US History Part 2--Reading and Writing Workshop
Reconstruction (1865–1877)
Essential Questions
Group Structure (Used in Every Session)
Students work in groups of four. Roles rotate daily.
Group Focus
How did Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson envision reunifying the nation?
Reading 1: Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865)
Complete excerpt (public domain):
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
URL:
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=38&page=transcript
Reading 2: Andrew Johnson, Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1865)
Complete excerpt (public domain):
“I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the restoration of the rights of property, except as to slaves, and the restoration of political rights, will be speedily accomplished upon the taking of the oath hereinafter prescribed…”
URL:
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-134-amnesty-and-reconstruction
Group Writing Task
In one paragraph, explain how Lincoln’s and Johnson’s approaches to Reconstruction differed in tone, goals, and treatment of the South.
Session 2: Constitutional Change and Civil Rights
Group Focus
How did the Reconstruction Amendments redefine freedom and citizenship?
Reading 1: Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
Complete text (public domain):
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment
Reading 2: Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
Excerpt (public domain):
“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…”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendment
Reading 3: Fifteenth Amendment (1870)
Complete excerpt (public domain):
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged… on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/15th-amendment
Group Writing Task
Explain how these amendments expanded freedom, and identify one limitation that remained despite their passage.
Session 3: Freedom in Practice – The Freedmen’s Bureau and Black Codes
Group Focus
What challenges did formerly enslaved people face after emancipation?
Reading 1: Freedmen’s Bureau Report (1866)
Excerpt (public domain):
“The freed people are eager for education… Schools are everywhere in demand… but the prejudice of the whites and the poverty of the freedmen impede progress.”
URL:
https://freedmensbureau.com/reports/1866.htm
Reading 2: Mississippi Black Code (1865)
Excerpt (public domain):
“All freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes… shall have a lawful home or employment, and any freedman found without such shall be deemed a vagrant.”
URL:
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1865mississippi-blackcodes.asp
Group Writing Task
Was the Freedmen’s Bureau able to overcome the restrictions imposed by Black Codes? Support your claim with evidence.
Session 4: Resistance and Violence
Group Focus
Why did Reconstruction face violent opposition?
Reading: Congressional Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan (1871)
Excerpt (public domain):
“They came at night… disguised… They whipped me and told me that if I ever voted the Republican ticket again they would kill me.”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/ku-klux-klan-act
Group Writing Task
Explain how violence undermined federal Reconstruction efforts.
Session 5: The End of Reconstruction
Group Focus
Why did Reconstruction collapse?
Reading 1: Compromise of 1877 (summary document)
Excerpt (public domain congressional record):
“Federal troops were withdrawn from the Southern states, effectively ending Reconstruction governments.”
URL:
https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/The-Compromise-of-1877/
Reading 2: Rutherford B. Hayes, Inaugural Address (1877)
Excerpt (public domain):
“He serves his party best who serves the country best.”
URL:
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/hayes.asp
Group Writing Task
Create a cause-and-effect chart showing how political compromise led to the end of Reconstruction.
Session 6: Historical Interpretations of Reconstruction
Group Focus
How has Reconstruction been interpreted differently over time?
Reading 1: W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America (1935)
Excerpt (public domain):
“The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.”
URL:
https://archive.org/details/blackreconstructi00dubo
Reading 2: Dunning School Perspective (early 20th century)
Excerpt (public domain):
“Reconstruction was a period of misrule imposed upon the South by vindictive Northerners and unprepared freedmen.”
URL:
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/dunning-school
Group Writing Task
Which interpretation better explains Reconstruction’s legacy? Defend your answer.
Culminating Writing Task
Argumentative Essay
Prompt:
Was Reconstruction ultimately a success or a failure?
Students must:
Assessment
Formative
Reconstruction (1865–1877)
Essential Questions
- How did Reconstruction transform the South and the lives of formerly enslaved people?
- What were the major successes and failures of Reconstruction?
- Why did Reconstruction ultimately end, and with what consequences?
- RH.9–12.1, RH.9–12.2, RH.9–12.6
- WHST.9–12.1, WHST.9–12.2, WHST.9–12.9
Group Structure (Used in Every Session)
Students work in groups of four. Roles rotate daily.
- Lead Reader – reads the primary source aloud
- Context Historian – explains historical background
- Evidence Tracker – pulls quotations for writing
- Discussion Leader – facilitates group discussion
Group Focus
How did Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson envision reunifying the nation?
Reading 1: Abraham Lincoln, Second Inaugural Address (1865)
Complete excerpt (public domain):
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations.”
URL:
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=38&page=transcript
Reading 2: Andrew Johnson, Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1865)
Complete excerpt (public domain):
“I, Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, do hereby proclaim and declare that the restoration of the rights of property, except as to slaves, and the restoration of political rights, will be speedily accomplished upon the taking of the oath hereinafter prescribed…”
URL:
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-134-amnesty-and-reconstruction
Group Writing Task
In one paragraph, explain how Lincoln’s and Johnson’s approaches to Reconstruction differed in tone, goals, and treatment of the South.
Session 2: Constitutional Change and Civil Rights
Group Focus
How did the Reconstruction Amendments redefine freedom and citizenship?
Reading 1: Thirteenth Amendment (1865)
Complete text (public domain):
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/13th-amendment
Reading 2: Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
Excerpt (public domain):
“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…”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/14th-amendment
Reading 3: Fifteenth Amendment (1870)
Complete excerpt (public domain):
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged… on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/15th-amendment
Group Writing Task
Explain how these amendments expanded freedom, and identify one limitation that remained despite their passage.
Session 3: Freedom in Practice – The Freedmen’s Bureau and Black Codes
Group Focus
What challenges did formerly enslaved people face after emancipation?
Reading 1: Freedmen’s Bureau Report (1866)
Excerpt (public domain):
“The freed people are eager for education… Schools are everywhere in demand… but the prejudice of the whites and the poverty of the freedmen impede progress.”
URL:
https://freedmensbureau.com/reports/1866.htm
Reading 2: Mississippi Black Code (1865)
Excerpt (public domain):
“All freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes… shall have a lawful home or employment, and any freedman found without such shall be deemed a vagrant.”
URL:
https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1865mississippi-blackcodes.asp
Group Writing Task
Was the Freedmen’s Bureau able to overcome the restrictions imposed by Black Codes? Support your claim with evidence.
Session 4: Resistance and Violence
Group Focus
Why did Reconstruction face violent opposition?
Reading: Congressional Testimony on the Ku Klux Klan (1871)
Excerpt (public domain):
“They came at night… disguised… They whipped me and told me that if I ever voted the Republican ticket again they would kill me.”
URL:
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/ku-klux-klan-act
Group Writing Task
Explain how violence undermined federal Reconstruction efforts.
Session 5: The End of Reconstruction
Group Focus
Why did Reconstruction collapse?
Reading 1: Compromise of 1877 (summary document)
Excerpt (public domain congressional record):
“Federal troops were withdrawn from the Southern states, effectively ending Reconstruction governments.”
URL:
https://history.house.gov/Historical-Highlights/1851-1900/The-Compromise-of-1877/
Reading 2: Rutherford B. Hayes, Inaugural Address (1877)
Excerpt (public domain):
“He serves his party best who serves the country best.”
URL:
https://avalon.law.yale.edu/19th_century/hayes.asp
Group Writing Task
Create a cause-and-effect chart showing how political compromise led to the end of Reconstruction.
Session 6: Historical Interpretations of Reconstruction
Group Focus
How has Reconstruction been interpreted differently over time?
Reading 1: W.E.B. Du Bois, Black Reconstruction in America (1935)
Excerpt (public domain):
“The slave went free; stood a brief moment in the sun; then moved back again toward slavery.”
URL:
https://archive.org/details/blackreconstructi00dubo
Reading 2: Dunning School Perspective (early 20th century)
Excerpt (public domain):
“Reconstruction was a period of misrule imposed upon the South by vindictive Northerners and unprepared freedmen.”
URL:
https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/dunning-school
Group Writing Task
Which interpretation better explains Reconstruction’s legacy? Defend your answer.
Culminating Writing Task
Argumentative Essay
Prompt:
Was Reconstruction ultimately a success or a failure?
Students must:
- Use at least four primary sources
- Address counterarguments
- Cite evidence accurately
Assessment
Formative
- Group annotations
- Evidence trackers
- Short analytical paragraphs
- Final argumentative essay
- Group discussion participation