1. T H E R E C O N S T R U C T I O N E R A A N D
T H E F R A G I L I T Y O F D E M O C R A C Y
B A C K L A S H A N D V I O L E N C E
J U L Y 7 - 9 , 2 0 1 5
G E N E A U T R Y M U S E U M

2.  Essential Questions:
 How do racial stereotypes
in the media create and
reinforce “in” groups and
“out “ groups?
 How do the choices of the
media shape society and
public opinion?
(Lesson 12)
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media

3.  “We all know we are unique individuals, but we tend to see others as
representatives of groups. It’s a natural tendency, since we must see
the world in patterns in order to make sense of it; we wouldn’t be able
to deal with the daily onslaught of people and objects if we couldn’t
predict a lot about them and feel that we know who or what they are.”
– Psychologist Deborah Tannen
(p. 199)
TPS (Think- Pair – Share)
 Do you agree?
 What is the benefit of viewing others as representatives of groups
 When is it offensive or harmful to see others in this way?
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media

4.  Throughout the Civil War and the Reconstruction era, freedpeople were
common subjects of drawings and cartoons by newspaper artists and their
depictions varied widely.
“Douglass on Media Images of African Americans”
(handout 12.1, p. 202)
 Discussion: What is Douglass suggesting about the
power of stereotypes? How can stereotypes affect
the way that we think about and treat others?
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media: Frederick Douglass

5.  The power of the media to
shape public opinion grew
enormously in the middle of
the nineteenth century.
 Newspapers had the largest
audience and typically
identified themselves with
particular political parties and
therefore a very partisan
lens.
 The conflict over the
meaning of freedom and
equality for African
Americans was fought in
myriad ways – including
newspapers and other
media.
 The New York World, a
daily paper, supported
the Democratic party
and had a readership of
about 500,000.
 Harper’s Weekly
supported the
Republican party and
was read by 100,000
Americans each week.
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media: Context

6.  The ways in which
Northerners viewed
African Americans had a
profound impact on public
support for
Reconstruction.
 Perhaps no one
popularized the art of
newspaper drawings and
editorial cartoons more
than Harper’s Weekly’s
Thomas Nast.
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media: Thomas Nast

7.  Prompts:
 Identify the part of the image that first caught your eye
 Identify a part of the image that shows what this image is about
 Identify a part of the image that either perpetuates or challenges a
negative stereotype about African Americans
 Identify a part of the image that you think would have influenced the
audience’s opinion about whether or not freedpeople deserve protection
for the freedoms and rights they gained during Reconstruction.
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media: Thomas Nast

8.  Crop-it activity (p.200)
 Prompts:
 Identify the part of the image that first caught your eye
 Identify a part of the image that shows what this image is about
 Identify a part of the image that either perpetuates or challenges a
negative stereotype about African Americans
 Identify a part of the image that you think would have influenced the
audience’s opinion about whether or not freedpeople deserve protection
for the freedoms and rights they gained during Reconstruction.
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media: Thomas Nast

9. “The Georgetown Election – The Negro at the Ballot Box” (1867)

10. “Colored Rule in a Reconstructed State” (205) (The members call each other thieves, liars,
rascals, and cowards.) Columbia. "You are Aping the lowest Whites. If you disgrace your Race
in this way you had better take Back Seats.“
- Published in Harper’s Weekly (1874)

11. h
Film clip:
“Thomas Nast and Northern
Racism” under Special
features
Reconstruction: The Second
Civil War
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media: Thomas Nast
 Through the crop-it activity,
what did you notice about
Nast’s portrayal of African
Americans?

12. What can we learn from Thomas Nast’s images?
 Nast’s body of work provides a case study of the variety of often-contradictory
ways that African-Americans were portrayed in Reconstruction-era media.
 Nast’s visual commentary sheds light on the changing attitudes of many white
northerners during the 1870s and provides examples of the power of the media
to shape those opinions.
 “Nast never adopted an entirely positive view of black Americans. Like
everyone else of his generation, he grew to maturity in a world where race
usually determined destiny. The same sensitivity to cultural norms that helped
the cartoonist respond to public tastes and tickle a reader’s fancy made him
vulnerable to stereotyping.” – Biographer Fiona Halloran
 How might an exploration of historical media allow/empower students to
look at contemporary media?
Reflections of Race in Nineteenth-Century
Media: Thomas Nast

13.  “Every revolution we have causes a counter-
revolution” –Historian David Blight
 What does Blight mean? Do you agree/disagree? Give evidence to support
you claim from your own experiences, other histories, current events.
Backlash, Violence and Redemption:
Part One

14. • How should a democratic society respond to
violence and terror?
• What power do bystanders and upstanders have
in response?
• What makes democracy fragile? What can be
done to protect and strengthen democracy?
Essential Questions

15. p“Klansmen Broke Open My Door”
Pg. 176

16. Go back into the reading:
1) Underline a phrase (4-6 words) that
stands out to you—perhaps it seems
important to you or impacted you.
2) At the bottom of the page, write one
word that summarizes your reaction to this
reading
“Klansmen” Wraparound

17. When doing the wraparound, were there any
common themes that came up in peoples’
phrases or words they read? What does this tell
you?
Colby did not give in to the KKK demands
(renouncing the Radical ticket, accepting the
money).
“Klansmen” Debrief

18. Who are the people involved in attacking Colby?
What does that say about the KKK violence?
• Perpetrators
• Collaborators
• Bystanders
• Upstanders (rescuers, resistors)
• “A Nucleus of Ordinary Men,” pg. 178
• “Collaborators and Bystanders,” pg. 179
Range of Human Behavior

19. Analyzing The Causes of KKK Violence

20. KKK Violence
 Post Civil War
 More secretive; disguised
 Restore white supremacy
 Localized terror; organized by
citizens
 Quelled after Enforcement Acts
Redemption Paramilitary Violence
• Post 1873
• Sponsored by political parties; restore
Democratic rule in South
• Out in the open
• Based upon disrupting voting &
elections
• Quelled after 1877
From KKK to “Redemption” Violence

21. Defining “Redemption”

23. 1) You will be given a document to read that lays
out the platform of a paramilitary group during
Reconstruction:
#1 pg. 223 “South Carolina Red Shirts Battle
Plan”
#2 pg. 219 “Louisiana White League Platform”
2) As you read, annotate:
• What was the organization’s goal? How did
they justify their existence?
• How were ideas of we/they, ‘othering’ and race
manifested in your document?
Platforms & Paramilitary Violence

24. 3. When you are finished, find a partner who
read what you did not:
•Share what you learned from reading your
document
•Compare and contrast what you annotated.
•Discuss- How is “redemption” violence similar to
and different from Klan violence?

25. Step In and Out: Document Gallery Walk
Step In:
•What is going on in this specific
moment? What dilemma or
decision is being presented?
•What choice is depicted in the
document? What are the
consequences of the choices?
•What are the speaker’s
thoughts/feelings, concerns, and
observations?
Step Out:
•How do we regard this moment
today? (with the lens of the
present) What do you see or know
that the speaker might not have at
the time?
•Why is this event significant?
•What questions do you have
about this moment? For the
speaker?
1) Posted around the room are a selection of documents from lesson 13:
“Violence, Race & Redemption.” Walk around the room reading the
documents and comment using the Step In/Step Out Strategy:

26. What do these events tell us about why
Reconstruction ended?
Final thoughts:
pg. 241 “President Hayes Removes the Remaining Troops”
pg. 242 “Chamberlain Decries the End of Republican Rule”
What questions do you have about this history?
HMWK Blog: Bryan Stevenson Video (see email from Mary Hendra
What makes democracy fragile?
What can be done to protect and strengthen democracy?
Wrap Up Questions