Adelbert Ames become the elected governor of Mississippi during the Reconstruction era.
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Rep. Robert B. Elliott gave a speech to advocate for the Civil Rights Act, which passed a year later.
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Staged ride-ins during Reconstruction in South Carolina were among the first (recorded) organized protests of segregation on a streetcar.
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The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution was formally adopted.
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African Americans in Richmond, Virginia organized protests against segregated streetcars.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Russell Duncan. 1986. 192 pages.
Freedom’s Shore tells the incredible story of Tunis Campbell, a Northern abolitionist minister who heads South after the Civil War to help freedpeople in Georgia.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Tonya Bolden. 2014. 138 pages.
One of the few non-fiction texts on Reconstruction aimed at young readers, Cause is a strong alternative to the textbook treatment of the era.
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Book — Non-fiction. By Manisha Sinha. 2017. 784 pages.
A groundbreaking history of abolition that recovers the largely forgotten role of African Americans in the long march toward emancipation from the American Revolution through the Civil War.
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Digital collection. This website publishes thousands of “Information Wanted” advertisements taken out by people freed from slavery who are searching for family members who had been sold apart.
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Film. By Elizabeth Deane and Dion Graham. 2004. 174 minutes.
Through the voices of several historians and dramatic re-enactments by actors, PBS’s Reconstruction: The Second Civil War uses the stories of ordinary citizens to paint a picture of the Reconstruction era.
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The New York City Tompkins Square Riot occurred during a devastating economic depression.
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During a clear sign of Reconstruction era voter suppression, a Black militia was accused of blocking a road and punished with the Hamburg Massacre.
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The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted.
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The Southern Homestead Act of 1866 was signed, providing land to the formerly enslaved, lands which had been stolen from the Native American inhabitants.
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Article. By Amy Trenkle.
One of the teachers who piloted the Make Reconstruction History Visible project with her students shares the process she used.
Teaching Activity by Amy Trenkle
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Book — Non-fiction. By Lerone Bennett Jr. 1967. 426 pages.
A bottom-up, student friendly text about the people's history of Reconstruction.
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Encampments of Comanches, Kiowas, Kiowa Apaches, Cheyennes, and Arapahos were attacked by the U.S. military.
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In response to the promotion of voter registration, a KKK-like group massacred hundreds of people, most of whom were African American.
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The New Orleans Tribune was launched and published daily in French and English by Louis Charles Roudanez.
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Deadly election “riots” took place in Barbour County, Alabama against African American politicians and voters.
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White people attacked and killed many Black citizens who had organized for a Black sheriff to remain in office during the Vicksburg Massacre.
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Nearly 50 African-Americans were killed by white mobs during the Clinton Riot.
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The Georgia Constitutional Convention was held with 33 African Americans and 137 white attendees.
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P. B. S. Pinchback of Louisiana became the second Black governor in the United States.
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Joseph H. Rainey, from South Carolina, was the first African-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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