As you shape your paper for Monday, remember to use the resources that we have read and reviewed:

Digital History packet written by Eric Foner--
------Emancipation in Comparative Perspective
------Sharecropping
------The politics of Reconstruction
------Presidential Reconstruction
------Congressional Reconstruction
------The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
------Republican Governments in the South
------Carpetbaggers and Scalawags
------Redemption
------The End of Reconstruction
------The Disputed Election of 1876
Digital History Website
Reconstruction Timeline
Lincoln's Address on Colonization
Emancipation Proclamation
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
Lincoln's Second Inaugural
Nast's "?Slavery is Dead?"
Foner's "The Reconstruction Amendments: Official Documents as Social History"
Reconstruction: The Second Civil War (ie stories of Tunis Campbell, John Lynch, Marshall Twitchell, Kate Stone, etc.)
Birth of a Nation

Thaddeus Stevens

ESSAY: "The North won the war, but the South won the peace."

If Rip Van Winkle had gone to sleep in 1857 and awoke in 1877, it would probably take him quite a while before he would believe reports of what happened during the years he was asleep:
-- A four year civil war that had freed four million slaves and destroyed half of the South's farm implements and livestock
--Presidential assassination
--Ratification of constitutional amendments abolishing slavery, guaranteeing equal rights, and extending the vote to African American males
--Presidential impeachment
--Disputed presidential election

Yet there had been fundamental changes:
---Chattel slavery was over
--Gang system of labor, enforced by the whip, was dead
--20% of African-Americans in the South managed to acquire land by 1880
--Through the 1880s, sizeable numbers of African American men would continue to vote
--Schools, hospitals, black colleges, black churches had been established

Real gains had been won, even though full equality remained an unfulfilled promise.
-from Eric Foner, The Significance of Reconstruction

Using what you have learned about the Reconstruction era, write an essay (minimum 5 paragraphs), which demonstrates whether or not you agree with the statement at the top of this page. Use evidence to back up the points that you make. This essay should demonstrate how much you understand about this complicated, much debated period of history.

Due Monday, Feb. 4

Complete the "Context" and "Observe" portions of your ?Slavery is Dead? packet. We will work on the "Interpret/Analyze" part in class on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Please note the links in the column on the right side of this blog page to help with the "Context" part.

Complete the Context section of the packet on Thomas Nast's Slavery is Dead for tomorrow.

Our Reconstruction Word Bank so far:
Emancipation Proclamation January 1, 1863
Gettysburg Address Nov. 19, 1863
Address on Colonization Aug. 14. 1862
2nd Inaugural Address Mar. 4, 1865
Special Field Order #15 Jan. 16, 1865
Deprecate
Reconstruct
Reconstruction
13th Amendment proposed Jan. 31, 1865; ratified Dec. 18, 1865
Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction Dec. 8, 1863
Presidential Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson
Freedman’s Bureau
Amnesty

Reread Lincoln's Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction and answer the questions handed out in class.

Go to the Digital History website and begin to read and explore the Reconstruction exhibit.

The Gettysburg Address has become an authoritative expression of the American spirit--as authoritative as the Declaration itself, and perhaps even more influential, since it determines how we read the Declaration. For most people now, the Declaration means what Lincoln told us it means, as a way of correcting the Constitution itself without overthrowing it. It is this correction of the spirit, this intellectual revolution, that makes attempts to go back beyond Lincoln to some earlier version so feckless. The proponents of states' rights may have arguments, but they have lost their force, in courts as well as in the popular mind. By accepting the Gettysburg Address, its concept of a single people dedicated to a proposition, we have been changed. Because of it, we live in a different America.
-Garry Wills

Write a letter to Garry Wills, as discussed in class, using the business letter format, responding to this quote and inviting him to come to our class. You might even include, in your last paragraph, questions you would like him to answer. The draft of this letter is due on Monday.

And don't forget to practice your signature!

Is Mr. Smith Goes to Washington an accurate portrayal of how our democracy and politics really work?

Write an essay in response to this question.

Suggested format
1st paragraph:
Introduction, with the thesis statement as the last sentence. Remember to include the context (time and cultural/historical framework).

2nd paragraph: Summary of the Movie
Write a paragraph summary of the movie. Describe the overall message about politics and government that this film conveyed. Use specific references to the film in this summary.

3rd paragraph: Example from Current Events
Find an article from a newspaper or other news source which discusses a present day event/ scandal/ “promise” that might serve as evidence to support your answer to the above question. Discuss this event/ scandal/ “promise” using at least one direct quote from this article with parenthetical citation. Be specific.

4th paragraph: Words of the Constitution
Reread the Preamble to the Constitution. How do these words illuminate and/or act as a counterpoint to your answer? How do these ideals and Jimmy Stewart’s character intersect? Specifically quote the Constitution. As long as you identify the words as coming from the Constitution, there is no need for a parenthetical citation.

5th paragraph:
Conclusion

Use transitions where appropriate, in order to create better flow between each of your paragraphs.

Monday's assignment: Poem inspired by the word/ concept of Solicitude.

The Humanities Team is sponsoring a poetry challenge, open to any member of Lab’s Middle School community including students, teachers, and staff members. Anyone can enter as many as 5 poems. Poems should be no longer than one page typed.

The theme for this year’s competition is:

Solicitude
n. 1. Care or concern, as for the well-being of another. 2. A cause of anxiety or concern. synonyms: attentiveness, concern, consideration, regard, thoughtfulness, anxiety, anxiousness, nervousness, worry

Example: Can your solicitude alter the cause or unravel the intricacy of human events?
-Hugh Blair 1718-1809

All poems should directly or indirectly address the notion of solicitude, but need not necessarily use the literal word. The Humanities Team will select entries to be published in a small quarto (booklet) which will be for sale.

All proceeds from sales will go to help fund micro loans, given to small entrepreneurs from around the world, through the KIVA organization.