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Classroom Activity No. 1
Primary Source Analysis in the Context of the Reconstruction Era
Content/Targeted Virginia SOL Skills and Standards
- USII.1a Students will demonstrate skills for historical thinking by analyzing and interpreting artifacts and primary and secondary sources to understand events in United State history.
- USII.3a Students will apply social science skills to understand the effects of Reconstruction on American life by analyzing the impact of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and how they changed the meaning of citizenship.
- USII.3b Students will apply social science skills to understand the effects of Reconstruction on American life by describing the impact of Reconstruction policies on the South and North.
- USII.4c Students will apply social science skills to understand how life changed after the Civil War by describing racial segregation, the rise of “Jim Crow,” and other constraints faced by African Americans and other groups in the post-Reconstruction South.
- Access the primary source Emancipation Celebration in Charles Town, West Virginia, 1869 from the Emancipation Celebrations exhibit.
- Complete the Primary Source Analysis Tool for the Spirit of Jefferson newspaper article to determine the historical perspective of the primary source.
- Read the speech given at this Emancipation Celebration by W.W. Grimes. Use this source to compare life for African Americans before and after passage of the 13th Amendment.
- Create an illustrated timeline of the major events during the Reconstruction era.
Suggested Extension
- From the point of view (persona) of Booker T. Washington or W.E.B.DuBois, write a letter to the author of the speech, W.W. Grimes. Include points that you (Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. DuBois) agree with and contents of the letter with which you disagree . Reference portions of the letter with which you disagree and explain why you disagree with the author’s remarks. Use evidence (reference sources from Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. DuBois) to support your ideas.
Product
- Primary source analysis tool, illustrated timeline of Reconstruction events, Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. DuBois perspective letter to W.W. Grimes (extension)
