The American Civil War was the deadliest war in American history, caused 620,000 soldier deaths and an undetermined number of civilian casualties, ended slavery in the United States, restored the Union by settling the issues of nullification and secession and strengthened the role of the federal government. The social, political, economic and racial issues of the war continue to shape contemporary American thought.
Northern leaders agreed that victory would require more than the end of fighting. It had to encompass the two war goals: Secession had to be totally repudiated, and all forms of slavery had to be eliminated. They disagreed sharply on the criteria for these goals. They also disagreed on the degree of federal control that should be imposed on the South, and the process by which Southern states should be reintegrated into the Union.
Reconstruction, which began early in the war and ended in 1877, involved a complex and rapidly changing series of federal and state policies. The long-term result came in the three "Civil War" amendments to the Constitution: the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery; the Fourteenth Amendment, which extended federal legal protections equally to citizens regardless of race; and the Fifteenth Amendment, which abolished racial restrictions on voting. Reconstruction ended in the different states at different times, the last three by the Compromise of 1877.
After you look at the different plans for reconstruction I would like you to compare them to each other. In your opinion, why were some plans better? Why were some bad? What are some problems people might encounter with the different reconstruction plans? These are a few of the questions that you will answer throughout your webquest. For the second portion, you will be looking at the lifestyle people lived during this point in our history. The point of this section is for you to understand what it was like living through the reconstruction era. Once you have gained a good understanding on the four different plans and lifestyle, I want you to use that information to create a new plan for reconstruction. One that you believe to be better than the one that was actually put into place. Good luck and pleasant searching! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.
Map of the United States
This map shows where each state in the United States belonged, at the time of the Civil War. For those who cannot see the map's legend, blue states sided with the Union, red states sided with the Confederacy, yellow states were boarder states (normally the Union) and grey states were territories.
The Reconstruction Plans
Please go to each of the following links to find information on the different plans for reconstruction after the civil war. At each link there is a small section which you will need to read. After you have read each plan use your reconstruction chart to fill in the corresponding categories. We have already discussed the different plans in class, so this part of the assignment should be mostly review for you. In the last row, where it states "Other interesting observations may go here", this is where you may put YOUR OWN opinion. Why do you think one plan is better than the rest? What makes it the best? Which plan do you think is the worst? What makes it the worst (in your opinion)? Which plan would benefit the majority of the States re-entering the Union? These are all questions that you need to consider while filling in the chart.
Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan
Johnson's Reconstruction Plan
Radical Republican's Plan
Initial Congressional Plan
**Note: Keep your chart with you. You will need it later to complete your final project. So, do not loose it!**
Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan
Johnson's Reconstruction Plan
Radical Republican's Plan
Initial Congressional Plan
**Note: Keep your chart with you. You will need it later to complete your final project. So, do not loose it!**
If you need some more help...
If you are having difficulty with forming your own opinion about these plans use these questions as a reference.
- What are the main ideas of the reconstruction plans?
- Are there any problems/flaws with each plan?
- What are the benefits of each plan?
- What are the drawbacks of each plan?
- Which one do you think is the best? Why?
- Which one do you think is the worst? Why?
If it will help you, you may answer these questions in complete sentences on a separate sheet of paper and hand them in along with your chart. This is a supplement of the worksheet, this is NOT a replacement for the reconstruction chart.
This last link you should look at, but you do not need to fill anything out. It is interesting to see how reconstruction came to an end...
Reconstruction's effect on Lifestyle
This next website will take much longer to navigate through. Please do not wait until the last minute to complete this portion of your webquest.
http://www.teacheroz.com/reconstruction.htm
This is a good overall source with many links to primary and secondary sources about reconstruction. I would like you to focus on just a few of the sections. They are: (1) Primary Documents; (2) After The War - Reconstruction & The Birth Of "The New South"; (3) African Americans After The War; and (4) Racism, Violence & The KKK. Choose ten different links (you must choose at least one from each of the 4 sections) and write a summary of the article. These summaries should be 1-2 paragraphs in length.
In this summary I want you to include the main idea of the article. Questions to keep in mind: Who is the article about? Who wrote the article? What biases might they have? The main point for this assignment is to get you thinking about the lifestyles of the people in this time in American history.
http://www.teacheroz.com/reconstruction.htm
This is a good overall source with many links to primary and secondary sources about reconstruction. I would like you to focus on just a few of the sections. They are: (1) Primary Documents; (2) After The War - Reconstruction & The Birth Of "The New South"; (3) African Americans After The War; and (4) Racism, Violence & The KKK. Choose ten different links (you must choose at least one from each of the 4 sections) and write a summary of the article. These summaries should be 1-2 paragraphs in length.
In this summary I want you to include the main idea of the article. Questions to keep in mind: Who is the article about? Who wrote the article? What biases might they have? The main point for this assignment is to get you thinking about the lifestyles of the people in this time in American history.
Project
By now, you should have a well thought-out opinion about Reconstruction after the Civil War and some aspects of the lifestyle in that time period. Your task is to create a new plan of reconstruction keeping in mind everything you have done in conjunction with this webquest. You are equipped with all of the tools: The Reconstruction Chart and your summaries of the small articles. Your textbook is also a very good resource to use for more information. You may talk with your classmates to come up with some ideas, but this portion of the assignment should be done on your own.
The criteria for this paper is follows:
The criteria for this paper is follows:
- 2-3 pagee
- double spaced
- font size 12
- times new roman
- mla formatting
Information that needs to be included in your paper:
- What does your reconstruction plan entail (it must be different than the four already created)?
- What are your requirements for the Confederate States to join the Union again? Are the leinient or strict?
- Are there any amendments to the constitution that you would add and/or get rid of?
- In the last paragraph, I give you freedom to defend your plan. Why you believe this plan to be better than the actual ones? What makes it better? This paragraph should be very convincing, enough so that if I wasn't convinced before, I would be after finishing your paper.
Teachers
1. The intended audience is high school students, around the 10th or 11th grade. Ideally this webquest would be in conjuncture with the study of the Civil War and Reconstruction, whenever that may be.
2. In class the students briefly went over the four main plans for Reconstruction. The webquest will have them go more into depth about the plans. Also, students will be reading small articles that describe people's lives in the time during Reconstruction. The last part should instill in the students that Reconstruction was necessary (both for rebuilding destroyed cities and for the better of African Americans and other minorities).
3. Students will need basic searching skills. I have all of the links provided so that the "searching" portion is cut down dramatically. Although I have provided the links, the students still have freedom to search other web pages if they are dissatisfied with the information that they find. Also, for the second web page, the students have the option of which 10 articles they will read. Students will also need to have basic word processing skills as they will be typing an essay at the end of this assignment. Along with the essay, students are required to cite Thieu paper using mla formatting. By know, the students should be familiar with that style of formatting, however, if they are not, I enclosed a link so that they may become familiar.
4. Students will roughly need 2 1/2 hours to complete the guided activities. Included in this time estimate is unproductive time, as we all know student can become easily distracted while on the computers. Depending on the student, this time estimate may be shorter or longer. Students will also need time on the computer to write their essay. I reccomend that they write their rough draft on the computer, which allows for easier editing. If this is the case then I would allow 3 more hours on the computer. In total I estimate around 6 hours. All 6 hours should not be class time. I will give the students time in class to do the guided activities, but it is the responsibility of the student to write his/her paper in their own time (whether that be at their home, the library, or one of the school's computer lab).
5. Please see the attachment on blackboard for the grading rubric.
2. In class the students briefly went over the four main plans for Reconstruction. The webquest will have them go more into depth about the plans. Also, students will be reading small articles that describe people's lives in the time during Reconstruction. The last part should instill in the students that Reconstruction was necessary (both for rebuilding destroyed cities and for the better of African Americans and other minorities).
3. Students will need basic searching skills. I have all of the links provided so that the "searching" portion is cut down dramatically. Although I have provided the links, the students still have freedom to search other web pages if they are dissatisfied with the information that they find. Also, for the second web page, the students have the option of which 10 articles they will read. Students will also need to have basic word processing skills as they will be typing an essay at the end of this assignment. Along with the essay, students are required to cite Thieu paper using mla formatting. By know, the students should be familiar with that style of formatting, however, if they are not, I enclosed a link so that they may become familiar.
4. Students will roughly need 2 1/2 hours to complete the guided activities. Included in this time estimate is unproductive time, as we all know student can become easily distracted while on the computers. Depending on the student, this time estimate may be shorter or longer. Students will also need time on the computer to write their essay. I reccomend that they write their rough draft on the computer, which allows for easier editing. If this is the case then I would allow 3 more hours on the computer. In total I estimate around 6 hours. All 6 hours should not be class time. I will give the students time in class to do the guided activities, but it is the responsibility of the student to write his/her paper in their own time (whether that be at their home, the library, or one of the school's computer lab).
5. Please see the attachment on blackboard for the grading rubric.
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