ACT - Reconstruction

Reconstruction The Civil War was a catastrophe for the South with no parallel in America’s experience as a nation. Towns had been gutted, plantations burned, fields neglected, bridges and railroads destroyed. Many white Southerners, stripped of their slaves through emancipation and stripped of the capital they had invested in, now-worthless Confederate bonds and currency, and had almost no personal property. Many families had to rebuild their fortunes without the help of adult males, massive numbers of whom had died in the war. Some white Southerners faced starvation and homelessness. The United States also grappled with the question of how to integrate millions of newly freed African Americans into social, political, and labor systems.
Read and carefully consider these perspectives. Each suggests a particular way of thinking about what the best course of action for Reconstruction of the South would be following the Civil War. Perspective 1 When 10% of the people in a Southern seceded state voted to re-enter the Union and accepted Emancipation, they could come back into the United States. Perspective 2 Amnesty for ex-rebels, except those holding over $20,000 in property. Southern states would also have to uphold the 13th Amendment and draw up new constitutions. Perspective 3 The former Confederacy must be divided into military occupied districts to ensure abolition and civil rights for newly freed African Americans. Essay Task Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on the different plans for Reconstruction in the United States following the Civil War. In your essay, be sure to: • analyze and evaluate the perspectives given • state and develop your own perspective on the issue • explain the relationship between your perspective and those given Your perspective may be in full agreement with any of the others, in partial agreement, or wholly different. Whatever the case, support your ideas with logical reasoning and detailed, persuasive examples.