Notes

Reconstruction Webquest

Introduction
The period of time following the Civil War, known as Reconstruction, was a time of rebuilding the nation. The Civil War tore apart the nation politically, economically and socially-leaving the federal government to pick up the pieces and reunite the Union. Undoubtedly this task helped to shape the country as we know it today.

Task
Your task is to complete the following:
Answer the questions below by using the resources provided for you.
Using the information you have acquired from the resources, fill in the triple T-chart provided for you appropriately.
Create one political cartoon that depicts a political, economic, or social aspect of Reconstruction.

Step 1: Answer the following questions below using the provided websites.

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan
http://tinyurl.com/j9ohc3h

What date did Lincoln issue his proclamation of amnesty?
What were the 3 parts of his plan?
How would you describe Lincoln’s plans for dealing with the South? Would you consider it a lenient policy or strict? Explain your answer.

Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction
http://tinyurl.com/hfrxpyo

Describe what you see in the political cartoon? What does it tell you about the illustrator’s opinion of Johnson?
What elements did Johnson’s plan include?
What similarities did Johnson and Lincoln’s plans have?

Freedmen’s Bureau
http://www.archives.gov/research/african-americans/freedmens-bureau/

Describe the purpose of the Freedmen’s Bureau.
What benefits did it offer?

Sharecropping
USE THIS LINK:
http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/sharecropping/

http://tinyurl.com/nwcg9wt

What happened to land in the South following the Civil War?
Explain how the system of sharecropping worked.
Explain why sharecropping created a cycle of debt for farmers.

Jim Crow Era
http://tinyurl.com/z8ehmbp

What were 3 ways Southerners tried to disrupt African Americans from voting.
Explain how the poll tax and literacy tests were not a violation of the 15th amendment.
What law was finally passed in 1965 which abolished Jim Crow era voting laws? What did it say?




Step 2: Now that you have answered the questions, let’s organize your information. Take your answers and fill in the T-chart. You need to determine whether the information can be categorized as a political, economic, or social aspect of Reconstruction.


Political
Economic
Social

















Step 3: Your final task is to draw a political cartoon that depicts one of the elements of Reconstruction. It must be done on the supplied piece of plain white paper. You will also need to provide a 3-5 sentence explanation of the cartoon. The following rubric will be used on this cartoon.






CARTOON RUBRIC
2 points
1 points
0 points
Content
Topic is focused, clear and achieves purpose.
Topic demonstrates a main idea but lacks purpose.
No appropriate content was shown.
Appearance
Cartoon is colorful and very detailed.
Cartoon lacks color and detail.
Cartoon has no color or detail.
Effectiveness
Cartoon depicts events accurately.
Cartoon somewhat depicts event.
Cartoon does not depict event.