Curated OER
Reconstruction (1865-1876)
Easily broken into pieces for several class sessions, this presentation is a great way to transition your class out of a Civil War unit and closer to the 20th century. Engaging photographs, including relevant maps and humorous political...
Curated OER
Written Assessment: Freedman's Bureau
In this teaching American history worksheet, students examine a primary source document regarding the Freedman's Bureau. Students respond to 1 short answer question.
Curated OER
Freedmen's Bureau: Labor Contract or Re-enslavement?
Learners examine the topics of the Freedman's Bureau and labor contracting. They analyze the economic conditions in Alabama after the Civil War. They draw conclusions about the problems with sharecropping.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: Interview With John Hope Franklin Discussing the Kkk
Historian John Hope Franklin discusses the KKK's beginnings and opposition to education for the freedmen in the period after the Civil War.
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Forever Free: The 1860s: 19th Century African American Legislators of Texas
An exhibit from the Texas State Library exploring the political achievements of African-Americans in the Texas state legislature and Constitutional Convention from 1865 through the 1890s.
The Newberry Library
Newberry Library: Slavery, Civil War, and the "New Birth of Freedom"
Newberry Library presents primary source materials from which students learn about the arguments made for abolition before the Civil War, how the appeals against slavery were framed, and what freedom would mean for the South and the...
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Presidential Reconstruction
After the death of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was responsible for implementing Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War. Read about his views on African-Americans, and the leniency he offered Confederate leaders and soldiers....
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Classroom: Freedom From Slavery
Check out this interactive timeline of the history of freedom from slavery in the United States.
Black Past
Black Past: Douglass, Frederick
This encyclopedia entry gives a brief overview of the inspirational life of Fredrick Douglass, abolitionist, essayist, and promoter of rights for everyone. There are references to several of his stirring essays.
Black Past
Black Past: Wright, Jonathan
The importance of Jonathan Wright's legal career is explained in this encyclopedia article.
Digital History
Digital History: The African American as Sharecropper [Pdf]
After reading about the system of sharecropping or tenant farming for the African American in the South, look at poverty statistics for African Americans vs. whites between 1960 and 1990. Is there a corelation between the sharecropping...
George Mason University
Chnm: Reconstruction Era
The Republican actions during Reconstruction are summarized in this site from the Center for History and New Media.