Reconstruction Document Based Questions

Name: ______Reconstruction Document Based Questions

OBJECTIVE: To test your ability to work with historical documents. As you analyze the documents, take into account both the source of each document and any point of view that may be presented in the document.

BACKGROUND: The Civil War and the period of Reconstruction brought great social, political, and economic changes to American society. The effects of these changes continued into the 20th century.

DIRECTIONS: Use your knowledge of US History and your notes on Reconstruction from class to analyze and organize the documents provided.

GRADING: DUE Wednesday, March 12th, 2014

o _____ / 35points = Analyzing the Documents

o _____ / 40 points = Organizing the Documents

o / 75 points (Total Grade)

o Use your answers to the questions to help you organize the information in a chart.

. First, explain which document would help you answer the question “What were the social, political, and economic failures OR successes of Reconstruction”

. Next explain if each document is social, political, or economic. The title of the flyer states “The Freedman’s Bureau! An agency to keep the NEGRO in idleness at the EXPENSE of the white man. Twice vetoed by the

PRESIDENT, and made a law by CONGRESS. Support Congress and you support the Negro. Sustain the President & you protect the white man.”

1. Circle one: Success / Failure Circle one: Political / Social / Economic

2. What is the freedman doing in the flyer?

3. What are the white people doing?

4. Define the word “fate”:

5. What effect does this document have on the fate of the Freedman’s Bureau? 1. Circle one: Success / Failure Circle one: Political / Social / Economic

2. Where were Black Colleges predominately set up before the Civil War?

3. Is there a correlation (relationship) between the establishment of the Freedman’s Bureaus and the Black Colleges in the South? If so, why do you think the two would be set up this way (How would the Bureau and colleges benefit from this set up)? 1. Circle one: Success / Failure Circle one: Political / Social / Economic

2. Summarize how the freedman are trapped on the planter’s land. (explain each point in the chart thoroughly – 2 points)

3. Explain why the system of sharecropping was considered an endless cycle for southern farmers? “A prospective scene in the city of Oaks, 4th of March”

2. Who are the characters in the cartoon? (make sure to include ALL of the characters)

3. According to the cartoon how did the KKK influence southern politics?

4. According to the cartoon (and information from notes) how did the KKK influence southern society? Many of the negroes… common plantation negroes, and workers in the towns and villages, were supporting little schools themselves. Everywhere I found them hoping to get their children into schools. I often noticed that workers in stores and men working in warehouses, and cart drivers on the streets, had spelling books with them, and were studying them during the time they were not working. Go outside any large town in the south, and you will see children and in many cases grown negroes, sitting in the sun alongside their cabins studying.

2. With the ability to freely go to church, why were churches important to freed people? (What else were churches used for? – look to your notes for help –2points)

3. Why do you think education was important to former slaves during Reconstruction?

4. How does this document’s description of life for freedmen compare to Document A (include both for full credit)? [The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the US Constitution are sometimes called the “Reconstruction Amendments.” They were passed in order to abolish slavery and to establish the rights of former slaves.] 13th Amendment: 1865 Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. ------14th Amendment: 1868 Section 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction (laws) thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge (limit) the privileges or immunities (rights) of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. ------15th Amendment: 1870 Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

2. When were the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments passed? (Reference the dates AND reference to historical events – i.e. before, during, after)

3. Why do you think they were passed?

4. What is the significance of the 13th Amendment?

5. How does the 14th Amendment define citizenship?

6. What does the 15th amendment protect? (Be specific and include for whom)

7. What group in society is NOT specified as having rights per the 15th amendment? . . . We believe you are not familiar with the description of the Ku Klux Klans riding nightly over the country, going from county to county, and in the county towns, spreading terror wherever they go by robbing, whipping, ravishing, and killing our people without provocation [reason], compelling [forcing] colored people to break the ice and bathe in the chilly waters of the Kentucky river. The [state] legislature has adjourned. They refused to enact any laws to suppress [stop] Ku-Klux disorder. We regard them [the Ku-Kluxers] as now being licensed to continue their dark and bloody deeds under cover of the dark night. They refuse to allow us to testify in the state courts where a white man is concerned. We find their deeds are perpetrated [carried out] only upon colored men and white Republicans. We also find that for our services to the government and our race we have become the special object of hatred and persecution at the hands of the Democratic Party. Our people are driven from their homes in great numbers, having no redress [relief from distress] only [except] the United States court, which is in many cases unable to reach them. We would state that we have been law-abiding citizens, pay our taxes, and in many parts of the state our people have been driven from the polls, refused the right to vote. Many have been slaughtered while attempting to vote. We ask, how long is this state of things to last? . . . — Petition to the United States Congress, March 25, 1871, Miscellaneous Documents of the United States Senate, 42nd Congress, 1st Session, 1871

2. Based on this document, identify one way the Ku Klux Klan terrorized African Americans.

3. According to this document, how did the actions of the Ku Klux Klan affect African American participation in the political process? 1. Circl e one:

Success / Failure Circle one: Political / Social / Economic

2. According to this contract, what does the landowner agree to furnish?

3. Explain the details concerning payment between a sharecropper and landowner (2 points)