The document provides background on the Reconstruction period in American history after the Civil War. It notes that African Americans enjoyed significant political influence and rights from 1867 to 1875 during Reconstruction, more than before or after, which challenges the common American narrative of continual progress toward greater equality. The document outlines primary sources on Reconstruction to assist with analyzing whether the goals of Radical Reconstruction were feasible, if drastic societal transformation can occur through government action, and if a more gradual approach may have been more successful or had different costs.

1. The History of Reconstruction
Background:
Many Americans like to imagine the history of their nation as
one of continual progress. While acknowledging that not all
persons and groups enjoyed equal rights at all times, Americans
often take it for granted that American history moves in only
one direction: toward greater rights, greater freedom, and
greater equality. This perspective makes it difficult for many
Americans to understand the Reconstruction period and to place
it in a broader historical narrative. The problem they face is that
African Americans from roughly 1867 to 1875 enjoyed far more
political influence and equal rights than they ever had before, or
ever would again until the end of the modern Civil Rights
Movement almost a century later. The fact that a group could be
stripped of rights it once enjoyed is difficult for many
Americans to accept, and so they often retreat into a false
narrative, in which African Americans never gained any rights
at all, and were abandoned to their fate as soon as slavery
ended. In this model, the infamous Black Codes—which were in
effect for less than a year—take center stage, and the various
gains of Reconstruction get ignored.
Resources:
Review the following resources about the differences between
primary and secondary sources:
BeamLibrary. (2009, September 23).
Primary, secondary, tertiary sources
. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/L5DdedR_iF8
Review the
How to Research Primary Sources
and
How to Research Secondary Sources
in the Ashford Writing Center located in the Learning

2. Resources tab in the left navigation bar.
When responding to the questions, draw from at least
ONE
of the following primary sources and specifically cite them in
your post:
Bruce, B. K. (1876, March 31).
Speech in the Senate
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/blanche-k-bruce-speech-in-the-senate-march-31-1876.php
Johnson, J. R. (1865, Aug. 4).
Northern teacher to the Freedmen’s Bureau commissioner
.
Land and Labor
, 1865, pp. 699-700. Retrieved from
http://www.freedmen.umd.edu/J Johnson.htm
The Ku-Klux
. (1871, April 1). Harper’s Weekly, p. 281. Retrieved from
http://education.harpweek.com/KKKHearings/Article23.htm
United States Congress. (1866, April 9).
Civil Rights Act
. Retrieved from
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/reconstruction/section
4/section4_civrightsact1.html
Also, draw from the material in ONE of the following films:
Kunhardt, P., Kunhardt, P., III, and Steiner, N. (Producers).
(2002).
What is freedom?
. [Series Episode] from P. Kinhardt & S. Sheppard (Executive
Producers) Freedom: A History of US. United States: PBS.
Retrieved from
http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=44253&
aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=
Pollard, S. (Producer & Director). (2012).

3. Slavery by another name
. [Documentary]. United States: Twin Cities Public Television,
Inc. Retrieved from http://video.pbs.org/video/2176766758/
Instructions:
After reviewing your Instructor’s Guidance and completing the
weekly reading assignments (including those in the resource
section below), please post a substantive discussion post of at
least 200 words that analyzes the period of Reconstruction using
the following questions as the basis of your analysis:
Were the goals of Radical Reconstruction feasible ones?
Is it possible to transform a society drastically by government
action, or might attempts to do so prove counterproductive?
Would a more gradualist approach to extending rights to and
establishing freedom for African Americans have been more
successful?
What would be the costs and dangers of such an approach?
Your initial post should be no fewer than 200 words in length,
which does not include works cited or the questions being
answered. It should address all of the components of the
question in a way that demonstrates independent, critical
thought and command of the required material. It should not
merely repeat the material in the textbook or other sources, but
should use that material as the basis for an idiosyncratic
interpretation of the topic. All sources need to be cited using
proper APA format. If you borrow wording from a source, the
wording absolutely must be marked as a quotation.
In addition to your initial post, you should respond
substantially, in posts of no fewer than 100 words, to at least
two classmates and contribute to their analysis of the topic.
When responding to classmates, you should refer to the material
from one of the sources which you did not reference in your
initial post. Identify important points which they may have
missed which either support or challenge their interpretation.
Explain how their views have made you rethink your own

4. conclusions or offer perspectives which might help them regard
the topic in a different way. Feel free to ask probing questions
of your classmates, but, if you do, offer your own
interpretation. That is, don’t just respond, “What do you think
of X, Y, and Z?” Instead, respond, “What do you think of X? I
think W because of V, U, and T. On the other hand some might
point to S and R.” In short, the ideal response to a classmate
would involve you encouraging a classmate to see things from a
new perspective, even as you clarify and develop your own
thoughts as well.
The
Ashford Writing Center (AWC)
has two kinds of tutoring available to you.
Live Chat
– If you have writing-related questions about a topic before you
draft a discussion post or submit a written assignment, you will
now be able to chat live with a tutor for a short (up to 20
minute) conversation. Live Chat will be available Monday
through Friday from 10:00-11:00 am and 4:00-5:00 pm (PST).
AWC Live Chat
Email Paper Review
– If you have a draft, partial draft, or even if you’re having
trouble getting started, you can complete a submission form and
email your paper to the AWC for review.
Writing Tutors will do their best to return your paper with their
comments within 48 hours, not including Saturdays and
Sundays. Please plan accordingly if you would like to receive
feedback before an assignment due date.
AWC Email Paper Review
The Industrial Revolution
Background:

5. Too much corporate influence in politics; the specter of
socialist policies undermining capitalism and individual
freedoms; a middle class in apparent decline; waves of
immigration that threatened to alter the character of American
society; new technologies that introduced new social problems
as well as offering new opportunities; and a general sense that
the common people had lost control of their government: To a
sometimes surprising degree, the issues that troubled Americans
in the last quarter of the nineteenth century resembled our own.
The past often loses much of its vigor and tumult as it becomes
codified as history, and it can be difficult at times to understand
how truly revolutionary— transformative, disruptive,
unprecedented, and divisive—an event such as the Industrial
Revolution was for the people who lived through it.
Resources:
When composing your initial post and your responses to your
classmates, draw from the material in
AT LEAST TWO
of the following primary sources:
Bryan, W. J. (1896, July 8).
Cross of gold speech
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/william-jennings-bryan-cross-of-gold-speech-july-8-
1896.php
Carnegie, A. (June 1889).
Wealth
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/andrew-carnegie-wealth-june-1889.php
Chief Joseph. (1877-1879).
Chief Joseph speaks: Selected statements and speeches by the
Nez Percé chief
. Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/six/jospeak

6. .htm
Clark, F. E. (1912).
Our immigrants at Ellis Island
. Boston, MA: United Society of Christian Endeavor. Retrieved
from the Library of Congress at
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysources
ets/immigration/pdf/our_immigrants.pdf
Gompers, S. (Sept. 1894).
Letter on labor in industrial society to Judge Peter Grosscup
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/samuel-gompers-letter-on-labor-in-industrial-society-to-
judge-peter-grosscup-september-1894.php
United States Populist Party. (1892, July 4).
Populist Party platform
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/populist-party-platform-july-4-1892.php
White, A. W. (1896, Aug. 16).
What’s the matter with Kansas?
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/william-allen-white-whats-the-matter-with-kansas-august-
16-1896.php
Also draw from the material in
ONE
of the following videos:
Hawksworth, R. (Producer). (2001).
The American industrial revolution
[Video]. United States: Media Rich LLC. Retrieved from
http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=47596&
aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=
Robbins, A. (Director). (2011).
Industrial New York
. [Television series episode]. In E. Hardy. (Executive

7. producer),
Filthy Cities: A History of Public Sanitation (or Lack Thereof).
United Kingdom: BBC Productions. Retrieved from
http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=48012&
aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=
Instructions:
After reviewing your Instructor’s Guidance and completing the
weekly reading assignments (including those in the resource
section below), please post a substantive discussion post of at
least 200 words that analyzes how the revolutionary nature of
this period impacted either Native Americans, Immigrants or
Farmers, using the following questions as the basis of your
analysis:
What were the most revolutionary social and economic
developments of the last quarter of the nineteenth century?
How did different groups of Americans respond to those
changes and how effective were their responses?
What role did government play in these developments?
Your initial post should be no fewer than 200 words in length,
which does not include works cited or the questions being
answered. It should address all of the components of the
question in a way that demonstrates independent, critical
thought and command of the required material. It should not
merely repeat the material in the textbook or other sources, but
should use that material as the basis for an idiosyncratic
interpretation of the topic. All sources need to be cited using
proper APA format. If you borrow wording from a source, the
wording absolutely must be marked as a quotation.
In addition to your initial post, you should respond
substantially, in posts of no fewer than 100 words, to at least
two classmates and contribute to their analysis of the topic.
When responding to classmates, you should refer to the material
from one of the sources which you did not reference in your
initial post. Identify important points which they may have
missed which either support or challenge their interpretation.
Explain how their views have made you rethink your own

8. conclusions or offer perspectives which might help them regard
the topic in a different way. Feel free to ask probing questions
of your classmates, but, if you do, offer your own
interpretation. That is, don’t just respond, “What do you think
of X, Y, and Z?” Instead, respond, “What do you think of X? I
think W because of V, U, and T. On the other hand some might
point to S and R.” In short, the ideal response to a classmate
would involve you encouraging a classmate to see things from a
new perspective, even as you clarify and develop your own
thoughts as well.
The History of Reconstruction
Background:
Many Americans like to imagine the history of their nation as
one of continual progress. While acknowledging that not all
persons and groups enjoyed equal rights at all times, Americans
often take it for granted that American history moves in only
one direction: toward greater rights, greater freedom, and
greater equality. This perspective makes it difficult for many
Americans to understand the Reconstruction period and to place
it in a broader historical narrative. The problem they face is that
African Americans from roughly 1867 to 1875 enjoyed far more
political influence and equal rights than they ever had before, or
ever would again until the end of the modern Civil Rights
Movement almost a century later. The fact that a group could be
stripped of rights it once enjoyed is difficult for many
Americans to accept, and so they often retreat into a false
narrative, in which African Americans never gained any rights
at all, and were abandoned to their fate as soon as slavery
ended. In this model, the infamous Black Codes—which were
in effect for less than a year—take center stage, and the
various gains of Reconstruction get ignored.
Resources:
Review the following resources about the differences between
primary and secondary sources:

9. BeamLibrary. (2009, September 23).
Primary, secondary, tertiary sources
. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://youtu.be/L5DdedR_iF8
Review the
How to Research Primary Sources
and
How to Research Secondary Sources
in the Ashford Writing Center located in the Learning
Resources tab in the left navigation bar.
When responding to the questions, draw from at least
ONE
of the following primary sources and specifically cite them in
your post:
Bruce, B. K. (1876, March 31).
Speech in the Senate
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/blanche-k-bruce-speech-in-the-senate-march-31-1876.php
Johnson, J. R. (1865, Aug. 4).
Northern teacher to the Freedmen’s Bureau commissioner
.
Land and Labor
, 1865, pp. 699-700. Retrieved from
http://www.freedmen.umd.edu/J Johnson.htm
The Ku-Klux
. (1871, April 1). Harper’s Weekly, p. 281. Retrieved from
http://education.harpweek.com/KKKHearings/Article23.htm
United States Congress. (1866, April 9).
Civil Rights Act
. Retrieved from
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/exhibits/reconstruction/section
4/section4_civrightsact1.html
Also, draw from the material in ONE of the following films:
Kunhardt, P., Kunhardt, P., III, and Steiner, N. (Producers).
(2002).
What is freedom?
. [Series Episode] from P. Kinhardt & S. Sheppard (Executive

10. Producers) Freedom: A History of US. United States: PBS.
Retrieved from
http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=44253&
aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=
Pollard, S. (Producer & Director). (2012).
Slavery by another name
. [Documentary]. United States: Twin Cities Public Television,
Inc. Retrieved from http://video.pbs.org/video/2176766758/
Instructions:
After reviewing your Instructor’s Guidance and completing
the weekly reading assignments (including those in the resource
section below), please post a substantive discussion post of at
least 200 words that analyzes the period of Reconstruction using
the following questions as the basis of your analysis:
Were the goals of Radical Reconstruction feasible ones?
Is it possible to transform a society drastically by government
action, or might attempts to do so prove counterproductive?
Would a more gradualist approach to extending rights to and
establishing freedom for African Americans have been more
successful?
What would be the costs and dangers of such an approach?
Your initial post should be no fewer than 200 words in length,
which does not include works cited or the questions being
answered. It should address all of the components of the
question in a way that demonstrates independent, critical
thought and command of the required material. It should not
merely repeat the material in the textbook or other sources, but
should use that material as the basis for an idiosyncratic
interpretation of the topic. All sources need to be cited using
proper APA format. If you borrow wording from a source, the
wording absolutely must be marked as a quotation.
In addition to your initial post, you should respond
substantially, in posts of no fewer than 100 words, to at least
two classmates and contribute to their analysis of the topic.
When responding to classmates, you should refer to the material

11. from one of the sources which you did not reference in your
initial post. Identify important points which they may have
missed which either support or challenge their interpretation.
Explain how their views have made you rethink your own
conclusions or offer perspectives which might help them regard
the topic in a different way. Feel free to ask probing questions
of your classmates, but, if you do, offer your own
interpretation. That is, don’t just respond, “What do you
think of X, Y, and Z?†Instead, respond, “What do you
think of X? I think W because of V, U, and T. On the other hand
some might point to S and R.†In short, the ideal response to a
classmate would involve you encouraging a classmate to see
things from a new perspective, even as you clarify and develop
your own thoughts as well.
The
Ashford Writing Center (AWC)
has two kinds of tutoring available to you.
Live Chat
– If you have writing-related questions about a topic before
you draft a discussion post or submit a written assignment, you
will now be able to chat live with a tutor for a short (up to 20
minute) conversation. Live Chat will be available Monday
through Friday from 10:00-11:00 am and 4:00-5:00 pm (PST).
AWC Live Chat
Email Paper Review
– If you have a draft, partial draft, or even if you’re
having trouble getting started, you can complete a submission
form and email your paper to the AWC for review.
Writing Tutors will do their best to return your paper with their
comments within 48 hours, not including Saturdays and
Sundays. Please plan accordingly if you would like to receive
feedback before an assignment due date.
AWC Email Paper Review
The Industrial Revolution

12. Background:
Too much corporate influence in politics; the specter of
socialist policies undermining capitalism and individual
freedoms; a middle class in apparent decline; waves of
immigration that threatened to alter the character of American
society; new technologies that introduced new social problems
as well as offering new opportunities; and a general sense that
the common people had lost control of their government: To a
sometimes surprising degree, the issues that troubled Americans
in the last quarter of the nineteenth century resembled our own.
The past often loses much of its vigor and tumult as it becomes
codified as history, and it can be difficult at times to understand
how truly revolutionary— transformative, disruptive,
unprecedented, and divisive—an event such as the Industrial
Revolution was for the people who lived through it.
Resources:
When composing your initial post and your responses to your
classmates, draw from the material in
AT LEAST TWO
of the following primary sources:
Bryan, W. J. (1896, July 8).
Cross of gold speech
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/william-jennings-bryan-cross-of-gold-speech-july-8-
1896.php
Carnegie, A. (June 1889).
Wealth
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/andrew-carnegie-wealth-june-1889.php
Chief Joseph. (1877-1879).
Chief Joseph speaks: Selected statements and speeches by the
Nez Percé chief
. Retrieved from

13. http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/six/jospeak
.htm
Clark, F. E. (1912).
Our immigrants at Ellis Island
. Boston, MA: United Society of Christian Endeavor. Retrieved
from the Library of Congress at
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/primarysources
ets/immigration/pdf/our_immigrants.pdf
Gompers, S. (Sept. 1894).
Letter on labor in industrial society to Judge Peter Grosscup
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/samuel-gompers-letter-on-labor-in-industrial-society-to-
judge-peter-grosscup-september-1894.php
United States Populist Party. (1892, July 4).
Populist Party platform
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/populist-party-platform-july-4-1892.php
White, A. W. (1896, Aug. 16).
What’s the matter with Kansas?
. Retrieved from http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-
1900/william-allen-white-whats-the-matter-with-kansas-august-
16-1896.php
Also draw from the material in
ONE
of the following videos:
Hawksworth, R. (Producer). (2001).
The American industrial revolution
[Video]. United States: Media Rich LLC. Retrieved from
http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=47596&
aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=
Robbins, A. (Director). (2011).
Industrial New York
. [Television series episode]. In E. Hardy. (Executive producer),
Filthy Cities: A History of Public Sanitation (or Lack Thereof).

14. United Kingdom: BBC Productions. Retrieved from
http://digital.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=48012&
aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=
Instructions:
After reviewing your Instructor’s Guidance and completing
the weekly reading assignments (including those in the resource
section below), please post a substantive discussion post of at
least 200 words that analyzes how the revolutionary nature of
this period impacted either Native Americans, Immigrants or
Farmers, using the following questions as the basis of your
analysis:
What were the most revolutionary social and economic
developments of the last quarter of the nineteenth century?
How did different groups of Americans respond to those
changes and how effective were their responses?
What role did government play in these developments?
Your initial post should be no fewer than 200 words in length,
which does not include works cited or the questions being
answered. It should address all of the components of the
question in a way that demonstrates independent, critical
thought and command of the required material. It should not
merely repeat the material in the textbook or other sources, but
should use that material as the basis for an idiosyncratic
interpretation of the topic. All sources need to be cited using
proper APA format. If you borrow wording from a source, the
wording absolutely must be marked as a quotation.
In addition to your initial post, you should respond
substantially, in posts of no fewer than 100 words, to at least
two classmates and contribute to their analysis of the topic.
When responding to classmates, you should refer to the material
from one of the sources which you did not reference in your
initial post. Identify important points which they may have
missed which either support or challenge their interpretation.

15. Explain how their views have made you rethink your own
conclusions or offer perspectives which might help them regard
the topic in a different way. Feel free to ask probing questions
of your classmates, but, if you do, offer your own
interpretation. That is, don’t just respond, “What do you
think of X, Y, and Z?†Instead, respond, “What do you
think of X? I think W because of V, U, and T. On the other hand
some might point to S and R.†In short, the ideal response to a
classmate would involve you encouraging a classmate to see
things from a new perspective, even as you clarify and develop
your own thoughts as well.