Radical Reconstruction and the Birth of Civil Rights

Lesson Plan

Day 1 

Activity 1: Reflect on the Concept of Citizenship

Before students engage with the materials in this class, especially the text of the Fourteenth Amendment, it is important to take some time to reflect on the concept of citizenship. Ask students to respond to the following prompts in their journals: 

• What rights and protections should come with being a citizen? What responsibilities?  
• Why might it be important for noncitizens to gain citizenship in a country?

Have students share their thinking with a partner in a Think, Pair, Share, then discuss the questions as a class.

Activity 2: Watch the Second Half of the “The Political Struggle Viewing Guide” 

Explain to students that they will be watching the second half of the video they watched in Lesson 4, The Political Struggle. This video covers important contextual information about the history of Radical Reconstruction and the civil rights gains of that period, including Radical objections to Johnson's plan, the Civil Rights Act, the Fourteenth Amendment, and the 1867 Reconstruction Acts. 

Pass out the Viewing Guide for "The Political Struggle" Part Two. Play The Political Struggle and pause at the following time stamps and ask students to discuss with a partner the questions below and on the handout:

1. What were the major Republican objections to President Johnson’s Reconstruction plan? How did the moderates’ objections differ from the radicals’? (11:28)
2. What were some of the key provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866? How did the legislation create a split between President Johnson and Congress? (13:22)
3. What were the key provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment? (14:58)
4. What were the key provisions of the 1867 Reconstruction Acts? (16:28)

Activity 3: Synthesize Students’ Learning

To help students process all of the information they have learned in class, have students complete an Exit Card in which they name an event, law, or idea from the lesson that they think is especially significant and explain their choice.

Day 2 

Activity 1: Acknowledge Exit Tickets

At the beginning of class, acknowledge students’ responses from the prior day’s exit tickets. Take some time to read a few exit card responses anonymously, and consider saving responses about the Fourteenth Amendment and birthright citizenship for last, to provide students with a transition into the next activity.

Activity 2: Read the Text of the Fourteenth Amendment

Share with students that in class today they will be exploring the Fourteenth Amendment, which represented one of the major achievements of the era of Radical Reconstruction and led to a new era of expanded civil rights in the nation. Pass out copies of an excerpt from the Fourteenth Amendment (see reading The Fourteenth Amendment) and read it aloud as a class. 

Then, break the class into pairs and ask them to paraphrase the amendment on a separate sheet of paper. Then have pairs discuss the following questions:

• What stands out to you about this amendment? What words or phrases strike you as particularly important? 
• How do you imagine the passage of this amendment impacted African Americans? How do you think it impacted other Americans? 
• What do you imagine would have been the impact of the amendment on democracy in the United States? 

Then ask volunteers to share their responses from the paraphrasing activity and to the questions above. Be sure that students understand the following provisions of the amendment. (Note that the amendment included other provisions, such as barring Confederates from holding office, but those provisions are not the focus of the lesson.)

• It enshrined birthright citizenship in the Constitution, meaning that any person born on US soil was entitled to the rights of citizenship. It also made the definition of citizenship permanently a national responsibility (rather than a state matter).
• It nationalized the protection of rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. States were now forbidden from violating those rights, when previously the rights were only protected from violation by the federal government.
• It provided for “equal protection of the law” for all American citizens (although the meaning of this clause would be contested over the course of the following century).

Activity 3: Explore Quotations about the Fourteenth Amendment 

Use the quotations from Quotes about the Fourteenth Amendment to create a “Thought Museum.” Post the quotations around the room; each quotation will make up one “exhibit.”

Before students leave their seats, explain to them that they will be reading quotations about the Fourteenth Amendment to illuminate the document’s impact. 

Then give students several self-stick notes each and provide sufficient time for them to visit and respond to as many exhibits as possible. They should bring their copy of The Fourteenth Amendment with them for reference as they move around the room. After reading the quotation(s) at each exhibit, students can add a note to the exhibit with a comment or question that it raises for them. They might also post a  connection between a quotation and another historical event, current event, or personal experience.

Once students have spent sufficient time exploring the exhibits, assign one student to “curate” each exhibit. This will entail going to the assigned exhibit and choosing two to three notes that seem particularly important or clarifying. While the curators are working, everyone else should return to their seats. These students can talk in pairs and discuss the following questions:

• What story do these quotations tell?
• What impact did the Fourteenth Amendment have on American democracy? 

When the curators are finished, they should each report to the class by first reading the clause of the amendment to which their exhibit pertains and then sharing the notes they chose and explaining their reasoning. After each curator finishes their report, allow time for questions and comments. You may need to provide additional clarification about the Fourteenth Amendment and its meaning throughout the activity.

Activity 4: Reflect on the Significance of the Fourteenth Amendment 

Close by asking students to reflect on the following question, first in their journals, and then in a class discussion: 

• What does the Fourteenth Amendment say about who deserves rights and protection in the United States? How does it define the country’s universe of obligation?