Lecture 1 Exercise

At the close of the Civil War, American leaders faced the daunting prospect of reintegrating states and citizens that had chosen to leave the United States.  Historians label the period Reconstruction, and while that term is as good as any other, it masks the enormity of the task.

In this exercise, you will take the responsibility for creating society anew.  As you do so, these are a few things you will want to consider when creating your new, post-war society.

• Education
• Religion
• Compensation for slaves
• Redistribution of land
• Amnesty
• Freedman's Bureau
• Revenge for lost lives, property
• Guaranteeing that such a war will never again be necessary
• Guarantees that African Americans will no longer be enslaved
• Enfranchisement
• Pardons for Confederate leaders and owners of substantial property
• Citizenship for African Americans
• Free Labor advocates and the problem of "giving" land to freedmen
• Military rule in the vanquished South
• New state constitutions
• Placing some acts committed by individuals under federal rather than state law
• Civil rights legislation

Here are some guidelines:

1.  You may create a different outcome than the people of the 1860s did, but you must remain cognizant of historical realities.

2.  Incorporate as many socio-cultural factors as you can.

3.  Be prepared to defend your choices.