Name:

Life in the Reconstruction South: The Freedman’s Bureau vs. Reality

Objective: Students will gather information and develop an argument about whether the
Freedman’s Bureau was effective or ineffective in their mission to aid freed enslaved peoples in
developing a prosperous life during Reconstruction.

Assignment Directions:
This Webercise assignment will help you gain understanding of the nature of life for
recently freed Black Americans in the Reconstruction South. For each step of this worksheet,
you will click on the link provided and read the article or a section of the article. Use the
information gained from the reading to answer the given questions using full sentences. Proceed
through the assignment in the order that the sections appear, as the information that you learn
will help you answer an overarching question at the end of the worksheet.
Within each section, the questions will promote different levels of thinking, with some
checking for knowledge and others asking you to analyze (compare/contrast, differentiate, etc.),
synthesize (discuss), and evaluate (make an argument using evidence you have gathered)
information from the websites. The recommended number of sentences and point totals for each
type of question will be listed with the question. Lower order thinking questions are worth 1-2
points, and higher order thinking questions are worth 3-5 points. This assignment is worth 35
points overall.

Section I: Reconstruction Review

To answer these questions, click on this link, and scroll down to the section titled
“Reconstruction”: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/civil-war-
era/reconstruction/a/life-after-slavery

1. When did the period of Reconstruction begin and end? (1 Sentence/1 Point)

2. Describe what each Reconstruction Amendment did: (1 Point)

1
a. Thirteenth Amendment (1 Sentence/ Point)
3

1
b. Fourteenth Amendment (1 Sentence/ Point)
3

1
c. Fifteenth Amendment (1 Sentence/ Point)
3
 Section II: The Freedmen’s Bureau
To answer these questions, click on this link and scroll down to the section entitled “History of
the Freedmen’s Bureau”: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/initiatives/freedmens-bureau-records

1. Why was the Freedmen’s Bureau established? (1 Sentence/1 Point)

2. During what years did the Freedman’s Bureau operate? (1 Sentence/1 Point)

3. Discuss the specific duties of the Freedmen’s Bureau and choose the duties that you believe
were the most important. Explain your choices: (2-4 Sentences/4 Points)

4. Make a prediction about whether you think the Freedmen’s Bureau was effective or
ineffective at fulfilling the duties that you chose as most important: (1 Sentence/1 Point)

Section III: Sharecropping

To answer these questions about Sharecropping, click on this link and read the entire article:
https://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=2&psid=3100

1. Explain what sharecropping was and how it came into existence: (2-3 sentences/2 Points)

2. Compare and contrast the sharecropping system with the system of slavery. How were they
similar? How were they different? (4-5 sentences/4 Points)
 Section IV: Black Codes
To answer these questions about Black Codes, click on this link, scroll down to the section titled
“Passage of the Black Codes,” and read the remainder of the article:
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/black-codes

1. What rights did the Black Codes guarantee? What rights did they restrict? (2 sentences/2
Points)

2. Discuss how the Reconstruction Act and the Fifteenth Amendment were related to Black
Codes, including the aim of each act: (2-4 Sentences/4 Points)

3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the above legislative efforts to undermine Black Codes. Were
they effective or ineffective? Give evidence to justify your answer. (2-4 Sentences/4 Points)

Section V: Jim Crow and Segregation

To answer the questions about Jim Crow laws and segregation, click on this link and read from
the beginning of the article until “Plessy v. Ferguson”:
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/the-gilded-age/south-after-civil-war/a/jim-
crow

1. What years were Jim Crow laws active during? (1 Sentence/1 Point)

2. Analyze the differences between legal and social Jim Crow practices. What are some
examples of each? Was one more detrimental than the other to Black Americans, why or why
not? (2-4 Sentences/4 Points)

Final Question:
Use the previous information that you have gathered in this Webercise to develop an argument
for this question, and support your argument with evidence from previous answers:

1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the Freedman’s Bureau. Taking into account the duties of the
Freedman’s Bureau and the various socioeconomic and political obstacles that Black
Americans faced during and after Reconstruction, do you believe that the Freedmen’s Bureau
succeeded or failed in achieving its goals? (5-6 Sentences/5 Points)
Final Score: /35