Log inSign up for FREE
Library

3.7 Classwork: The Reconstruction Era & Literacy Tests

Last updated over 1 year ago
10 questions
Note from the author:
Content Objective: I will be able to recognize the modern and historical significance of The Reconstruction Era.

Standard Objective: I will be able to draw reasonable inferences and logical conclusions from text.
Content Objective: I will be able to recognize the modern and historical significance of The Reconstruction Era.

Standard Objective: I will be able to draw reasonable inferences and logical conclusions from text.

Reconstruction Era Classwork Notes

Required
1
The Reconstruction Era refers to the period _______ the Civil War when attempts were made to redress [fix] the _______ of slavery and its political, social, and economic legacy.

The U.S. government also needed to determine how to _______ the 11 Confederate states back into the Union.
Required
1
After the war, formerly enslaved African Americans responded to freedom in different ways. After celebrating the end of the war and their new freedom, most tried to _______ with their separated families.

Some set up new institutions, including schools, while participating in politics by voting and even serving in government.
Required
1
For about 10 years after the Civil War, the federal government provided _______ such as finding employment, housing, and education to the formerly enslaved and took steps under _______ Reconstruction to protect their political and civil rights, but these advances were later overturned.
1
During the 1870s, more than a _______ African American men were elected to the U.S. Congress. This was historically significant because many of these newly freed _______ were born into slavery, but this period ended all too quickly.
1
Despite the gains Black people made following the Civil War, _______ against these new rights grew stronger in the _______ .

The _______ was established as a defining organization of the Reconstruction era. It sought to counter the progress of African Americans by using _______ and _______ against African-American leaders.

Post-Literacy Test Reflection Questions & Discussion

1

What were your thoughts while taking this test? Write the first three words that come to your mind when thinking about this test. No explanation needed, just write the words down.

1

How do you think this test made newly-freed Black Americans feel?

Literacy Tests were created in the South and were intentionally designed to keep Black people from exercising their voting rights.

1

Why do you think these tests were purposely used instead of simply telling Black Americans they were not allowed to vote?

Some legislatures passed a poll tax, which required voters to pay money before they could vote. Many African-Americans were too poor to pay the tax and could not vote.

Literacy test laws required voters to be able to read a passage before voting. At the time, about half of African-Americans could not read so they could not vote. Questions were designed so that the test-takers would pass or fail simply at the discretion of the test administrator.

Wouldn’t these practices exclude the poor white vote? Southern policymakers found a way around this by enacting the grandfather clause, which exempted anyone whose grandfather had voted from having to pay poll taxes or take literacy tests.
Required
1

Why is voting important? One Bulls student who just turned 18 claimed, “I don’t care about politics so why would I vote?” What would you say to change their mind?

Righting Wrongs: Today, several states in the Deep South have to prove to the government that they have a certain percentage of Black voters registered to receive federal funding.
Required
1

How has our society improved since the Reconstruction Era? In what ways in our society today do you still see disadvantages for minorities?