Making Democracy Work for Everyone, 1877-1904 The post Reconstruction South witnessed a number of changes in society that helped to improve the conditions of its people; however, there were a number of practices based on race and skin color that hindered the South's growth as a region in this republic. The results of such practices were to relegate a number of its people to the status of second-class citizens in spite of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments. These amendments were, for the most part, undermined by politicians of the South, along with the Civil Rights Cases of 1883 and the decision of Plessey v. Ferguson of 1896. These particular events inspired southern legislators to enact segregation laws that were complex, detailed, and unfair. Thus, the movement to eliminate poverty, racism, and inequality continued to be an ongoing and vexing problem as the nation entered the twentieth century. The President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, has issued an executive order creating five All Deliberate-Speed Commissions. Each commission is made of former slaves, former slave holders, legislators, lawyers, and community leaders. The President has appointed you to a commission to study the social and political conditions of the post up Reconstruction South to the Supreme Court's decision of Plessey v. Ferguson of 1896. If you discover these conditions to be unfair, you must write a report listing the areas of inequality and a solution for eliminatingthese conditions from southern society. Also, your report should include a statement or two on how black citizens' rights as first class Americans will be respected and guaranteed in the future. Your teacher will pass around a hat with puzzle pieces. The puzzle pieces complete a map of ten southern states that were divided into five militarydistricts during Congressional Reconstruction. Students who have puzzlepieces that represent the state of Virginia will be district/commission one.Students who have puzzle pieces that represent the states of North and South Carolina will be district/commission two. Similarly, students who have puzzle pieces that represent the states of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida will be district/commission three. Too, students who have puzzle pieces that represent the states of Arkansas and Mississippi will be district/commission four, and students who have puzzle pieces that represent Louisiana and Texas will be district/commission five. Each district/commission is composed of five students. Within each group, your teacher will assign a role to every member from one the five broad areas: education, lynching, suffrage, segregation, and mob violence. Each of you should search the link(s) that pertain(s) to your specific area. Then, identify the problem(s), take notes of the problem(s), and write a solution to the problem. After everyone in the group has finished his/her individual report, the group will meet as a whole to discuss and write one group report. Some general sources you should use: John Garraty, Story of America, chapters 16 and 17 Armeto, Nash, Salter and Wixson, A More Perfect Union, chapters 12 and 13. American Memory http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aaphome.html African American Perspectives: Documents dealing with the broad areas of civil rights, race relations, education, segregation, lynching, suffrage, and mob violence. Slave Voices from Duke University Special Collection Library http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/slavery/ Archives of African American Music and Culture http://www.indiana.edu/~aaamc/index.html Ida B. Wells http://inform.umd.edu/pictures/women studies/picturegallery/wells.html Selected Bibliography http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/aapbib.html Remember, each member of your group must complete his/her individual assigned role. That role must be research about one of the five broad areas: education, lynching, suffrage, segregation, and mob violence. Then you must identify the problem(s) or complaint(s) in your specific area by reading through the primary sources. Lastly you need to write a report of your findings with a solution to the problem(s) or complaint(s). Within your group, you need to share and discuss your findings with other group members and as a group produce one written report which must be presented to the entire class. Each group member must orally present a part of that written report. The oral presentation must be delivered: The qualilty of your written and oral report will be based on the following: The post Reconstruction South created two separate communities: one black, one white. The forced control of blacks in many southern communities relegated them to the status of second class citizens throughout the South. The legacy of such treatment meant, for the most part, that in the twentieth century most blacks would be relegated to the status of a forced inferior position in the South and much of the Nation as well. What conditions of post Reconstruction South led to political, social, and economic changes in the latter half of the twentieth century? Have African Americans made social, political, and economic progress since the post Reconstruction South? What do you think about this progress in light of new civil rights struggles? Individually, answer three of the following questions. All reflections should be at least five or more sentences. 1. We are at the door of the 21st century, have the legacy of the nineteenth century problems of racism, sexism, and discrimination been solved? 2. What do you predict will be some new challenges for African Americans as they enter the 21st century? 3. Do you think the nation can solve these problems of inequality and move on in the development of a color-blind society? 4. What do you think about these problems American faced at the turn of the century? 5. Which group(s) has/have responsibility for solving these problems? Grade Level/Unit: H/SS Content Standards Historical and Social Science Analysis Grades 6-8 Lesson Purpose: The students are expected to learn about the forces that led to the development of a segregated and unequal society and its effect on African Americans in the 19th and 20th century in the areas of social and political mobility. Goals: The student will learn about the culture of the post Reconstruction South, determine how to improve southern society as a basis for bringing about equality throughout the nation, and understand why it is important for a democratic society to protect the civil rights of all Americans. Information Literacy: (1) Students use problem-solving skills to write a report addressing the specific problems of inequality in the South between the two dominant racial groups. (2) Students search various links for relevant sources to perform their specific task.(3) Students learn to synthesize information for a written an oral presentation. (4) Students learn the effectiveness of working together to produce a written presentation and an oral presentation. (5) Students recognize point of view from a number of sources. (6) Students learn how to distinguish fact from opinion. Length of Time: Four 45-50 minutes class periods Resources needed: In addition to those electronic materials listed under the following print materials would be of value: Remembering Slavery Edited by I. Berlin, Library of Congress, 1998 Classic Slave Narritives edited by H.L. Gates jr., Ny: Mentor Books. 1987 Reconstruction and Reform. Joy Hakin Ny: Oxford Press, 1994 (Part of the History of US series) Bullowship Days: The Slave Remembers edited by J. Mellon Ny: Avon Books, 1988 Black Americans: A History in Their Own Words. edited by Milton Meltzer. Ny: Harper Collins, 1984 Lesson sequence: See sections on task and process. Interdisciplinary connection: Language Arts (writing and speaking skills) Harold G. Handy Last revised
SCORE-CHSSP Technology Academy 1997
John F. Kennedy Junior High School
Hanford Elementary School District
EZUG13A@Prodigy. Com
Reviewed for accuracy by Dr. Joanna Cowden