Problem
A. Evaluate the federal government's performance in assisting southern blacks to make the transition from slavery to freedom. What policies did the government implement in an attempt to uplift southern blacks? Which of these policies were most successful and which were the worst failures? On balance, did the federal government not do enough to assist freedpeople, or was the level of assistance that it provided more than could have been expected?
B. Identify the factors which contributed to the end of Reconstruction and weigh their relative importance. What factor or factors were most responsible for Reconstruction's end? Could these factors have been overcome? Was the failure of Reconstruction inevitable?
C. It is often assumed that Reconstruction would have been more successful had Lincoln survived to oversee it. Assess the validity of this statement by comparing Lincoln's proposed Ten Percent Plan with Johnson's policies and Lincoln's relationship with Congress to Johnson's. How different were Lincoln's and Johnson's programs? What evidence suggests that Reconstruction under Lincoln would have differed substantially from Reconstruction under Johnson?
D. By 1867, Reconstruction had fallen into the hands of Radical Republicans. Evaluate the success of their policies. Did the Radicals undermine their own efforts by pushing for too much change too quickly? Might a more moderate and gradual program have resulted in more lasting advances or was bold action required in the wake of the Civil War?
E. What roles did African Americans play in southern politics during Reconstruction? Considering how much they gained politically during that era, how might one explain how much they subsequently lost? Why were southern blacks unable to translate the political gains of Reconstruction into the permanent establishment of their civil rights?
F. Discuss the development of sharecropping. How did it emerge as a compromise between the needs of landowners and the wishes of freedpeople? By settling for sharecropping, did blacks sacrifice the reality of economic advancement for the illusion of autonomy?
G. What unique challenges did black women face during Reconstruction? What roles did they carve for themselves and which roles were forced upon them? In general, did they seek to escape from mainstream gender norms or attempt to adjust their lives in compliance with those norms?