Assignment #04

ACIE American History - Cambridge International Examinations

Mr. Anthony Perno and Mr. Victor Wisniski – American Senior High School – 2009/2010 School Year

Syllabus Excerpt: II Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861-1877

. . . Reconstruction: legacies of the war: devastated South and booming North. Lincoln’s programme for rebels. Johnson’s Reconstruction programme, Congressional opposition. Radical Congressional Reconstruction, impeachment of Johnson. Effects of Reconstruction on freedmen, and on the White South. Grant’s administrations, changing emphasis. Erosion of black rights, reinstatement of white supremacy. Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction. How far did Reconstruction advance the position of the former slaves? . . .

· Reading Assignment: America, Past and Present, Chapter #16, The Agony of Reconstruction, pages 451-475

· Assignment: Using the above reading assignment, the student will prepare to answer the following essay questions. (One question will be chosen randomly the day of the exam.) The essay should encompass all pertinent syllabus topics.

1. Why were the gains made by the Freedmen during Reconstruction both superficial and short-lived?

2. To what extent did the former slaves benefit from Reconstruction policies between 1865 and 1877?

3. Assess the respective strengths and weaknesses of Presidential and Congressional Reconstruction policies.

1. How was it that the original high ideals of post-war Reconstruction ended with the 1877 Compromise?