<p> Name: ______Period: ______</p><p>Fishbowl Discussion on The Era of Reconstruction</p><p>To prepare for our first “fishbowl discussion” on Monday, please choose three (3) of the following questions to answer on a separate piece of paper. Many of the questions have multiple answers, and some are simply asking your opinion. For our discussion on Monday, be able to not only answer the questions you’ve chosen, but be able to back up your answers with evidence and facts. In order to prepare, write thorough answers (at least 10 sentences) for each question, and feel free to research other sources to find additional facts to back yourself up. Here are your choices:</p><p>1. Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan was harsher than Lincoln’s, but he still came under fire from the Radical Republicans. Why? What components of his plan did they deem too lenient? Why? How did the clash between President Johnson and Congress reflect a difference in attitudes about the role of the federal government?</p><p>2. Why did many southerners act as if they had not lost the Civil War? What made these southerners think they could get away with these actions? What role did the federal government take in fostering this type of behavior?</p><p>3. Why could African-Americans not retain the political power they held after the war? What non-political (i.e. economic and social) factors went into their loss of power? What led to great distrust between the races? Was the southern white attitude for the African-Americans purely racial?</p><p>4. How much responsibility do white southerners bear for the “failure” of Reconstruction? Do white northerners deserve any criticism? How could Reconstruction efforts have been improved? Do you think any changes in the south during Reconstruction actually benefitted southerners?</p><p>5. What problems plagued the southern economy during the Civil War and Reconstruction? Why did southern planters concentrate so much on cotton production? What problems did this specialization create? How did the economic interdependence of the North and South contribute to an economic and political alliance against African-Americans during this period?</p>