Pamela DeAngelo Foss

Danvers Public Schools

Spring 2009

Freedom? Equality? For All?

Danvers Public Schools

Pamela DeAngelo Foss

Spring 2009

Grade 10 US History I

Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Frameworks Standards

  • USI.41 Explain the policies and consequences of Reconstruction.
  • C. the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
  • D. the opposition of Southern whites to Reconstruction
  • E. the accomplishments and failures of Radical Reconstruction
  • G. the rise of Jim Crow laws
  • USII.9 Analyze the post-Civil War struggles of African Americans and women to gain basic civil rights.

Historical Thinking Benchmarks Addressed

  • Understanding that although the past tends to be viewed in terms of present values, a proper perception of the past requires a serious examination of values of that time.
  • Analysis of primary and secondary sources.

Essential Questions

  • Why is Reconstruction called the Second Civil War?
  • How were American values embodied during and after Reconstruction?
  • What is Freedom? What is Equality? How does one reconcile the lack there of in America?

Learning Objectives

  • Students will know challenges African Americans faced as citizens in America, specifically related to challenges rooted in the period of Reconstruction.
  • Students will be able to evaluate primary sources and draw conclusions on statistic-based evidence.
  • Students will be able to develop their own opinions concerning equality and freedom.
  • Students will know the importance of political, social, and economic freedom.

Learning Activities (All activities can be found in detail on succeeding sheets, which are detailed by the day’s lesson.) The lessons sequentially build an understanding of the projected aim of freedom and equality projected and hoped for in the Gettysburg address through achievements and challenges of African Americans. The last two days of the mini-unit focus on comparing the achievements and struggles of African Americans to other groups and an authentic assessment that leads the students to make personal and current connections.

  • Day One: Gettysburg Address: Projecting the Future of America. In addition to an activator and summarizer, students will use Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address to develop an understanding of the impact and significance of the Civil War on the future of African Americans’ freedoms.
  • Day Two: Politics of Reconstruction. In addition to an activator and summarizer, students will evaluate Reconstruction legislation in regards to its impact on African Americans’ freedoms. Students will also assess the advancements achieved by African Americans through the life of John Roy Lynch, as well as challenges facing African Americans through a political cartoon analysis.
  • Day Three: Fact Finding and Evaluating Evidence. In addition to an activator and summarizer, students will research several primary sources and create visual representations to discover and communicate the progress of African Americans’ freedoms.
  • Day Four: Others. In addition to an activator and summarizer, students will research other groups who have wrongfully been or are wrongfully denied freedom.
  • Day Five: A Disturbing Paradox? Racism in America. In addition to an activator and summarizer, students will write a reflection expressing the presence of state-sponsored/allowed injustice in America.

Performance/Authentic Assessment

Students complete a variety of authentic assessments, which are detailed in the individual day’s plan. The authentic assessments include research and visual representation of data collected from primary and secondary sources, day three; a mini-research project in which students present their information in an acrostic, day four; and essay or debate on justice and reparations, day five.

Annotated Bibliography

Bragg, Rick. The New York Times. “38 Years Later, Last of Suspects Is Convicted in Church Bombing.” [

A 2002 New York Times article that details the conviction and impact of conviction of a 1957 church bomber.

National Endowment for the Humanities. Edsitement. “The Gettysburg Address (1863)-Defining the American Union.” Last accessed on 15 June 2009. [

Phenomenal analysis of the Gettysburg Address, the worksheet I chose is actually only one of five that analyze the impact and negative response to the Gettysburg Address. Thorough and well thought out questions based on primary sources, such as the Address and period editorials.

PBS. American Experience. “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War, The Negro Question,” Special Features. Last accessed on 15 June 2009. [

I love PBS. This and the following site include mini-documentaries and primary sources which are short and greatly enhance any lesson.

_____. “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War, Black Legislatures,” Last accessed on 15 June 2009. [ “The Negro Question,” [

_____. “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow.” Last accessed on 15 June 2009. [

This is the most phenomenal PBS program I have thus used. There are a wealth of past and present primary sources which tackle the complexity of Jim Crow over a century. The site contains timelines, biographies, images, high order thinking activities, as well as a student blog!

Day One:

Gettysburg Address: Projecting the Future of America

Using Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address students will understand the impact and significance of the Civil War on the future of African Americans’ freedoms.

Activator: Have students define freedom and equality and then give two examples, locally, nationally, or internationally, of freedom and equality. Challenge them to think of 2 examples where freedom and equality are or have been denied. If students cannot think of any, challenge them to find examples in the news. Finally, consider the difference, if any, and relationship between freedom and equality.

Lesson: “War? What is it good for?” Have students brainstorm the following question: What did different groups in Americans hope the Civil War would accomplish? Students should categorize their reflections, pick a name for each category, write the name of the category on the board and then attach their reflections in a cluster around the name. Process the diagram by asking which accomplishments were achieved and how, as well as what accomplishments were not achieved and why.

Read the Gettysburg Address and answer the following questions. After finishing the questions, discuss “new birth of freedom” and the reality of this idea. What stands in the way of the fulfillment of a “new birth of freedom?”

GETTYSBURG ADDRESS QUESTIONS

(Questions are taken from an Edsitement lesson, “The Gettysburg Address (1863)-Defining the American Union,” found at [

The obvious occasion for the Gettysburg Address is to dedicate the battlefield of Gettysburg as a cemetery to honor the soldiers who died in battle. After reading Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, respond to the following questions:

What does Lincoln say is the best way for the living to honor the dead at Gettysburg?

(Hint: How does Lincoln use the idea of dedication to shift his audience from the ceremony at the battle field to the audience’s responsibility once the ceremony is over?)

What is the “unfinished work” or “great task remaining before” the American people?

What is “the cause” for which the soldiers buried at Gettysburg “gave the last full measure of devotion”?

What is “the new birth of freedom” Lincoln calls for, and how does it differ from the nation’s original birth? (Hint: Who were the main beneficiaries of the original birth of freedom in 1776, and who does Lincoln think will experience the new birth of freedom if the federal military wins the war?)

Summarizer: Students should brainstorm with a partner and think about other wars they have studied, either in US or world history, that are similar to the American Civil war in that they involved fighting for the rights or freedoms of a group. Students should assess what those wars accomplished...how did the war(s) change people’s lives? Follow up with the question: Was the intended freedom achieved? Answers may include the American Revolution in which colonists wanted political equality, in actuality, only land owning white males achieved this right.

Day Two:

Politics of Reconstruction

Students will evaluate Reconstruction legislation in regards to its impact on African Americans’ freedoms.

Activator: Review Reconstruction legislation from textbook. Special focus should be given to 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Have students complete the following worksheet on Reconstruction Amendments. The purpose of this activity is to guide students in understanding the complexity of law, that even though the Reconstruction Amendments provided great rights to African Americans, their rights were still not guaranteed. Laws written can often be different than the laws practiced. Students should be encouraged to look at the Reconstruction Amendments from the perspective of Southerners who want to maintain the social system that slavery once established. Answers are in italics and should be removed before giving worksheet to students.

Reconstruction Amendments Worksheet:

From the perspective of a Southerner who wants to maintain the same superiority held before the abolition of slavery, brainstorm independently or with a partner, ways in which Southerners could interpret these amendments to best fit their goal of a white-dominated society in which African Americans have no political, economic, or social power.

Hint: “Read between the lines,” think of what the amendments say, as well as what they don’t say.

13th Amendment: Neither slavery no involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the US, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

In what other ways could white Southerners keep African Americans politically, economically, and socially powerless, the same conditions of slavery, but not under the same name as slavery?

Answers may include: sharecropping, tenant farming, withholding non-agricultural jobs, preventing the purchase of land, denying educational opportunities

14th Amendment: All persons born or naturalized in the US and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the US and of the state where in they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the US 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.

The 14th Amendment embodies the struggle between state and federal power. How could states interpret the 14th Amendment that curtails their responsibility from enforcing it? Answers may include reference to the Slaughterhouse cases, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the 14th Amendment meant to protect citizens from federal abuse of this power, not state abuse.

15th Amendment: The right of citizens of the United States shall not be denied or abridge by the US or by any state on account of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude.

If race, color, or previous conditions of servitude may not keep a person from voting, what could be used to keep someone from voting?

Answers may include gender, age, education, money

Lesson: Students will watch a mini documentary on John Roy Lynch, Mississippi State Congressman in 1869, and then read an excerpt from Lynch, both sources come from the PBS program, American Experience: Reconstruction, The Second Civil War, under the “Black Legislators” link, or at the following address, Students will answer the following questions to develop an understanding of how African Americans made democratic strives in forging the “new birth of freedom” willed by President Lincoln. The lesson begins with an in-depth look at African American State Senator John Roy Lynch and his accomplishments. Students will then analyze a Thomas Nast political cartoon that undermines and stigmatizes African American democratic participation.

After watching the mini-documentary, read the following excerpt from Lynch and answer the following questions.

  • How did African Americans exercise their citizenship?
  • Were the efforts of African Americans exemplary?
  • In what ways did they align with constitutional as well as American ideology?
  • How do you think white Southerners would have reacted to the actions of John Roy Lynch and others like him?

The campaign was aggressive from beginning to end... the election resulted in a sweeping Republican victory. That party not only elected the state ticket by a majority of about thirty thousand, but also had a large majority in both branches of the state legislature.

The new administration had an important and difficult task before it. A state government had to be organized from top to bottom. A new judiciary had to be inaugurated, consisting of three justices of the state supreme court, fifteen judges of the circuit court, and twenty chancery court judges, all of whom had to be appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the [state] senate. In addition to this, a new public school system had to be organized and established. There was not a public school building anywhere in the state except in a few of the larger towns, and they, with possibly a few exceptions, were greatly in need of repair. To erect the necessary schoolhouses and to reconstruct and repair those already in existence so as to afford educational facilities for both races was by no means an easy task. It necessitated a very large outlay of cash in the beginning which resulted in a material increase in the rate of taxation for the time being, but the constitution called for the establishment of the system and, of course, the work had to be done. It was not only done, but it was done creditably and as economically as circumstances and conditions at that time made possible. That system, though slightly changed, still stands as a creditable monument to the work of the first Republican state administration that was organized in the state of Mississippi under the Reconstruction Acts of the Congress.

It was also necessary to reorganize, reconstruct, and in many instances, rebuild some of the penal, charitable, and other public institutions of the state. A new code of laws also had to be adopted to take the place of the old one, and thus wipe out the black laws that had been passed by what was known as the Johnson legislature. Also it was necessary to change the statutes of the state to harmonize with the new order of things. This was no easy task, especially in view of the fact that a heavy increase in the rate of taxation was thus made necessary. That this great and important work was splendidly, creditably, and economically done, no fair-minded person who is familiar with the facts will question or dispute.

PBS, American Experience. “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War: Black Legislators,” [ from John Hope Franklin, ed. Reminiscenses of an Active Life: The Autobiography of John Roy Lynch. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1970.

Cartoon Analysis:

What does this cartoon say of black legislators like John Roy Lynch?

Who would have created this cartoon and why?

PBS, American Experience. “Reconstruction: The Second Civil War: The Negro Question,” [

Summarizer: 3-2-1: From the activities and topics discussed in today’s lesson, list three things African American citizens wanted, two things that inhibited African Americans from getting the things they wanted, and one thing that African Americans needed to overcome these inhibitors. Students can complete this assignment on an index card and share their ideas with a partner or the class.

Day Three:

Fact Finding and Evaluating Evidence

Students will research several primary sources to discover the “progress” of African Americans’ freedoms.

This lesson requires student use of a computer lab.

Activator: Using the PBS website, The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, select Jim Crow Stories: Simply have students explore this portion of the site; there are videos, photographs, and biographies. The reality and variety of narratives and sources will hopefully foster intrinsic interest in the topic.

Lesson: Students should be divided into 5 groups. Each group will be responsible for a different topic. Students will determine an appropriate way to express their data to the entire class. Utilizing the PBS The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow website, students will explore their topic under the “Jim Crow Stories” and “Interactive Maps” links. The different topics are events, people, organizations, and lynching. For students who chose to do a timeline, they should select the Events tab. Students should be encouraged to be original in their presentation of data. For example, the students can personalize the timeline by tracing the theme of progress, did each even contribute or deter progress of African American equality and freedom. Students will give a brief summary of each event on the timeline and indicate whether the event contributed or diminished progress towards equality by making that segment of the timeline have a positive (/) or negative (\) slope, the end result should look like the stock market history. Students can present the lynching or other statistical data in a bar or line graph or on a quantitative map (as opposed to a physical map, ie depict states with greater lynching victims as physically bigger than states with fewer lynching victims, or shade states with greater lynching victims as darker than states with fewer lynching victims). Students should be encouraged to be creative with this presentation of data.