What We're Studying This Week
Reconstruction was one of the most consequential — and contested — chapters in American history. Between 1865 and 1877, the United States attempted to rebuild the South after the Civil War, integrate four million formerly enslaved people into civic and economic life, and decide what kind of nation it wanted to be. The answers were fiercely disputed, and the consequences shaped American society for generations.
This week you will examine the competing visions of presidential and congressional Reconstruction, trace the expansion and then collapse of Black political rights, and analyze primary source documents from the era. You will encounter figures like Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and Thaddeus Stevens — each with a radically different answer to the question: on whose terms should the nation reunite?
By the end of the week you should be able to explain why the Radical Republican plan was considered "radical" by its contemporaries, and evaluate the long-term consequences of Reconstruction's collapse in 1877.
What's Due & When
| Day | Task | Est. Time | Points | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | Watch video lecture — Radical Reconstruction | 30 min | — | This site |
| Wednesday | Complete Reading 2.1 — Sections 16.1 & 16.2 The President's Plan · Thirteenth Amendment · Johnson · Freedmen's Bureau · Black Codes · Fourteenth Amendment |
60 min | — | This site |
| Thursday | Complete Reading 2.2 — Sections 16.3 & 16.4 Reconstruction Acts · Impeachment · 15th Amendment · Sharecropping · KKK · Compromise of 1877 |
60 min | — | This site |
| Friday | Primary Source Discussion — initial post Stevens & Johnson documents · Hypothesis LTI |
45 min | 40 pts | Canvas |
| Sunday | Reading Notes PDF — submit all 12 answers | — | 20 pts | Canvas |
| Sunday | Discussion replies — respond to 2 classmates | 20 min | included | Canvas |
Pledge & Entry Code
I pledge that all reading notes, discussion posts, and other work I submit for this course will be entirely my own. I will not copy text from the readings, share my answers with other students, or submit work that is not my own. I understand that academic dishonesty may result in a failing grade for the assignment or the course.