Reconstruction Worksheet

 Directions:  Please copy these questions to your laptop.  In your own words answer the questions as you proceed through the web quest project.  This is not a partner project.  Be aware that sharing answers is a violation of the Honor Code. 

  1. In your own words describe what Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation actually said about ending slavery.
  2. Were the slaves freed throughout the United States by the Emancipation Proclamation?  Yes, no? Why, why not?
  3. Read the article by historian John Hope Franklin.  Answer the following questions:
    1. What did the Emancipation Proclamation say about the use of black soldiers?
    2. How did abolitionists in general greet the Proclamation?  Give examples of two famous abolitionists’ responses.
    3. How did Lincoln propose to end slavery once and for all?
    4. Why did the NAACP’s motto declare “Free by ‘63”?
  4. What did Congress expect the Freedmen’s Bureau to accomplish?  How long did the law intend for the Bureau to stay in business? 
  5. Explain the Thomas Nast cartoon of Andy Johnson and his veto.
  6. In Mr. McMillan’s testimony given at the Freedmen’s Bureau inquiry, what did he believe the Federal government’s immediate responsibility was to the colored people?
  7. Why did McMillan believe that in 1863 the Freedmen needed whites to govern?  Did he believe this would always be the case?  Why, why not?
  8. At the Convention of Freedmen attended by Secretary Stanton and General Sherman, what were the greatest concerns of the whites in their questions to the group of ministers?
  9. List at least five (5) Black Codes.  What were their overall purposes?
  10. In layman’s terms, what did the Civil Rights Act of 1866 legislate?  What was Andrew Johnson's response to this legislation?
  11. What Civil War Amendment did Johnson support and require the southern states to ratify prior to returning to the Union?  Which Civil War Amendment did Johnson urge the South to refuse to ratify?  Explain the reasoning for his disapproval.
  12. What state and which Confederate General were responsible for the creation of the KKK?  What was the organization’s original purpose?
  13. How did the Jim Crow laws get their name?  Give three (3) examples of Jim Crow laws and explain what how they were detrimental to the African-American population.
  14. What Supreme Court case in 1896 upheld the Jim Crow laws?  What was the Court’s decision?  Explain how this decision might have affected the lives of African-Americans living in the South.
  15. Name the Supreme Court case that reversed the (above) 1896 decision in 1954.  Describe the case and the reasoning behind the Supreme Court's decision.
  16. The country ratified three Civil War/Reconstruction Amendments.  What numbers are they?  In a sentence or two tell what each Amendment said.