Mrs. Bousman's Social Studies Units
Reconstruction
Reconstruction is the first unit of study for fifth grade social studies. Standard 5-1 states: Demonstrate an understanding of
the Reconstructin Era and its impact on racial relations in the United States. Within standard 5-1, there are certain indicators
that include how Lincoln's assasination influenced the course of Reconstruction. Students need to know and interpret the 13th,
14th, and 15th ammendments to the Constitution, understand the actions of the Freedmen's Bureau, and compare the economic and
social effects of Reconstruction on different populations. Students will be interpreting images, constructing historical narratives,
and creating and interpreting data on a timeline.
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5-1.1 Summarize the aims of Reconstruction and explain the effects of Abraham Lincoln�s assassination on the course of
Reconstruction.
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5-1.2 Summarize the provisions of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, including
how the amendments protected the rights of African Americans and sought to enhance their political, social, and economic
opportunities.
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5-1.3 Explain the effects of Reconstruction on African Americans, including their new rights and restrictions, their motivations
to relocate to the North and the West, and the actions of the Freedmen�s Bureau.
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5-1.4 Compare the economic and social effects of Reconstruction on different populations, including the move from farms to
factories and the change from the plantation system to sharecropping.
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5-1.5 Explain the purpose and motivations behind the rise of discriminatory laws and groups and their effect on the rights and
opportunities of African Americans in different regions of the United States.
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Know the definitions to the following vocabulary:
- Thirteenth Amendment-A law passed by Congress as part of the Constitution that made it against the law to own slaves.
- Freedman�s Bureau-A group set up by Congress who helped former slaves by giving them food and supplies.
They helped build many schools and hire teachers so that they could have an education.
- sharecropping-landowners paid workers by giving them seeds, a cabin, tools for farming, a mule and a share
of the crops at harvest time.
- Reconstruction-period of time after the Civil War when the government wanted to �rebuild� or bring the country
back together again.
- black codes-laws passed in the South that limited the rights of former slaves
- Ku Klux Klan-a Southern group who committed hate crimes against black Americans
- 14th Amendment-A law passed that said all people born in the US could be citizens, including former slaves.
- Fifteenth Amendment-No citizen can be kept from voting because of their race
- scalawags-influential people in the South who supported the radicals of the North and
the carpetbaggers;20%of the white population in the South. They were considered traitors by most white southerners.
- carpetbaggers-northern politicians or investors who moved to the South to gain political office or financial profit.
The carpet bag became a symbol for fortune seekers.
- segregation-separation of black and white people
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Students and teachers utilize a new series published by Pearson Education, Inc.
It is called Social Studies Growth of a Nation by Scott Foresman. Our district purchased this textbook and many
extra materials for use in the classroom. As supplementary materials our fifth grade teachers use USA Studies Weekly, a
great newspaper for kids that highlights all our social studies standards in a "kid friendly" format. Teachers also use
many read aloud books to supplement. Some of the titles are:
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Forty Acres and Maybe a Mule by Robinet
- I Have Heard of a Land by Thomas
- Sooner by Calvert
- My Home is Over Jordan by Forrester
- Circle Unbroken by Raven
- More Than Anything Else by Bunting
- The Wagon by Johnston
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America's Library Site
This Website, from America�s Library�s larger collection, contains many points of interest during the Reconstruction Era.
This time period is depicted in stories, games and dances, famous people, and many primary source documents and photos.
The American Presidency
This part of the Smithsonian Institution website gives timelines and information about the presidents, presidency, and many
links to interesting information for students, parents, and teachers alike.
Know the answers to the following questions:
- What did freed slaves do to help each other after the Civil War?
They formed new communities, built churches and schools, and they helped people find jobs and took care of the sick.
- How was life still hard for the freed slaves?
It was hard to find a job and there was no money for food and clothes
- How did the government help the former slaves?
Congress set up the Freedmen�s Bureau who gave freed slaves food, clothing, and supplies.
- How did sharecropping help the former slaves?
The farmers gave them a place to live, a mule, tools and seeds, but there was little money and they did not get ahead.
- Know the difference between the system of sharecropping and plantation systems.
- What did Andrew Johnson try to carry out when he became President?
Johnson�s plan was to carry out Lincoln�s promise to be fair to the south after the Civil War.
- Why did Congress vote to change Johnson�s Reconstruction plan?
Leaders were upset about how some black people were still being treated in the south.
- How did the Reconstruction period help the United States?
State governments built hospitals, schools, and repaired roads. At first, it gave blacks the right to vote and be a part
of the government.
- How did Reconstruction hurt the United States?
To pay for the Reconstruction projects, landowners had to pay higher
taxes and it forced some to have to sell their land because they couldn�t afford it. Hate groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan
(KKK) were formed that kept blacks from voting. White southerners took over the State governments after awhile, and that
also made it hard for blacks to vote or to be part of the government any more. Black people had to go to separate schools
and churches than white people, so that even after the Civil War, the freedoms blacks had were taken away again.
- You should also be able to talk about the icons/Viewpoints of the Reconstruction Era.
Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson
Thaddeus Stevens/Radical Northern Republican viewpoint
Southern White Democratic Viewpoint
Blanche Kelso Bruce/Dred Scott/ Former slave viewpoint
Carpetbagger/Scalawag viewpoint
Mrs. Bousman
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