TOPIC 5.10 Reconstruction

1868: “The Glory Year,” The Year That Men Made the Declaration of INdependence Walk in the Steets

Source Based SAQ Practice

The first Black members of the U.S. Congress and historian Lerone Bennett Jr. who published Black Power, USA in 1967.

KC-5.3.II.C Efforts by radical and moderate Republicans to…reorder race relations in the defeated South yielded some short-term successes…but it ultimately failed, due both to determined Southern resistance and the North’s waning resolve.

Objective: Students will identify and evaluate a historian’s claim that Reconstruction (Specifically 1868) was a high point for Black power in American history.

Antiracism in the US history classroom:

“Reconstruction in all its various forms was a supreme lesson for America, the right reading of which might still mark a turning point in our history.”- Lerone Bennett Jr.

Reconstruction is one of the most vital topics in American history. It was truly a revolutionary time when Black lives mattered a great deal in the dominant politics of the United States. American mythology holds tightly to the falsehood of “slow but steady racial progress: from slavery to Jim Crow to equality.”  This myth is the pillar which proponents of “post-racial society” use to oppose antiracist policy.  In reality, progress in American freedom has occurred in great and infrequent bursts which is always followed by a violent backlash. Anti-Blackness was far stronger in the 19th century than it was in the 17th century. The Nadir of race relations followed emancipation. Our students learn about the victories of the Civil Rights movement in districts that are re-segregating.  The “slow and steady progress” mythology allows apathy. The reality of “great and infrequent bursts of progress” promotes urgency and empowers students to become civically engaged. Racial justice can take dramatic steps forward, but only when a generation is fully committed to action. 

Reconstruction is an era where students should be able to see the possibilities for swift and dramatic radical change. Students should also note the fragility of justice when the larger public loses interest.

This short activity also gives a great opportunity to insert Leorne Bennett Jr.’s scholarship into the course. Bennett was a product of Morehouse College’s History department.  He wrote a biography of his college friend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bennett was noted for his ability to “evoke the glory” of the role of Black people in the American past.  His 1962 book, Before the Mayflower reads like an early version of the 1619 Project.  He was one of the leaders of the shift from “negro” to “Black.” The American Historical Association called the scholar a “beacon for scholars associated with the Black Power generation.” 

Notes

After students write the SAQ and right before I hand it back, I give my students the “student example handout.” Part A is already graded but I have them attempt to grade part B before I show them the key which included grader feedback. C is also included with graded feedback for their future reference.

I created this SAQ right after the summer reading of AP History tests for the College Board. I was reminded once again that the SAQ is a skill that needs to be taught just like we scaffold the other essays. This SAQ asks students to start with the basic skill of recognizing a claim in a secondary source. My biggest advice after reading thousands of SAQs in June:

  1. Have students repeat the prompt. It sounds so simple and too formulaic but after 8+ days of reading, I experienced again and again that this practice grounded students and helped frame their chosen evidence in a way that was more likely to earn the point.

  2. Practice identifying secondary source claims more than you think! Sometimes, I move past this too quickly to focus on more difficult skills but students really struggled with this simple concept. I will be adding more secondary source reading to my course this year, including the excerpt in this practice SAQ.

For more information and resources on Reconstruction, the best I have found are from the Zinn Education Project’s “When Black Lives Mattered” Teaching Reconstruction Campaign. Click this link to check it out!