Browse Exhibits (1 total)

In this lesson students will examine how the actions of people in government during Reconstruction, 1865-77, affected the choices that individuals made.  Students will consider the life of African Americans in Virginia during this period, noting how the national government’s actions and the Virginia government’s actions impacted the education of African Americans in Virginia.  This lesson focuses on the opportunities that Reconstruction opened up for African Americans, providing students the opportunity to learn about William Jasper and his family.  It works well after students have learned about slavery and the Civil War in Virginia, and before students study the effects of segregation and Jim Crow on life in Virginia – a time during which many of these opportunities were taken away.