Reconstruction
Resources:
Books
Foner, Eric. A Short History of Reconstruction. New York: Harper
& Row, 1990. An examination of many themes of Reconstruction, including
African Americans as agents of change during Reconstruction, the ways
that the South was changed during the period, and the evolution of racial
attitudes and patterns.
Berlin, Ira, Barbara J. Fields, Steven F. Miller, Joseph P. Reidy, and
Leslie S. Rowland, eds., Free at Last: A Documentary History of Slavery,
Freedom, and the Civil War. New York: New Press. This book includes
numerous primary sources that look at slavery around the time of emancipation.
Winik, Jay. April 1865: The Month That Saved America. New York:
HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. Winiks account includes a thorough
examination of the circumstances around Lincolns assassination,
and interesting biographical information about Andrew Johnson.
Carter, Dan T. When the War Was Over: The Failure of Self-Reconstruction
in the South, 1865-1867. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University
Press, 1985. A general account of Presidential Reconstruction and the
social changes in the South immediately after the wars end.
Hakim, Joy. A History of US: Reconstructing America. New York:
Oxford University Press, 2003. An excellent supplementary reading resource
for students.
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Websites
African-American Odyssey
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/aaohtml/exhibit/aointro.html
A Library of Congress on-line exhibit entitled The African-American
Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship, that includes many primary
sources (especially images) about African-Americans during Reconstruction.
Reconstruction: The Second Civil War
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/index.html
A PBS American Experience website that includes video clips, primary
sources, links to other resources, historians perspectives about
Reconstruction, and a Reconstruction timeline.
Americas Reconstruction
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/reconstruction/index.html
Americas Reconstruction: People and Politics after the
Civil War. This digital history exhibit, with text written by
Eric Foner, has extensive primary and secondary sources on thematic
elements of Reconstruction.
Digital History
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/hyper_titles.cfm
This University of Houston Digital History online textbook includes
excellent secondary sources that provide a clear understanding of the
Reconstruction period.
National Archives
http://www.nara.gov
The website for the National Archives includes document analysis worksheets
as well as numerous primary sources.
Valley of the Shadow
http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu
An excellent compilation of primary resources for two communities during
the Civil War. Includes Freedmens Bureau records, letters, diaries,
newspapers, images, and maps.
Freedmen's Bureau Online
http://www.freedmensbureau.com/
A collection of documents and links to documents relating to the work
of the Freedmens Bureau, including labor contracts and marriage
certificates.
With an Even Hand: Brown v. Board at 50
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/brown/
A Library of Congress on-line exhibit entitled, With an Even
Hand: Brown v. Board at 50. The section entitled A Century
of Racial Segregation is helpful for understanding the aftermath
of Reconstruction.
Henry Blake
Talks About Sharecropping after the Civil War
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6377
A text version of a first-person account of sharecropping after the
Civil War.
Toward Racial Equality: Harper's Weekly Reports on Black America, 1857-1874
http://blackhistory.harpweek.com/
Materials from Harpers Weekly magazine that illustrate
attitudes toward African-Americans during the late 19th century.
After
Reconstruction: Problems of African Americans in the South
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ndlpedu/lessons/rec/rhome.html
A lesson plan that is part of the Library of Congresss Learning
Page. The lesson plan is geared toward high-school students, but could
be adapted for middle school students to use some of the resources.
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