Assignment:
Part. 1: Soldier's Letter
After reading "North Carolina Black Soldiers to the Freedmen's Bureau Commissioner" ,Answer the questions in the grid. You may look at the primary source as often as you need.
Question:
Comprehension: Summarize the complaint in the letter.
Analysis: The soldiers complain that the assistant superintendent of Negro Affairs is a thorough Copperhead (througher Copper head). Research the meaning of a Civil War Era Copperhead and then explain the complaint being made by the soldiers.
Evaluation: What would you conclude of Sgt. Etheredge and William Benson's relationship with the white men of their acquaintance based on the last paragraph of their letter?
Comprehension: According to the 5th statement in their complaint, what action do Etheredge and Benson want to be taken?
Synthesis: Look at the small print paragraph on the bottom and note what action was taken as a result of the letter. Do you think Etheredge and Benson were satisfied with this action? Explain your answer.
Part. 2: Reconstruction Plans
After reading the two articles,you will answer the question below.
1. Proclamation Of Amnesty [December 8, 1863]
2. First Reconstruction Act [March 2, 1867]
Consider all of the parties involved as you answer your question, such as former plantation owners (sometimes called the southern aristocracy), the more common southerner on the small farm or in a small business, and of course the 4,000,000 newly freed slaves.
Essential Question:
Would Lincoln's plan have been better for the United States than the Congressional Plan which was actually used?
Write an essay answering the essential question. You may use quotations from the sources cited, but be sure to place them in quotation marks to differentiate them from your own thoughts.
Part. 3: Lincoln
Do you think President Lincoln would have created a better United States after the war if he had survived to serve his second term? Explain your answer.
Part. 4: Reconstruction Reporter
Take on the role of an investigative reporter for a large Northern newspaper. Your assignment is to visit the South and write a story about Reconstruction.
Your article should focus on one the following areas of interest:
• The reaction to government orders (including amendments to the Constitution).
• The newly experience freedom of former slaves.
• Southern laws and practices designed to circumvent federal laws.
• The role Northerners are playing the New South.
Research the Reconstruction time period using the below:
1. Reconstruction and Its Aftermath Part 1
2. Reconstruction index
Be sure you go to all the different pages on this website.
Write an article explaining to Northern readers the complicated conditions in the South. Remember that journalistic standards require interviewing a variety of sources and creating an interesting headline.
Part. 5: Primary Sources
After reading the two articles, link below. Answer the questions in the grid. Be sure to use specific references in the primary sources to support your answer.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/sharecrop/ps_delany2.html
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/reconstruction/sharecrop/ps_adams.html
Question:
1. Based on what you know, how would you explain the continued abuse of the former slaves as described in Henry Adams' testimony?
2. Why did Henry choose to leave the plantation even though it proved very dangerous?
3. Predict the outcome of Henry's experience if his former master had followed the labor contract suggested by Freedmen's Bureau officer Martin Delaney.