Curated OER
The Great Migration: Comparing and Contrasting Northern Life to Southern Life
Pupils research the Great Migration of African-Americans to the North and form an opinion as to whether this migration was beneficial to its participants. They, in groups, research various experiences and debate the topic.
Curated OER
Todd Duncan: The First Porgy
Students view a video and conduct research about Jim Crow laws and their effects on race relations.
Curated OER
Separate is Not Equal: Brown v. Board of Education
Students analyze photographs that feature segregation. In this human rights lesson, students examine photographs of a segregated movie theater, a Ku Klux Klan gathering, a segregated business sign, and an illustration from "Harper's...
Curated OER
Civil War and Reconstruction Word Search Puzzle
In this social studies worksheet, middle schoolers look for the words that are related to the concept of the Civil War and Reconstruction periods of history.
Curated OER
Reconstruction on Life in Virginia
Eighth graders study the life style of Virginians during the Reconstruction Period after the Civil War. They examine how the infrastructure, the economy, and the agricultural status of Virginia and the other Confederate states changed...
Curated OER
Reconstruction and "All Men Are Created Equal"
Learners examine the time after the Civil War known as Reconstruction. In groups, they role play a Senate Subcommittee Hearing on Reconstruction in which some members are senators and others are witnesses. They share their ideas on how...
Curated OER
Reconstruction and the 1868 South Carolina Constitution
Students, through lecture and group discussion, explore the American Civil War Reconstruction and how it affected the development of the 1868 Constitution of South Carolina. They discuss its impact on South Carolina even today.
Curated OER
National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers i
Students explore the challenges involved in carrying out a program to care for the needs of Civil War veterans an to mark their graves after their deaths. The biography of a veteran from the community is researched and written in this...
Curated OER
Writing About Race
Fourth graders explore racial discrimination focusing on Jim Crow laws. They read an excerpt from Richard Wright's autobiography and discuss how viewing the subject from the his point of view affects their opinions.
Curated OER
African Americans and the Move West
Students examine the phases of westward migration in the United States during the 19th century focusing on the incentives that led many African Americans to make the move.
Curated OER
Perseverance
Pupils examine how the failure of Reconstruction led to the systematic passage of Jim Crow laws in states across the South and the negative impact these laws had on the growth and development of the US.
Curated OER
Zora Neale Hurston:Fighting Jim Crow through the All-Black Community
Students explain the importance of equality of opportunity and equal protection of the law as a characteristic of American society and evaluate the validity and credibility of different historical interpretations.
Civil War Home
Home of the American Civil War: Election of 1864
The re-election of Abraham Lincoln in 1864 was not a done deal. Read about the peace explorations, the Republican and Democratic conventions, the campaigns, and eventual "landslide" for Lincoln. From "The Civil War and Reconstruction" by...
Library of Congress
Loc: African Immigration: Africans in America: Life in a Slave Society
An excellent overview of the African American experience in America beginning with West Africa during the slave trade, through emancipation and reconstruction, to "New beginnings."
Library of Congress
Loc: American Memory: Voice of the Carpet Bagger
The Library of Congress provides the full text to The Voice of the Carpet Bagger, a 48 page pamphlet defending Reconstruction and protesting lynching and violence against blacks. The pamphlet was originally published in 1901.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: The Civil War and Reconstruction
University-level syllabus, reading suggestions, lecture notes, and quizzes for a course of the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Library of Congress
Loc: Learning Page: The Freedmen
This resource provides information about the Freedmen, who were free after the Emancipation of Slaves.
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: The Wade Davis Manifesto August 5 1864
View the complete text of the Wade-Davis Manifesto which describes a bill proposed for the reconstruction of the South. The bill passed both houses but was then vetoed by President Lincoln.
Digital History
Digital History: The Ending of Reconstruction
In the 1870's, violent opposition in the South and the North's retreat from its commitment to equality, resulted in the end of Reconstruction. By 1876, the nation was prepared to abandon its commitment to equality for all citizens...
University of Groningen
American History: Documents: Charles Sumner Opinion/trial of Andrew Johnson 1868
Senator Charles Sumner gives his opinion on the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Fourteenth Amendment Part I
This video segment from The Supreme Court introduces viewers to the 14th amendment.
Mount Holyoke College
Mt. Holyoke: Reconstruction Timeline
Here's a concise timeline that highlights the important facets of reconstruction from the announcement of Abraham Lincoln's reconstruction plans to the end of reconstruction at the election of Rutherford B. Hayes.
US National Archives
Nara: Treasures of Congress: Wade Davis Bill
This National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) site contains a picture of the original Wade-Davis Bill as well as discussion on the effects it would have had if it had been adopted.
University of Virginia
University of Virginia Library: The Valley of the Shadow
Analyze the Civil War through a multitude of primary source documents. This comprehensive site chronicles the Civil War in Virginia from its roots to the battles, and finally the consequences of this divisive war. Read letters and...