The Reconstruction Era Primary Sources
Subject
- History
Grade
9–12Language
English — USPublished
Updated
In this lesson
Overview
Overview
This collection features primary sources from our resources on the Reconstruction era and its legacies. We have organized them thematically, moving from an exploration of freedom after Emancipation through reflections on memory and legacy. We’ve also included a selection of secondary sources from leading historians of the Reconstruction Era.
These sources, which detail the violent and racist history of Reconstruction, are both rich in educational value and carry great potential for harm. For these reasons, we believe strongly that this material needs to take into account students’ emotional and ethical responses to this history and be sequenced in a responsible way. See the "Preparing to Teach" section below for more information.
This collection is designed to be flexible. You can use all of the resources or choose a selection best suited to your classroom. It includes:
- 32 primary source documents, 19 available in Spanish
- 9 secondary source documents
- 3 primary source images
Preparing to Teach
A Note to Teachers
Before using these primary resources with students, please review the following information to help guide your preparation process.
For more information about how to approach teaching with the resources in this collection, we recommend exploring the Preparing to Teach section of our Reconstruction 3-Week Unit, which includes guidance on teaching emotionally challenging content, fostering classroom community, and addressing racist dehumanizing language. We also recommend familiarizing yourself with this history by reading the context sections for each lesson from the unit.
In addition, we recommend exploring Facing History’s pedagogical approach for information about how to attend to students’ social-emotional as well as academic needs in the classroom.
Related Materials
Inside This Collection
Defining Freedom
Changing Names
Letter from Jourdon Anderson: A Freedman Writes His Former Master
Savannah Freedpeople Express Their Aspirations for Freedom
What the Black Man Wants
A Right to the Land
Improving Education in South Carolina
He Was Always Right and You Were Always Wrong
Healing and Justice after the Civil War
Speech by President Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address
Speech by President Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address
Statistics From the Civil War
Presidential Reconstruction
Freedpeople Protest the Loss of Their Land
Sharecropping Contract
Radical Reconstruction and Interracial Democracy
The Fourteenth Amendment
The First South Carolina Legislature
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
Congress Debates the Fourteenth Amendment
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867
Equality for All?
Speech by Frances Watkins Harper: “We Are All Bound Up Together”
They Fence Their Neighbors Away
Platform of the Workingmen’s Party of California
Chinese Immigrants Write to President Grant
Is It a Crime for Women to Vote?
Backlash and the Fragility of Democracy
Klansmen Broke My Door Open
“Emancipation” (1865)
"Colored Rule in a Reconstructed (?) State" (1874)
"He Wants a Change Too" (1876)
Worse Than Slavery
Louisiana White League Platform (1874)
"Shall We Call Home Our Troops?" (1875)
"Of Course He Votes the Democratic Ticket" (1876)
Speech by Senator Charles Hays Reaffirming the Rights of African Americans (1874)
Secondary Sources
Names and Freedom
A Nucleus of Ordinary Men
Race and Belonging in Colonial America: The Story of Anthony Johnson
"The Birth of a Nation" Summarizes Reconstruction
The Influence of "The Birth of a Nation"
W.E.B. Du Bois Reflects on the Purpose of History
The Importance of Getting History Right
A Lifeline for Democracy
We Need a New American Founding
Additional Resources
Related Facing History Resources & Learning Opportunities
The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy
The Reconstruction Era 3-Week Unit
The Reconstruction Era Primary Sources
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The Union As It Was
Radical Reconstruction and the Birth of Civil Rights
Expanding Democracy
The Struggle over Women’s Rights
Equality for All
Enacting Freedom
The Power of Names
The Debate over Reparations for Racial Injustice
The Devastation of War
Healing and Justice
Summative Performance Task & Taking Informed Action
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