Chapter 14: Reconstruction in the United States and Louisiana
This assignment explores how the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments changed individual rights in the United States and examines the impact of Reconstruction on Louisiana and the nation. Read the background information and sources carefully before answering the questions. Use accurate historical details and evidence to support your responses.
Group 1
Background Information:
After the Civil War, the United States entered a period known as Reconstruction (1865-1877). During this time, the federal government worked to rebuild the Southern states and integrate formerly enslaved people into society as free citizens. Three important amendments were added to the U.S. Constitution:
- The 13th Amendment (1865) abolished slavery in the United States.
- The 14th Amendment (1868) granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the U.S. and promised equal protection under the law.
- The 15th Amendment (1870) stated that citizens could not be denied the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.
These amendments were designed to expand rights and freedoms for African Americans and other citizens.
Question 1a
Explain two ways the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments affected individual rights and freedoms in the United States. Use accurate historical details in your response.
Group 2
Use the sources provided and your knowledge of social studies to answer the following question. Remember to make a clear claim, support your claim with evidence from the sources and your own knowledge, and explain how your evidence supports your claim.
Source 2.1
Source 1: Excerpt from the Louisiana Black Codes (1865)
Section 1. Be it enacted... That no negro or freedman shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within any town or city in this State, under any circumstances, unless he obtains the consent in writing of the police authorities of the town or city in which he resides.
Section 2. ...Every negro is required to be in the regular service of some white person, or former owner, who shall be held responsible for the conduct of said negro.
Source 2: Excerpt from the Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction 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 the privileges or immunities 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."
Source 3: Excerpt from a Freedmen's Bureau Report (1867)
"The Bureau has established schools for freedmen and their children, provided food and medical care, and helped negotiate labor contracts. Many freed people are eager to learn and participate in the new society, but face resistance from former slaveholders and local governments."
Compiled from primary sources: Louisiana Black Codes (1865), U.S. Constitution, Freedmen's Bureau Reports, and Congressional Reconstruction Acts.
Source 2.2
Source 4: Map of Congressional Reconstruction (1867)
Question 2a
How did Reconstruction affect the development of Louisiana and the United States?
- Make a clear claim that answers the question
- Support your claim with evidence from the sources and relevant content knowledge
- Explain how the evidence and knowledge support your claim
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