Rockin American History (08-09)

Today, we discussed how to properly outline an essay.

Together, we created an outline answering the following question: “How did the government reconstruct the South during the time period 1865 to 1877?”

The sample outline looked something like this:

• Introduction
  • Background information about Civil War/Reconstruction
  • Thesis Statement
• The government attempted to rebuild the economy of the South…
  • They helped businesses
  • The Bank Act helped stabilize the money supply.
  • Public Works Programs helped rebuild roads and railroads in the South.
• The government extended political rights to African Americans…
  • The 13th Amendment abolished slavery.
  • The 14th Amendment granted African Americans citizenship.
  • The 15th Amendment gave African Americans the right to vote.
• The government politically reconstructed the South by bringing the Southern states back into the Union.
  • Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan
  • Johnson’s Plan – Presidential Reconstruction
  • Congressional Reconstruction and the Reconstruction Act of 1867
• Conclusion
  • Restate/summarize
  • Conclude: Was it successful?

The classwork assignment for today and tomorrow is to create a similar outline for a different question.  The outline should follow the same format.  You should have three general reasons that answer the question, and each of these reasons should be supported by three specific examples.

The question is:  “Why did Reconstruction come to an end in 1877?”

Although this assignment should have completed by the end of Friday, it will not be collected until next week.  Keep it with you and bring it the day of the test (June 3).  You may use it to help you write the essay on the test, and you should hand your outline in after completing the test for a separate classwork grade.