Today we focused on Cam's term assignment, and he wrote the section of his narrative that led up to and included President Lincoln's assassination. Cam asked many questions regarding John Wilkes Booth, including how he escaped and was captured, and details about how Lincoln was cared for, to fill in details for his narrative and was engaged in the process. This allowed us to go into more detail and engage Cam in this important historical event. He is continuing with a very interesting and well-written project.

Lesson 2 /Chapter 16: Reconstruction and the New South (1863 - 1896)
Standards Met:
SS.912.A.2.2: Assess the influence of significant people or groups on Reconstruction.
SS.912.A.2.3: Describe the issues that divided Republicans during the early Reconstruction era.
SS.912.A.2.4: Distinguish the freedoms guaranteed to African Americans and other groups with the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution.
SS.912.A.2.5: Assess how Jim Crow Laws influenced life for African Americans and other racial/ethnic minority groups.
SS.912.A.2.6: Compare the effects of the Black Codes and the Nadir on freed people, and analyze the sharecropping system and debt peonage as practiced in the United States.
SS.912.A.2.7: Review the Native American experience.
SS.912.A.3.1: Analyze the economic challenges to American farmers and farmers' responses to these challenges in the mid to late 1800s.

U.S. History Lesson 2: The Reconstruction
What did Reconstruction entail after The Civil War?
Rebuilding homes and shops: Vast stretches of land in the South lay in ruins
Rebuilding social and Political systems
What provisions would be made for people living in slavery?
Homeless refugees - African American and White - needed shelter, food and work

What plans were initially suggested to “Reconstruct” the South and bring seceded states back into the Union?
Lincoln: Ten Percent Plan - First Plan, December, 1863
Abraham Lincoln Introduced to bind Union as quickly as possible
If ten percent of a state’s voters swore an oath of loyalty to the U.S. they could organize a state government
State government would be required to declare and end to slavery
State government would then be allowed to send members to Congress and take part in National government again
Amnesty / Pardon for former Confederates who took the Oath (but not top government officials or leaders)
Congress: Wade Davis Bill - Second Plan, 1864, MUCH STRICTER
“Radical Republicans” introduced, Congress passed this Bill
50% of voters must sign a loyalty oath before state could return to Union
Anyone who voluntarily fought for Confederacy barred from voting for delegates
Lincoln would not sign this Bill and it NEVER BECAME LAW
Freedman’s Bureau Created, March 1865
Created to deal with needs of enslaved peoples freed by the War and other refugees
Set up schools to teach these peoples to read and write
Edmonia Highgate, the daughter of freed slaves, taught at a Freedman’s Bureau school and spoke about her students coming from plantations 3-8 miles away on foot because they were so eager to learn
Freedman’s Bureau helped freedmen find jobs
Freedmen’s Bureau resolved disputes between whites and blacks
Murder of Abraham Lincoln (1865)
Shot dead on April 14, 1865 (five days after General Lee’s surrender at APPOMATTOX) by Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth (do you know the story?)
Booth was killed two weeks later with a pistol after being pursued into a barn that the pursuers set on fire
Lincoln’s death shocked the Nation
VP Andrew Johnson of Tennessee becomes President (1865)
Johnson was a Southern Democrat who had remained loyal to the Union
Many people thought he would take a strict approach to the South and Reconstruction, but he followed Lincoln’s approach and proposed a relatively lenient plan, putting his plan into effect himself, without consulting Congress
The Thirteenth Amendment to Our Constitution (1865): Abolishes slavery and forced labor throughout the Nation

Today Cam had a short end-of-topic quiz on the causes and consequences of The Civil War. Cam got 100% on his multiple choice questions, recalling the Emancipation Proclamation, John Brown, Dred Scott, The Compromise of 1850 and other important people and events. He also received bonus points for discussing Abraham Lincoln's reasons for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. He knew this was not done primarily for altruistic reasons, and that Lincoln was more concerned with taking military and economic power away from the South to hamper their ability to continue fighting the war. We then went to the computers and discussed researching a question. We looked into Greenland to determine why some people are calling it a "territory of the U.S." We examined some questions around this, and spoke about the importance of using accurate sources to obtain our information.

Cam had a short quiz today to reinforce his learning of certain concepts, and to begin to assess and improve enjoyment and comfort level with test-taking. We also read a primary source written in 1865 which was a famous letter from a freed (formerly enslaved) man to his former "master" and discussed it at length. We also discussed some of the consequences/outcomes of the Civil War.

Today we reviewed Dred Scott, discussed strategies to remember the name and important points about the decision. We also learned about Fort Sumter and discussed the difficulty of the situation Abraham Lincoln faced and how he tried to avoid war but was unsuccessful. We talked about why his attempts at peaceful intervention may have failed (did the South want a War?) and also talked about empathy versus sympathy and tried to imagine what it would feel like to be these different characters in these situations. I think this will help feed Cam's imagination for his narrative, which he started yesterday and is excited about. Tomorrow we will do a week's end recap of our entire topic and next week we will move on to the consequences of the Civil War.

Today's lesson focused on responsibilities. We discussed the difference between personal responsibilities for oneself and family, and civic responsibilities for one's community and country. Then, Remington answered questions on the material and wrote down two other ways that he could be responsible.

Same outline

Review Causes of the Civil War

Introduction:

Most Obvious Cause of Civil War —> Conflict about slavery and the future of African Americans

This was an old conflict that deepened as the U.S. expanded into the West: Do You Remember Hamilton’s Cabinet Battle #1?

Jefferson: “We plant seeds in the South, we create”...

Hamilton: “We know who’s REALLY doing the planting


—> Let’s discuss the conflict about slavery: Was it a moral dispute, a dispute about land/power… or both?

Remember: The North’s industrial economy favored free laborers, economic growth and competition; the South’s economy thrived based on slave labor, so the economy and power of North versus South was a big factor.

As new territories were added to the United States, the struggle over slavery and states rights was renewed
The new territory gained in the Mexican American war threatened to destroy the balance of slave states vs. free states established by the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which had created a balance 15/15 of slave states to free states
The gold rush and proposal of California as a free state also threatened the balance
Compromise of 1850: A total FAILURE!!!!
Promoted by Senator Stephen Douglas
CA admitted as a free state
Mexican American War territories slave status decided by popular vote
No slavery in D.C.
Fugitive Slave Law in the North, which northerners resisted and which increased their hatred of slavery
Kansas - Nebraska Act: Also not successful in calming the dispute
Proposed by Senator Stephen Douglas
To encourage development of lands where slavery had been prohibited previously in the Missouri Compromise.
To win Southern support, proposed that slavery could be determined by popular vote, negating Missouri Compromise and angering northerners
Violence in the Senate in Kansas (Bleeding Kansas) as an abolitionist Senator was physically attacked and badly injured after making an anti-slavery speech attacking pro-slavery collegues

Today, Remi and I worked from the Social Studies book and focused on community members. First, we focused on teachers and how they taught reading, writing, and numbers. Next, we focused on Watch Groups and Police. As towns got bigger, police forces were created. Then, we saw coopers making barrels to store things such as meat, eggs, and apples. They sealed the barrels so air and water would not get in. After that, we explored fireworks and the Fourth of July. We learned that John Adams said we should have fireworks on Independence Day to celebrate that we are free. Lastly, we looked at a fire in a town long ago. Everyone helps put out the fire. Neighbors help one another with mowing the grass, babysitting, putting the trash out, driving one another to appointments, and cooking and baking for one another.

We discussed community helpers. We watched a Nearpod lesson that focused on community helpers including teachers, doctors, mailmen, barbers, and the like. By the end of the lesson, Remi was able to identify the community helpers by what they can offer.