The Unfinished Revolution

Lesson Plan

Activity 1: Reflect on the “Eternal Struggle” of Democracy

Before examining the legacies of the Reconstruction era, it is important to introduce students to the idea of democracy as an ongoing process. Ask students to reflect in their journals on the following quotation from federal judge William H. Hastie:

Democracy is becoming rather than being. It can easily be lost, but never is fully won. Its essence is eternal struggle.

Students might respond to the following question as they write:

• What do you think Hastie means when he says that democracy’s essence is eternal struggle?

After they have spent a few minutes recording their thoughts, use the Think, Pair, Share teaching strategy to help students share their thoughts with each other.

Activity 2: Reflect on the Idea of a New American Founding

In the next activity, students will read an excerpt from an article by the scholar Eddie Glaude Jr.  in which he draws on the history of Reconstruction and the civil rights movement to call for a “new American founding.” Pass out We Need a New American Founding and read it aloud as a class. Then discuss the following questions: 

• Why does Glaude Jr. believe that we are in a moment of “moral reckoning”? 
• What do you believe are the hard issues we are confronting as a nation?
• What issues feel connected to the history of Reconstruction?
• Why does Glaude Jr. say that he believes we will “probably fail trying” in our efforts to begin again? What is the point of trying something that might fail?

Activity 3: Explore the Legacies of Reconstruction

Show a clip from the video The Legacies of Reconstruction (9:04–13:04). Ask students to record notes on the video using the S-I-T strategy. 

Then share the following quote from George Lipsitz, which appears in the video. Lipsitz is referring to how he hopes the study of history will shape students’ responses to present-day injustices: 

We know this place; we've been here before. We come from a tradition. People of all colors and all races come from a tradition of social justice in which ordinary men and women thought it was worth risking everything to create a fair and democratic society.

Ask students to reflect on the quote using the following questions: 

• According to Lipsitz, how does studying the history of Reconstruction empower us today? 
• What lessons can you draw from the history of Reconstruction as you consider the power and impact of your choices in the world today?

Activity 4: Deepen Students’ Reflections on Democracy 

Close the lesson and the unit by asking students to return to their initial journal reflection and the Hastie quote they responded to in the opening activity. Ask students to add to their journal reflections using the following prompt:

• How did the ideas in this lesson connect, extend, or challenge your initial thinking about the Hastie quote and democracy as eternal struggle? 

Invite volunteers to share their thoughts with the class.