Exam Essay – Learning Module 3

History 102 – Fall 2010

Overview:

· Submit the essay on or before midnight, December 6.

· Include your full name and “History 102” in the Subject box of the email form

· Send the exam essay to 10susanoliver@gmail.com.

· This essay counts 30 points. The scope of each of the possible essays suggest that your exam essay would likely be no less that 300 – 500 words.

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Category Four (30 points): Research Report on Reconstruction (Exam Essay)

This “research report” is the exam essay for Learning Module 4. It is worth 30 points. It is due on or before December 6. Your exam essay must include information from the website The Meaning of Freedom: Black and White Responses to the End of Slavery as well as the relevant pages in the textbook.

Essay Topic: It is 1880. You have completed your research study on Reconstruction, as requested by the federal government. Now you need to write your report. In this report, you will examine the positive and negative outcomes of the policies, programs, and laws (reconstruction amendments) on the freedmen and white southerners.

For this you will examine (1) the federal reconstruction plans; (2) the similarities and differences of the “meaning of freedom” for freedmen and white southerners; and (3) the attitudes and actions toward free labor. Throughout your report, you will provide specific examples from your research. Feel free to include images from American Reconstruction to illustrate your points.

In addition to providing this analysis, you will conclude your report by offering your opinion on the following question: “If the purpose of Reconstruction was to create a social, political and framework in which white southerners and former slaves could co-exist in a democratic system, do you think that Reconstruction was a success or failure? Be sure to consider the contents and implications of the Reconstruction Amendments (13^th, 14^th, 15^th) in this conclusion.