Name: Notes #: Social Studies 8 Date:

Enduring Issues Essay -

ReconstructionAn enduring issue is a challenge or problem that a society has faced and debated or discussed across time. An enduring issue is one that many societies have attempted to address with varying degrees of success.

TASK: In this essay, you will need to: Identify and define an enduring issue raised by the set of documents

provided. Use your knowledge of social studies, as well as evidence from the

documents, to argue why the enduring issue you chose was significant and how it endured across time.

GUIDELINES: In your essay, be sure to: Clearly identify the enduring issue based on a historically accurate

interpretation of three documents Define the issue using evidence from three documents Argue that the issue is a significant issue that has endured over

time by showing how the issue has affected people or has been affected by people

Include outside information from your knowledge of social studies, as well as evidence from the documents.

Document #1

The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution are sometimes referred to as the “Reconstruction

Amendments.” They were passed in order to abolish slavery and to establish the rights of former slaves.

13th Amendment (1865)Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

14th Amendment (1868)Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction (laws) thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge (limit) the privileges or immunities (rights) of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

15th Amendment (1870)Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged (limited) by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Document #2

1. “No negro or freedman shall be allowed to come within the limits of the town of Opelousas without special permission from his employers. Whoever breaks this law will go to jail and work for two days on the public streets, or pay a fine of five dollars.”

2. “No negro or freedman shall be permitted to rent or keep a house in town under any circumstances. No negro or freedman shall live within the town who does not work for some white person or former owner.”

3. “No public meetings of negroes or freedmen shall be allowed within the town.”

4. “No freedman shall be allowed to carry firearms, or any kind of weapons. No freedman shall sell or exchange any article of merchandise within the limits of Opelousas without permission in writing from his employer.”

5. “Every negro is to be in the service of (work for) some white person, or former owner.”

Source: In the years following the Civil War, throughout the South, state, city, and town governments passed laws to restrict the rights of free African American men and women. These laws were often called “Black Codes.” The examples above of “Black Codes” come from laws passed in Opelousas, Louisiana, immediately after the Civil War.

Document #3

Political Cartoon; Title - "African Americans and White Americans have two very different paths to the voting booth."

Document #4

In 1865, the United States government created the Freedman’s Bureau to help former slaves in Southern states. The Freedman’s Bureau helped people by providing medical supplies, health care, and establishing schools. The creation of schools for former slaves was an important part of Reconstruction. Before the Civil War, Southern states outlawed the teaching of reading and writing to slaves.

“Many of the negroes…common plantation negroes, and workers in the towns and villages, were supporting little schools themselves. Everywhere I found them hoping to get their children into schools. I often noticed that workers in stores and men working in warehouses, and cart drivers on the streets, had spelling books with them, and were studying them during the time they were not working. Go outside any large town in the south, and you will see children and in many cases grown negroes, sitting in the sun alongside their cabins studying.”

Source: Sydney Andrew, quoted in the Joint Report on Reconstruction, 1866. The above excerpt is from a report by a Northern white man to the United States government in 1866.

Document #5

During Reconstruction, thousands of African Americans were elected to local and state governments throughout the Southern states. In the South, seventeen African Americans were elected to the House of Representatives in the South. Below are six of these seventeen men that were elected.

Blanche Bruce Robert DeLarge Jefferson Long

US Senator US Representative US Representative Mississippi South Carolina Georgia 1875-1881 1871-1873 1871

Joseph Rainey Benjamin Turner Josiah Walls US Representative US Representative US Representative South Carolina Alabama Florida 1870-1879 1871-1873 1871-1876

Many of the black Congressmen spoke of the abuse they suffered while traveling to the Capitol (Washington DC). Joseph Rainey, for example, was removed from a hotel dining room; Robert Elliott was refused service at a

restaurant in a railroad station. A number of black Congressmen even faced death threats and defended themselves by posting armed guards at their

homes.

Name: Period:

Social Studies 8 Date: Enduring Issues Planning Sheet

Document Identify the issue in the document

Evidence from document

that supports the issue you

are identifying

How has the issue affected

people?

How has the issue

continued or changed over

time?

1

2

3

4

5

Name: Period:

Social Studies 8 Date:

Enduring Issues Essay Response Guide

Introduction Paragraph:Through the course of history, every society has had to address enduring issues with different results. One enduring issue is (issue). This issue was apparent during the era of (time period) when (example). Like with all enduring issues, (issue) has affected and been affected by people and has continued to be an enduring issue.

Body Paragraphs: Be specific and elaborate – tell the reader what the issue is and how it is evident in

the documents you have chosen Be specific and elaborate – write how the issue has affected people or been

affected by people Use information from TWO documents and include outside information to

support your issue as well

Conclusion Paragraph: Restate what you believe the enduring issue is Explain how that issue has affected people or been affected by people (no details) What impact has this enduring issue had on the present?

(Chosen Issue) is an enduring that has affected American society. Both (topic of first chosen document) and (topic of second chosen document) have impacted the issue of (Chosen Issue) throughout US history. (Chosen Issue) will continue to impact American society in a (positive/negative) way until (what happens…).

Enduring Issues Essay Rubric1 2 3 4

Understanding of Topic

The student did not show an adequate understanding of the topic.

The student seemed to understand the main points of the topic, but didn’t present with ease.

The student clearly understood the topic in depth and presented their information with ease.

The student clearly understood the topic in depth and presented their information forcefully and convincingly.

Structure of Paragraphs

Shows limited understanding of the task; omits concrete examples; details weak or nonexistent.Attempts to complete the Task, but demonstrates a major weakness in organization.

Attempts to address the task but uses vague and/or inaccurate information.Writes a poorly organized essay, lacking focus and using few facts, examples, and details; includes information that includes inaccuracies.

Supports the introduction with relevant facts, examples, and details, but discussion may be more descriptive than analytical.Addresses all aspects of the task by accurately analyzing and interpreting a majority of the documents.

Richly supports the introduction with relevant facts, examples, and details.Writes a well-written essay, consistently demonstrating a logical and clear plan of organization and including one main point per paragraph.

Identification of an enduring issue

Student does not identify an enduring issue and does not provide any documents in their discussion.

Student is able to somewhat identify an enduring issue; however, they make no use of the documents and outside information.

Student is able to identify an enduring issue; however, they make limited use of the documents.

Student is able to identify an enduring issue and use at least three documents and outside information in their interpretation.

Argument Student is unable to argue the enduring issue, not using outside information or the documents.

Student is able to argue the enduring issue only using the documents.

Student is able to argue the enduring issue; however, they make limited use of documents and little outside information.

Student is able to argue how the enduring issue has affected people using documents and outside information.

Name: Period:

Social Studies 8 Date:

Enduring Issues Essay - Reconstruction