistent issues involving the rights, roles, and status of the individual in
relation to the general welfare;
c) analyze and explain ideas and mechanisms to meet needs and wants of citizens, regulate
territory, manage conflict, establish order and security, and balance competing
conceptions of a just society;
d) compare and analyze the way nations and organizations respond to conflicts between
forces of unity and forces of diversity;
f) analyze and evaluate conditions, actions, and motivations that contribute to the conflict
and cooperation within and among nations.
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this lesson, students will know:
- the beliefs and attitudes of different groups on Reconstruction after the Civil War.
At the end of this lesson, students will understand:
- how difficult it is to come up with terms to settle conflicts of a war.
At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- role play for different groups that participated in coming up with Reconstruction
legislation.
Assessments:
Formative Assessments:
- Reconstruction Role Play—Discussion questions handout
o Make sure students completed assignment
o Also checks students understanding of how different groups felt about terms of
Reconstruction, which will guide next days lesson (would be beneficial to
combine findings and distribute to the class)
Summative Assessment:
- Students will complete an essay in which they compare and contrast how the
Reconstruction era was interpreted in U.S. history books before and after the Civil Rights
Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s.
o Grading will be based on: content, ideas, analysis, interpretation; use and citation
of historical evidence; organization and logic; and writing clarity and correctness
o This would be the unit’s summative assessment, in addition to or perhaps in lieu
of a traditional assessment (test)
Content Outline:
I.
The Reconstruction Battle Begins
A. The Civil War had devastated most Southern cities and the South’s economy.
1. emancipation of enslaved African Americans threw the South’s agricultural economy
into chaos
2. sharecropping- a system of agriculture or agricultural production where a landowner
allows a sharecropper to farm the land in return for a share of the crop produced on
the land.
a.
Not much changed from slavery
3. Former slaves wanted 40 acres and a mule, but they were not given this
a.
This would give them land to farm for themselves
b.
Mule would be used to work the land
c.
The land would provide them with resources they needed to survive (food and a
source of income)
d.
Families could live on the land without sharecropping
B.
President Lincoln and Congress had to deal with Reconstruction
1. rebuilding the South after the Civil War
2. had to decide under what terms and conditions the former Confederate states would
rejoin the Union
C. President Lincoln’s Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
1. Called for a general amnesty, or pardon, to all Southerners who took an oath of
loyalty to the United States and accepted the Union’s proclamations concerning
slavery.
2.
After 10 percent of the state’s voters in the 1860 presidential election had taken the
oath, the state could organize a new government.
D. The Radical Republicans in Congress, led by Representative Thaddeus Stevens of
Pennsylvania and Senator Charles Sumner, did not want to reconcile (to reestablish a
close relationship/friendship) with the South.
E. Radical Republicans had three main goals
1. They wanted to prevent Confederate leaders from returning to power after the war.
2. They wanted the Republican party to become powerful in the South.
3. They wanted the federal government to help African Americans political equality by
guaranteeing them the right to vote in the South.
F.
Moderate Republicans thought Lincoln’s plan was too lenient on the South and the
Radical Republicans’ plan was too harsh.
G. By the summer of 1864, Moderate and Radical Republicans came up with a plan that they
could both support—the Wade-Davis Bill.
1. Required the majority of adult white men in a former Confederate state to take an
oath of allegiance to the Union
2. The state could then hold a constitutional convention to create a new state
government
3. Each state’s convention would then have to abolish slavery, repudiate all debts the
state had acquired as part of the Confederacy, and deprive any former Confederate
government officials and military officers the right to vote or hold office
H. Wade-Davis Bill was introduced and passed in Congress
1. Lincoln thought the plan was too harsh, so he blocked the bill with a pocket veto—
letting the session of Congress expire without signing the Bill.
II.
The Freedmen’s Bureau
A. Thousands of freed African Americans, known as freedmen, had followed General
Sherman and his troops as they marched through Georgia and South Carolina
1. To help the freed people, General Sherman set them up on plantation land along the
South Carolina coast (40 acres each)
B.
As a result of the crisis of displaced, former slaves, Congress established the Freedmen’s
Bureau
1. Was to feed and cloth war refugees in the South using army surplus supplies.
2. Also helped freedmen find work and negotiated pay and hours worked on plantations.
C. The Freedmen’s Bureau made a lasting contribution in education
1. Provided schools, paid teachers, and helped establish colleges for training African
American teachers.
2. Howard University in Washington, D.C. was founded in 1867 by the Bureau
III.
Johnson Takes Office
A. Vice president Andrew Johnson became president after Abraham Lincoln was
assassinated
B.
Johnson agreed with Lincoln that a moderate policy was needed to bring the South back
to the Union.
C. In May 1865, Andrew Johnson issued a new Proclamation of Amnesty
1. Plan offered to pardon all former citizens of the Confederacy who took an oath of
loyalty to the Union and to return their property
2.
Excluded from the plan were all former Confederate officers and officals, and all
former Confederates who owned property worth more than $20,000
3. The people excluded could individually ask the president for a pardon
4. Johnson’s plan to restore the South to the Union included having each former
Confederate state call a constitutional convention to repeal its order to secede and to
ratify the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery
5. They also had to reject all debts acquired during the Civil War
6. The Southern states, for the most part, met Johnson’s conditions
D. The new Southern state legislatures passed laws, known as Black Codes
1. They severely limited African American’s rights in the South
2. The Codes varied from state to state, but in general, they were written with the
intention of keeping African Americans in conditions similar to slavery
3. The black codes enraged Northerners
IV.
Radical Republicans Take Control
A. In late 1865, House and Senate Republicans created a Joint Committee on Reconstruction
to develop their own program fro rebuilding the Union
B.
In March 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866
1. Gave citizenship to all persons born in the United States, except Native Americans
2. Allowed African Americans to own property and be treated equally in court
3. Granted the U.S. government the right to sue people who violated these rights
C. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the
United States
1. No state could deprive any person of life, liberty, or property “without due process of
law”
2. So state could deny any person “equal protection of the laws
3. Congress passed the amendment in June 1866, it was sent to the states for ratification
D. The Fourteenth Amendment became the major issue in the congressional election of 1866
1. President Johnson was against the amendment
2. He wanted Northern voters to elect a new majority in Congress that would support
his plan for Reconstruction
3. Increased violence against African Americans and their supporters erupted in the
South.
4. The Republicans won a three-to-one majority in Congress
E. In March 1967, Congress passed the Military Reconstruction Act
1. Did away with Johnson’s Reconstruction Program
2. Divided the former Confederate states, except Tennessee because it ratified the
Fourteenth Amendment, into five military districts
3. Each former Confederate state had to hold another constitutional convention to write
a constitution Congress would accept
a.
The constitution had to give the right to vote to all adult male citizens
4. After the state ratified its new constitution, it had to ratify the Fourteenth
Amendment, then the state could elect people to Congress
F.
The Republicans fears that President Johnson would refuse to enforce the Military
Reconstruction Act, so they passed the Command of the Army Act.
1. Required all orders from the president to go through the headquarters of the general
army
G.
Congress also passed the Tenure of Office Act
1.
required the Senate to approve the removal of any government official whose
appointment had required the Senate’s approval.
H. Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, agreed with the Radical Republican Reconstruction
Plan.
I.
President Johnson challenges the Tenure of Office Act by firing Stanton.
1. After he fired Stanton, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson.
2. They charged Johnson with breaking the law by refusing to uphold the Tenure of
Office Act and with trying to undermine the Reconstruction Program.
3. After more than two months of debate, the Senate vote was one vote short for
conviction.
J. The impeachment took away what little power President Johnson had left
1. He did not run for reelection in 1868
K. General Ulysses S. Grant was the Republican candidate
1. The presence of many Union Soldiers in the South helped African Americans vote in
large numbers
2. Grant easily won the election
3. Republicans kept majorities in both houses of Congress
L.
The Republican-led Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution
1. The right to vote could not be denied on account of race, color, or previous servitude
2. Amendment became part of the Constitution in 1870
V.
Republican Rule in the South
A. By 1870 all former Confederate states had rejoined the Union
B.
During Reconstruction many Northerners moved to the South
1. Many were elected or appointed to positions in the state governments
2. Southerners referred to these people as carpetbaggers because some brought suitcases
with them made of carpet fabric
3. Many Southerners viewed Northerners as intruders who wanted to profit from the
South’s postwar troubles
C. Southerners dislikes scalawags—white Southerners who worked with the Republicans
and supported Reconstruction
D. The Republican Party became powerful in the South and started many major reforms
1. Included repealing the black codes, making many more state offices elective, and
establishing a system of public schools
2. To pay for Republican reforms, many Southern state governments borrowed money
and imposed high property taxes
E. Many Southern whites resented and rejected Republican governments, and organizations
like the Ku Klux Klan were established
VI.
African American Communities
A. Many former enslaved African Americans attended school in the South during
Reconstruction.
1. Network of African American colleges and universities established
B.
African American communities in the South established churches
1. Served as center of African American communities
2. Served as part of a support system
VII.
Collapse of Reconstruction
A.
President Grant lacked the political experience needed to guide the nation through
Reconstruction.
1. During his first term in office, the Republican-controlled Congress continued
promoting its Reconstruction policies.
2. Their economic policies angered many Southerners and convinced Liberal
Republicans to join Southern Democrats in opposing Grant.
3. During Grant’s second term, a series of political scandals and a severe economic
crisis hurt Republican authority in Congress.
B.
With the election of 1874, Democrats returned to power in Congress.
1. As Democratic power spread, Americans’ attentions turned to growing economic
concerns.
2. After a disputed presidential election, a special commission voted Rutherford B.
Hayes into the White House.
C. Hayes pulled federal troops out of the South, ending Reconstruction.
D. While some tried to build a “New South,” many African Americans found themselves
living once again in a society where they had little political power and few economic
opportunities.
Student and Teacher Activities: (90 minute class)
Student Activities
Teacher Activities
In their interactive notebooks, students
make predictions about how the South
was rebuilt after the Civil War
(comparing it with how the Gulf Coast
has been in the process of rebuilding),
and also write their general reactions to
the photos.
Students listening to mini-lecture and
taking some notes
Reconstruction Role Play
Individual Work:
-Assume the role given to you in the role
cards. Imagine that you are part of an
advisory committee established at the end
of the war. How do you think that
members in your group would answer the
following questions?
**This will require student research.
Students will do this research
independently. Students will be able to
do this research using any notes they
have taken in class, U.S. History
textbook, or doing online research if
Hook: Show students photos of ruins
after the Civil War.
Reconstruction introduction
PowerPoint
Divide students into groups (5
groups)
Pass out 1) Reconstruction Role
Cards, 2) Discussion questions
handouts, and 3) 5 blank
transparencies
Go over assignment directions, clarify
any questions students have
- In role playing, students act out
characters in a predefined "situation".
-Role playing allows students to take
risk-free positions by acting out
characters in hypothetical situations.
Anticipated
time
5 minutes
5 minutes
20 minutes
computers are available.
It can help them understand the range
of concerns, values, and positions
held by other people. Role playing is
an interesting way to help students
see a problem from another
perspective.
Teacher is circulating room, making
sure students stay on task and help out
when students get stuck
Group work:
Answer these questions as a group. Have
one member of the group record answers
on a separate sheet of paper, and one
member record answers on a
transparency. Both items will be
collected at the end. Your group will
present your answers to the rest of the
class.
Closure: Students completing the role
play.
25 minutes
Teacher is circulating room, making
sure students stay on task and help out
when students get stuck
Teacher facilitating discussion/debate.
30 minutes
Each group will present their plans using
the transparencies they have. Groups will
debate and argue about the different
plans, ultimately trying to come up with
some sort of compromise.
Students must stay in their roles at all
times.
Materials needed for the lesson:
- Ruins from the Civil War Photos
- Reconstruction introduction PowerPoint
- Reconstruction Role Cards
- Discussion questions handouts
- 5 blank transparencies
Differentiation:
This lesson can be adapted for ELL students, students with language processing disabilities, or
below grade-level readers through more scaffolding. I will be available to help all students
complete activities in this lesson, and in the main activity they are working in groups so students
who have some difficulty with the activities or material will also have the support and help of
other students. After about two days of introduction to Reconstruction, I would give some sort of
pre-assessment and culminating activities would be differentiated based on student readiness.
Role plays help ELL students in several ways. Use role plays and simulations to stimulate
speaking in the classroom. ELL students need engaging material and need encouragement for
expression of complex ideas and feelings. Students with learning disabilities have difficulty
connecting language to actions, memories, and concepts. It is important to give students the
opportunity to talk with peers and adults so that they can experiment with and validate their own
ideas. Role play and simulations provide opportunities for real-world applications of higher level
critical thinking and problem-solving. These strategies help students learn by doing. Role play
provides creative outlets for gifted learners, who have strong interpersonal and verbal skills
which are utilized in these strategies.
Subject Matter Integration/Extension:
This lesson plan would follow a unit on the Civil War, and serve as an introductory lesson to
Reconstruction. Following lessons would focus on how Lincoln’ assassination affected
Reconstruction, other plans for Reconstruction, President Johnson’s impeachment, and the
collapse of Reconstruction. The struggle over Reconstruction shows how difficult it is to settle
terms of a war, which can be seen looking at the end of many other different conflicts (ex. World
War I). It is still apparent in many communities in the South today that conflicts from the Civil
War have had a lasting legacy; and that the failure of Reconstruction negatively impacted
African American communities, which have been struggling for civil rights ever since.
Reflection on Lesson Plan:
I taught this lesson in practicum and it did not go quite as well as I wanted, but the class is very
tough to deal with (many behavior problems) and students did work very well in the groups. I
would try to relate this period in history more to their lives/try to draw connections. I found out
after I taught the lesson that their teacher had not even finished teaching about the Civil War, so
if she had I definitely think that this lesson would have run more smoothly.
I revised the lesson plan to include more opportunities for students to do research about the
different roles before participating in the role play activity.
Bibliography:
Appleby, J., Brinkley, A., Broussard, A., McPherson, J., & Ritchie, D. (2003). The American
vision. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.
Photographs from the American Civil War. Retrieved October 17, 2007 from
http://www.wildwestweb.net/cwphotos.html.
Gunn, B.C. (1989). Reconstruction through role play. Magazine of History, 4, 71-73.
Ruins from the Civil War
Photos
Reconstruction Role Cards*
Radical Northern Republicans- The war is over. Through your efforts and sacrifices, the traitorous Southerners
have been defeated. You look at the aftermath and see the disabled soldiers, widows, and orphans of the North. Your
hometown is rejoicing in the victory but mourning at the cost. You are a member of an advisory commission
established at the end of the war. Remember the dead and wounded, the destruction, and those traitorous
Confederates when you make your decisions. They surrendered. You are the victor. The vanquished must account
for their acts.
Moderate Northerners- The war is over. The country is in ruins. You recognize the North has won but at a terrible
cost to both sides. Many around you have paid the price of death, disability, or financial loss. Your task is to quickly
rebuild the entire country. You have been appointed to an advisory commission established to resolve the problems
of reunification. You must act quickly and heal the country’s wounds, bringing all together. Make Lincoln’s promise
come true:
With malice toward none, with charity for all, ...let us strive on to finish the work we are in, ...to
do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all
nations.
Moderate Southerners- The war is over; the cause is lost. All the dreams and ideals once held are gone. The time
for regaining respect and maintaining dignity has arrived. Surely the Northerners are honorable people, willing to
reestablish a united country. You base your hope on the ideals Lincoln has offered; a quick, non-vindictive reunion.
Surrounded by broken men with broken spirits, you must find a means of reclaiming your rights as Americans. You
have been appointed to an advisory commission established at the end of the war. Your position is shaky as you are
not in any position to make demands. You must carefully negotiate, obtaining as much as you can without losing
self-respect. Seek fairness and compassion from the North. You must maintain hope, for you are the last hope for the
South.
Radical Southern Rebels- You have been sold out by the group who surrendered—those lacking courage and
conviction. The course of action is uncertain, as you could demand a return to all conditions before 1861 or play
along while planning a rebellion. You will never surrender in spirit, for you still believe the cause is right. You have
been appointed to an advisory commission established at the end of the war. The North can never conquer or control
your mind. You must build a new resolve, become more determined to hold onto the ideals of the South. The South
shall rise again!
Black Slaves- The war is over. The future is uncertain; the status of your freedom is still to be determined. Some
blacks are free, but most are caught between the dependence of slavery and fears about freedom. Mixed messages
come from the white population. Regardless of the region, North or South, some favor freedom, some freedom and
equality, some relocation, and others maintaining the status quo of slavery. You are a part of freed and enslaved
blacks appointed to an advisory commission established at the end of the war. Promises have been made. Now it is
your task to see that they are kept. You realize you are walking a tight-rope between the Northern liberators, who
could leave you without protection, and the remaining Southerners, who could return you to slavery. You must
obtain the rights promised by the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. You must keep your eyes on the
prize and keep hope alive.
* adapted from: Gunn, B.C. (1989). Reconstruction through role play. Magazine of History, 4, 71-73.
Discussion Questions
Group members:
Role:
Directions:
Assume the role given to you in the role cards. Imagine that you are part of an advisory
committee established at the end of the war. How do you think that members in your group
would answer the following questions?
Answer these questions as a group. Have one member of the group record answers on a separate
sheet of paper, and one member record answers on a transparency. Both items will be collected.
Your group will present your answers to the rest of the class.
You may use your textbook to help guide your answers.
Remember to keep in mind your groups interests, attitudes, political outlook, and
philosophies when answering these questions!
1. What should be the fate of black slaves?
Things to consider: - If freed, should their former masters be reimbursed?
- If freed, would you have a program to assist them in adjustment
to freedom?
- Outline major points of your program if you have any.
2. How should the victorious North treat the South?
3. How should the former Confederate states be treated? Must they accept the blame for the war?
What conditions should be imposed upon them?
4. How would you settle the claims and damages of:
- Union soldiers (killed, wounded, or disabled)?
- Confederate soldiers (killed, wounded, or disabled)?
- Northerners whose property was confiscated or damaged as part of the war effort?
- Southerners whose property was confiscated, damaged, or destroyed as part of the war
effort?