Society for History Education

A Humanities Approach for Teaching the : Encouraging Active Learning in the Classroom Author(s): John Pyne and Gloria Sesso Source: The History Teacher, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Aug., 1998), pp. 467-494 Published by: Society for History Education Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/494311 Accessed: 18/02/2010 23:20

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http://www.jstor.org A HumanitiesApproach for Teachingthe ReconstructionEra: Encouraging Active Learning in the Classroom'

John Pyne WestMilford Township(NJ) Public Schools

Gloria Sesso Half Hollow Hills High School, Dix Hills, NY

THE LAST GENERATION has witnessed a revolutionary reassessment of the ReconstructionEra by historians.The picturethat has emerged is far more sympatheticto the centralvillains of the traditionalviewpoint, namely the formerslaves, freeblacks, , , and Radical Repub- licans, who played centralroles in reorganizingSouthern institutions and society duringthe period.2Eric Foner notes thatReconstruction remains one of the most relevantperiods of study for our students"because the issues centralto Reconstruction-the role of the federalgovernment in protecting citizens' rights, and the possibility of economic and racial justice in a heterogeneoussociety-are still unresolved."3In additionto studyingthe Reconstructionera because of its continuingrelevance, it is an important periodof studybecause of the changedrole of the Federalgovernment. The relationshipbetween the states and the national governmentwas trans- formed,the verynature of Federalismbeing redefined. Finally, new laws and constitutionalamendments permanently changed the natureof citizenship and alteredthe Federalsystem of goverment.

The History Teacher Volume 31 Number4 August 1998 ? The Society for History Education 468 John Pyne and Gloria Sesso

Teachersand students also need to reviewthe historiographyof the period for whatit tells us abouthow ourown conceptionsand perceptions regarding raceand equality have evolved overthe yearsand as an exampleof the "uses and abusesof history"in learningabout the past.The maxim,"what is past, is prologue,"also underscoresthe importanceof theperiod, because many of the proposalsand decisions made at the time continueto impactour lives today. In the presentpaper, the authorsreview Reconstructionhistoriogra- phy, show how the traditional("Dunningite") version of Reconstruction both reflected and reinforcedprevailing assumptionsconcerning innate black inferiority,explore the ReconstructionAmendments and Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875, and provide several examples of how to use a multifaceted,interdisciplinar