Individual Lesson View
Battle Over Reconstruction
(Lesson 2)
From: EDSITEment!
Grade Level: HS, (College)
Remote Ready: With Modifications
Time: 1 Class Periods for All Activities
Length of Reading: Pages
Lesson 2:
The Battle Over Reconstruction:
The Politics of Reconstruction
2 Activities here, both are role playing games. Activity 1 tackles the Reconstruction battle between Lincoln and Radical Republicans. The 2nd Activity gets at Andrew Johnson's battle with Radical Republicans as he heads toward impeachment.
Activity 1: The class will role play a congressional committee. Divide your class into groups. Those groups will be further subdivided so that half the group supports Lincoln; the other half will support radical Republicans in their plans for Reconstruction. All groups read Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty. Each group gets their own primary source (these include excerpts from Lincoln and the Wade-Davis Bill) and answers provided questions. Opposing sub groups will debate questions the teacher raises. Be sure to click on the text document; it has excerpts whereas the links has the docs in their entirety.
Activity 2: The entire class reads the interactive timeline and a primary source assigned to their group (including excerpts from President Andrew Johnson) as homework. Then, in class, each group answers provided questions. Finally, each group presents to the class.
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Grade Level: HS, (College)
- HS=High School
- Though HS is the specified grade level, this lesson would be excellent for college students as well.
Remote Ready: With Modifications
- Links to the reading assignments can easily be emailed or posted for students
- Group work (pairs) might be difficult, though questions could be answered individually
- Paraphrase questions into your LMS so you can grade student’s written answers more easily
- Discussion can be had via typing on your LMS or over video conferencing
Primary Source Icon
This means that this activity utilizes primary sources
Group Work Icon
This activity calls for working in pairs, a group, and/or having a class discussion
Computer Icon
This means that a computer is required for this activity. We will NOT use this icon when print-outs are possible.
Role Play Icon
This activity involves asking students to portray historical figures
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