Lesson on Thursday, September 13, 2018

Essential Questions:  

1. What issues divided Republicans during the early Reconstruction era? 

2. How “radical” were the Radical Republicans? 

Objectives: 

  

1. Students will describe the issues that divided Republicans during the early Reconstruction era. 

Bell Ringer: Lesson Opening - Project the photograph (Attachment A) and respond to the prompts in your journal.  

Journal 13: 

• Describe the photograph. 

• When and where do you think this photograph was taken? 

• What are three things you think people living in this setting did in the years following the photograph? 

*This photograph was taken in 1865 after the Civil War in the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia. 

Agenda: 

1. Review Journal 12 (10 min) 

2. Think about the major issues that needed to be resolved following the Civil War. Think-Pair-Share 

Finally, project the PowerPoint slides (Attachment B) that list major questions faced by government leaders following the Civil War. This lesson will focus on the different plans that various leaders came up with to deal with these issues. 

  

3. Read Topic 1.1 “Plans for Reconstruction Clash” in Pearson United States History (pp. 62-68) and complete the graphic organizer (Attachment C) as you read. Teachers may want to guide students through completing the notes, have students work in small groups, or independently. (15 min)

  

4. Activity: Hand out Reconstruction Documents (Attachment D) to pairs of students and have them read and answer the guiding questions. If needed, model the process of close reading and answering guiding questions for students using the first document. Once you have had time to read and analyze each document, discuss the following:  

a. What are the major differences between the Radical Republicans and Andrew Johnson?  

b. Which plan do you think would be more likely to unite the country after the Civil War? Why?  

c. Why do you think the Radical Republican plan was considered “radical”? 

  

5. Lesson Closure: Write down your answer to the following question on a post-it note: How “radical” do you think the Radical Republican plan was? Then have students place their post-it note onto a spectrum ranging from NOT AT ALL RADICAL to EXTREMELY RADICAL based on their answer. This may be drawn on the board or on a piece of chart paper and hung on the wall. 

Home Learning: 

1. Complete any of the Attachments you may not have completed.  

2. Journal 14 -  Write an editorial arguing in favor of the Radical Republican plan for Reconstruction.