Name: Teacher: Date: Class/Period: 1) 2) 3)
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10) 11)
Task Please use the space below to write your response(s) to the writing assignment provided by your teacher. If there are multiple tasks to the question, please clearly label the number or letter of each task in the column to the left of your answers. If you need additional pages for your response, your teacher can provide them. Please write the name of the writing assignment here:
Answer Key 1) A 2) B 3) A 4) B 5) C 6) B 7) B 8) B 9) D 10) A
Scoring Criteria: 11) Students should write an essay in which they explain the circumstances in which freedmen found themselves after the Civil War and assess whether or not freedmen were provided with the protection to which they [were] entitled both by right and by law. Students must incorporate discussion of the specific legal protections or assistance given in two of the three bulleted points below. The Civil Rights Amendments Congress ratified the Thirteenth (1865), Fourteenth (1868), and Fifteenth (1870) Amendments to the Constitution during Reconstruction. The Thirteenth Amendment forbids slavery in the United States or any area under its control. Although slavery was abolished, this amendment offered no provisions to assist former slaves in their new lives. Freedom was very difficult for them; freedmen were not citizens, could not vote, did not own land, and many lived in areas of the country where discrimination was common. The Fourteenth Amendment defines citizenship, extends the guarantee of rights to all citizens, and explicates the rights of due process and equal protection relative to the treatment of individuals under state and local governments. This amendment provided that if a state denied the right to vote to any group of men, that state s representation in Congress would be reduced. Former slaves were counted as a full person after this amendment (not three-fifths of a person, as before) in regards to determining the number of state representatives. However, freedmen were still not given the right to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment guarantees voting rights for (male) citizens regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This amendment opened the door to literacy tests, property qualifications, and poll taxes as ways to still exclude blacks from voting. (The Fifteenth Amendment still did not extend voting rights to women.) The Civil Rights Act of 1866 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to invalidate the Black Codes, which were passed by former slave states in response to the Thirteenth Amendment. The Black Codes included all of the laws and regulations imposed by state or local officials to restrict the movement and constrain the social, political, and economic opportunities of freedmen. In short, the Black Codes were designed to reinforce segregation in a postslavery context. The Civil Rights Act of 1866, passed by Congress over President Andrew Johnson s veto, declared all persons born in the United States not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed, were citizens, and extended to them the legal rights to make and enter into contracts, bring lawsuits, and bear witness in courts of law. In addition, as citizens they could inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real estate and personal property. Housing discrimination, a serious difficulty for a freedman, was not addressed by this act. It was illegal to deny anyone housing based on race, but the act gave no federal solutions, and settlements were left to the parties involved. Since most freedmen had little or no access to legal help, this left many victims of discrimination without recourse.
The Freedmen s Bureau Congress established the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen s Bureau) and passed the Supplemental Act of 1866 that extended the life of the Bureau and expanded its powers. The Bureau provided emergency aid to Civil War refugees, most notably freed slaves. The chief work of the Bureau included food aid, resettlement and housing, medical aid, school construction and education, and employment assistance. The intent was to facilitate the transition and integration of freedmen and others displaced by the war into the national life. The Freedmen s Bureau lacked sufficient agents in the South; at its peak, the agency had only 1,000 employees to fulfill its responsibilities. Nonetheless, the Bureau was effective in providing medical care to all Southerners. While the Bureau did not establish schools per se, it did raise funds used for education of former slaves. One provision of the Bureau was to divide abandoned and confiscated land into forty-acre lots that would eventually be sold to freedmen. However, in 1865, President Andrew Johnson ordered that nearly all confiscated land be given back to its former owners, so the former slaves ultimately were not able to purchase land and a vast majority remained poor and without property.
Rub035 U.S. History Rubric: Analysis 4 A response at this level provides evidence of thorough knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. The essay demonstrates thoughtful interpretation and/or analysis of the historical issue and its implications. The essay provides insightful explanation of the topic, effectively using relevant and accurate facts, examples, and details. The essay effectively conveys knowledge and ideas. 3 A response at this level provides evidence of competent knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. The essay demonstrates reasonable interpretation and/or analysis of the historical issue and its implications. The essay provides sufficient explanation of the topic, appropriately using generally accurate facts, examples, and details. The essay adequately conveys knowledge and ideas. 2 A response at this level provides evidence of basic knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. The essay demonstrates incomplete or inconsistent interpretation and/or analysis of the historical issue and its implications. The essay provides some explanation of the topic. Facts, examples, and details included are partially correct, though a few may be incorrect or lack depth. The essay conveys knowledge and ideas somewhat unclearly. 1 A response at this level provides evidence of minimal knowledge and understanding of the subject matter. The essay demonstrates little or no interpretation and/or analysis of the historical issue and its implications. The essay provides little or no explanation of the topic. Facts, examples, and details included are mostly incorrect or lack depth. The essay conveys knowledge and ideas in a manner that is unclear and/or impedes understanding. 0 A response at this level is not scorable. The essay is off-topic, blank, hostile, or otherwise not scorable.