Introduction
The Times They Are A-Changin
A Reconstruction WebQuest
In 1964, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan released an album titled “The Times They Are A-Changin’” in response to the Civil Rights Movement that fought for equal rights for African-Americans. This movement would be a major advancement for our country. Nearly 100 years earlier, we found ourselves in a similar situation. By the end of the Civil War, nearly 4 million slaves were granted their freedom. After so many years of organized slavery, the United States was beginning to change in a positive way. Wherever there is change, however, there are people who oppose it. Today we will research some of the events and documents that shaped the fight for civil rights in the Reconstruction Era.
Task
Your task today will be to research three different historical topics that will enhance your understanding of the push for equal rights during the Reconstruction Era of the United States. As the Civil War ended, our country had to address many social and political problems. These problems included questions like:
How will we accept the 4 million former slaves into society?
and
How will we deal with the racism and violence in the South?
As you can imagine, these questions were incredibly difficult to answer at the time. There were many opinions on how we should reconstruct our society, and how involved the government should be in the Southern states.
In this class, you will use the research tools provided to you in order to analyze three important topics that relate to these questions:
The Freedmen's Bureau
Black Codes
The Reconstruction Amendments
Use your time wisely, do not get caught up on one question.