Through this unit, students will understand the events and tensions that fractured the country, and will also know the course of the war and how it came to an end. The Reconstruction unit will begin with the end of the war and its immediate aftermath, including President Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction and his assassination. Students will then examine President Johnson’s plan and how his policies were implemented in the South. Students will also consider the changes in the South brought about by the 13th Amendment and the work of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Another major topic will be the policies enacted by the Radical Republicans during Congressional Reconstruction. Students will also learn about the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, and examine their impact on freedom and equality for African -Americans. After these social and political changes have been considered, the unit will move onto how Reconstruction came to a close in 1877, and much of the period’s progress was reversed in the following years. To culminate the unit, students will evaluate the successes and failures of the Reconstruction period by considering its enduring legacy.

In this lesson, students examine images of life in the U.S. in the immediate aftermath of the Civil War. As they view the images, students will make a list of the problems that the U.S. faced and then share their lists. Students will also review and evaluate the Presidential Reconstruction plan.

In this lesson, students examine the period of Reconstruction that was led by the Radical Republicans by identifying the leaders and the laws that were passed. They will also understand how the provisions of the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution increased freedom and equality for African Americans.

In this lesson, students investigate the reasons that Reconstruction ended. They will explain the Amnesty Act and the Compromise of 1877. They will also understand how events in this period influenced later events associated with the civil rights movement.

In this lesson, students analyze primary source documents from the case of a newspaper editor who published a broadside that was sharply critical of the Prseident and therefore violated the Alien and Sedition Acts. A set of discussion questions is provided. In a series of extension activities, students will list the items in the broadside document that could be considered seditious and then examine Cooper's defense. Students will also extrapolate this case to current events by evaluating current news media.

In this lesson, students analyze a primary source document from the case of a printer who printed an essay against the government and therefore violated the Alien and Sedition Acts. A set of discussion questions is provided. In a series of extension activities, students will consider other times when the rights of American citizens have been infringed upon by the government. Students will debate whether or not the curtailment of the Bill of Rights is ever justified. They will also search current media news reports for negative comments about the current President and determine if the comments could be considered seditious.

In this activity, students analyze political cartoons that address three of the major issues that affected Washington's presidency: the president's title, the Jay treaty, and the existence of a national bank. Students will create captions for the cartoons using provided background information, then write an exhibit label for the cartoon and caption.

Students weigh the choices Washington faced in the nation's first Constitutional crisis by following events through his private diary.

In this lesson, students review the causes and effects of the Whiskey Rebellion in the 1790s. A set of discussion questions is provided. In an associated activity, students will evaluate the role of various participants in the Rebellion and conclude whether their actions were right or wrong.