Collection
The Reconstruction Era Primary Sources
Enrich your teaching on the Reconstruction era with these primary source documents and images.
At a Glance
Language
English — USSubject
- History
Grade
9–12- Democracy & Civic Engagement
- Human & Civil Rights
- Racism
Overview
Overview
This collection features primary sources from our resources on the Reconstruction era and its legacies. We have organized them thematically, moving from an exploration of freedom after Emancipation through reflections on memory and legacy. We’ve also included a selection of secondary sources from leading historians of the Reconstruction Era.
These sources, which detail the violent and racist history of Reconstruction, are both rich in educational value and carry great potential for harm. For these reasons, we believe strongly that this material needs to take into account students’ emotional and ethical responses to this history and be sequenced in a responsible way. See the "Preparing to Teach" section below for more information.
Preparing to Teach
A Note to Teachers
Before using these primary resources with students, please review the following information to help guide your preparation process.
Inside This Collection
Changing Names
Three formerly enslaved people discuss their names and the changes they underwent after Emancipation.
Letter from Jourdon Anderson: A Freedman Writes His Former Master
Jourdon Anderson, a formerly enslaved person, responds to a request from his former master to return to work for him.
Savannah Freedpeople Express Their Aspirations for Freedom
Read an excerpt from the transcript of the Savannah Colloquy, a meeting between Union officials and Savannah’s Black community in January 1865. This reading is available in Spanish.
What the Black Man Wants
Frederick Douglass demands voting rights and civil equality for Black Americans in an 1865 speech.
A Right to the Land
Freedman Bayley Wyatt advocates for freedpeople's rights to their land at a public meeting.
Improving Education in South Carolina
Samuel J. Lee, elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1868, describes improvements to the state education system made during Reconstruction.
Speech by President Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address
This is the full text of President Lincoln's second inaugural address, which took place March 4, 1865.
Speech by President Lincoln: Second Inaugural Address
This is an audio recording of President Lincoln's second inaugural address (March 4, 1865).
Statistics From the Civil War
This reading features statistics on the number of deaths during the Civil War.
Presidential Reconstruction
Investigate aspects of President Andrew Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction that outlined how to bring former Confederate citizens and states back into the Union.
Freedpeople Protest the Loss of Their Land
The Committee of Freedmen on Edisto Island, South Carolina wrote a letter to Freedmen’s Bureau Commissioner O.O. Howard responding to President Johnson’s land policy.
The Fourteenth Amendment
This is the full text of the fourteenth amendment to the US Constitution, which granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” including former slaves recently freed.
The First South Carolina Legislature
This image shows 63 members of South Carolina’s 1868 state legislature, the first state legislature with a Black majority.
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
This is the full text of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which made freedpeople citizens.
Congress Debates the Fourteenth Amendment
Quotations from the 1866 congressional debate over the Fourteenth Amendment help students clarify what the amendment says and its significance.
Speech by Frances Watkins Harper: “We Are All Bound Up Together”
Read an excerpt from an 1866 speech by Black activist and suffragist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper. This reading is available in Spanish.
They Fence Their Neighbors Away
Sioux chief Sitting Bull responds to different visions of land ownership in this speech excerpt.
Platform of the Workingmen’s Party of California
The political platform of the Workingmen's Party of California, a third party organized around eliminating competition for white laborers in the West and advocating for a ban on Chinese immigration.
Chinese Immigrants Write to President Grant
Chinese leaders in California write to President Ulysses S. Grant in 1876 about the discrimination their communities face from a rising anti-Chinese movement.
Klansmen Broke My Door Open
This reading contains the testimony of a victim of Ku Klux Klan violence.
“Emancipation” (1865)
Thomas Nast's celebration of the emancipation of Southern slaves with the end of the Civil War. Nast envisions a somewhat optimistic picture of the future of free blacks in the United States.
"Colored Rule in a Reconstructed (?) State" (1874)
How do racial stereotypes in the media create and reinforce “in” groups and “out” groups in a society?
"He Wants a Change Too" (1876)
Propaganda about racial stereotypes used in the Reconstruction Era
How do racial stereotypes in the media create and reinforce “in” groups and “out” groups in a society?
Louisiana White League Platform (1874)
The White League was a paramilitary group responsible for widespread violence against black and white Republicans in Louisiana and Mississippi. The group’s platform from 1874 is articulated here.
"Shall We Call Home Our Troops?" (1875)
Wood engraving by Thomas Nast from Harper's Weekly depicting the reaction of the radical South toward African Americans after the North does not follow up their promises.
"Of Course He Votes the Democratic Ticket" (1876)
A political cartoon by Thomas Nast from Harper’s Weekly depicts the intimidation techniques that the Democratic Party used to suppress the votes of Black Southerners in the election of 1876.
Speech by Senator Charles Hays Reaffirming the Rights of African Americans (1874)
Republican congressman Charles Hays of Alabama, a former slaveholder, shares his views on a new civil rights bill that would end segregation of public transportation and public accommodations.
Names and Freedom
Historians Douglas Egerton and Leon Litwack explain the process of freedpeople adopting new surnames.
A Nucleus of Ordinary Men
Consider the role that secrecy and fear play in mob violence with W. E. B. Du Bois’ analysis of the Ku Klux Klan’s power.
Race and Belonging in Colonial America: The Story of Anthony Johnson
Learn about Anthony Johnson, a Black forced laborer who became free in seventeenth-century Virginia.
"The Birth of a Nation" Summarizes Reconstruction
Title cards, or intertitles, from The Birth of a Nation, a 1915 film portraying D.W. Griffith's racist vision of life in the South during the Civil war era.
The Influence of "The Birth of a Nation"
The three-hour silent film The Birth of a Nation did “incalculable harm” to Black Americans by creating a justification for prejudice, racism, and discrimination for decades to follow.
W.E.B. Du Bois Reflects on the Purpose of History
In 1935, W. E. B. Du Bois published an influential book titled Black Reconstruction in America. This audio excerpt, from a chapter titled “The Propaganda of History,” questions the ways in which Reconstruction was being studied and taught at the time.
The Importance of Getting History Right
Historian James Grossman describes the importance of establishing an accurate history of Reconstruction.
A Lifeline for Democracy
In her 2005 commencement speech at the University of Vermont, Ruth Simmons describes experiences that helped her escape the poverty and discrimination of her youth to become the president of Brown University.
Additional Resources
The Reconstruction Era and the Fragility of Democracy
This resource guides students through a deep exploration of the pivotal era of American history when a nation divided by slavery and war was challenged to rebuild.
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A Contested History
Students consider how US history books, films, and other works of popular culture have misrepresented the history of the Reconstruction era.
Defining Freedom
Students examine how freed people in the United States sought to define freedom after Emancipation.
The Political Struggle, 1865–1866
Students learn about President Andrew Johnson and the Congressional Republican's conflicting visions of how to rebuild the nation after the Civil War.
Interracial Democracy
Through a video-based activity, students explore how Radical Reconstruction changed the nature of voting rights and democracy in the South.
Violence and Backlash
By examining periods of violence during the Reconstruction era, students learn about the potential backlash to political and social change.
Legacies of Reconstruction
Through a video-based activity, students examine America’s struggle for a stronger democracy during Reconstruction and today.
The World the War Made
Students explore the ways that Emancipation and Radical Reconstruction altered the lives of many Americans.
The Reconstruction Era 3-Week Unit
Teach a 3-week study of the Reconstruction era guided by the essential question "What can we learn from the history of Reconstruction as we work to strengthen democracy today?"
The Power of Names
Students begin their study of Reconstruction by examining the relationship between the individual and society through an exploration of names.
The Debate over Reparations for Racial Injustice
This mini-lesson helps students define the term, learn what forms reparations can take, and consider what reparations should be offered for slavery and other racist policies.
Enacting Freedom
Students consider what it means to be free by learning about the choices and aspirations of freedpeople immediately after Emancipation.
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Listen to #DisruptTexts founder Julia Torres about taking a critical lens to text selection in ELA classrooms.
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Listen to writer and educator Dr. Clint Smith as he shares his poetry and reflections on working for justice, equity, and civic agency in our schools.
Centering Student Voices to Build Community and Agency
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Explore approaches to centering student voice, building authentic relationships and cultivating community with Molly Josephs, the creator of This Teenage Life, a youth-driven, story-sharing podcast that started as a school club.
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