The Reconstruction Era: 1865-1877

1. The Reconstruction Era: 1865-1877 A 4th Grade Teaching Unit Created By Shannon Ralston

2. The Reconstruction Era: An Overview • End of the Civil War ushered in a 12 year long Reconstruction Era as the nation lay in ruins and needed a physical and political repair job • Major Legislation: Freedman’s Bureau, 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments, Civil Rights Act of 1865 (slavery banned, civil rights acknowledged, voting rights granted) • Confederate states reintegrated, thereby forming a union • Tension persisted despite government action – emergence of KKK, discriminatory black codes, Jim Crow Laws, segregation • Women making moves – Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony • Industrial Revolution – importance of Chinese (Transcontinental Railroad) and Irish workers (immigration wave) – threat to religious and cultural belief systems in place

3. The Unit (I) Map & Globe Skills - Creating A New Nation Post-Civil War (II) Art – The Statue of Liberty (III) Biography – Susan B. Anthony: Activist & Reformer (IV) Inquiry – The Price of Freedom: A Look at The Effects of Reconstruction

4. Reconstruction: Creating A New Nation Post- Civil War Students will illustrate effects of reconstructive policy on Union states and Confederate states by modeling rejoining of Confederates into the nation Students will draw conclusions about what this rejoining might mean for future policy or what problems it may create

5. Reconstruction: Creating A New Nation Post- Civil War • Discussion of problems nation faced post-Civil War • Read-aloud of The Civil War for Kids to hit on key issues and get them thinking about potential solutions • Primary solution posited by Andrew Johnson (as inspired by Abraham Lincoln) was to readmit the states that seceded • Show on classroom map how states were divided because of political views

6. Reconstruction: Creating A New Nation Post- Civil War • Students will model the physical reconstruction of the nation • Students receive blank maps • Half the class colors the Union states in blue • Other half colors the Confederate states in red • Students then reunite and work together to join their colored segments

7. Art – The Statue of Liberty“If a monument should rise in the United States as a memorial to their independence, I should think it only natural if it were built by a united effort.” Edouard Rene de Laboulage Goal is to link the first wave of immigration at the end of the Reconstruction Era with the relevance of the Statue of Liberty’s construction Start with reading of Lynn Curlee’s book, Liberty Show students Peter Max’s painting of the Statue of Liberty Have students recreate the work of Peter Max using similar colors having designed personal symbols to include in the picture’s background that best capture their personal understanding of liberty

8. Susan B. Anthony: Activist & Reformer“Men, their rights and nothing more. Women, their rights and nothing less.” • Reading of Susan B. Anthony, Champion of Women’s Rights • Discussion of her life, focusing on events in adulthood such as her arrest at a voting facility in the 1862 Presidential Election • Used mobility of rights for African American men to gain a voice and a platform for women’s rights • Play speech on Women’s Right to Vote • Anthony's Speech • Show advertisement for her trial • Students write letter to Anthony celebrating her efforts towards women’s suffrage

9. Inquiry – The Price of Freedom: A Look at the Effects of Reconstruction“We have, as well will agree, a free Government, where every man has a right to be equal with every other man.” – Abraham Lincoln • By conducting research, students should understand that different groups of people in the United States were affected by the aftermath of war and the legislation that followed • The Reconstruction Era by Bettye Stroud implemented as a catalyst • Students formulate 3 questions about a group that interests them the most (for example, African-American men or white males who were former slaveowners) • Research via three main sources • Constitutional Amendments 13, 14 and 15 as primary sources • Teacher site that contains a plethora of documents as secondary sources • James Schouler’s book History of the United States of America: 1865-1877 which is a compilation of material from the designated time period

10. Closing & Legacy – We’ve Come a Long Way! • Crediting forefathers with their contributions in creating the America we live in today - Helps them relate to the ideals our country values and how it is we came to adopt this national perspective • Without the changes that took place in the Reconstruction Era, this country may not be the ‘United’ States nor would it be characterized by diversity and equality • Captures integration of blacks and whites, acknowledging them as equals, which is particularly relevant in a time which features classrooms with diverse student bodies

11. Rewards & Challenges • Rewards • Opportunity to create a unit that I hope to implement when student teaching that will “shake up” the monotony of textbook-based instruction • Learning to use mentor text as a catalyst to lessons, thereby making connections as a future instructor & bridging the gap between the various subjects

12. Rewards & Challenges • Challenges • Concern for time • Being able to implement these lessons in a timely fashion with an ever-expanding curriculum • Creating a lesson that could realistically work in an inclusive classroom • Practicum experience • ESL Learners, ED & Special Ed Learners