Reconstruction: the new amendments and what they changed
Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
The 13th Amendment, Section 1
Who made it: Congress, in a federal law or resolution. When: February 1, 1865. Where: Washington. For whom: the state legislatures and the public. Why: to propose a change to the Constitution. Excerpt (Article XIII, Section 1, Joint Resolution of Congress, February 1, 1865; Statutes at Large, vol. 13, 1865, 13 Stat. 567 (Res. No. 11); checked against Robert Desty, p. 36): "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."
In 1866 a court convicts a man of theft after a trial and sentences him to hard labor. Jun reads Section 1. Does the 13th Amendment's text bar this?
- No: Section 1 allows forced labor for any crime, with no need for a trial and conviction first
- No: it allows involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime after due conviction
- Yes: Section 1 bars forced labor of any kind, whatever the crime and whatever the trial
- No: Section 1 covers enslaved people, so a convicted person falls outside it
The 15th Amendment, Section 1
Who made it: Congress, in a federal law or resolution. When: February 1869. Where: Washington. For whom: the state legislatures and the public. Why: to propose a change to the Constitution. Excerpt (Article XV, Section 1, Joint Resolution of Congress, February 1869; Statutes at Large, vol. 15, 15 Stat. 346; checked against Robert Desty, p. 38): "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
In 1871 a state refuses to let Black men vote. Bo reads Section 1 of the 15th Amendment. Why does the text bar this?
- The state denied a right that the text says Congress alone may grant
- The state is denying the vote on account of race, a reason the text forbids
- The state is not the United States, so the text does not reach its laws
- The text bars denying the vote to men once enslaved, not to others born free
The Mississippi Vagrant Act, Section 2
Who made it: the Mississippi legislature, in a state law. When: November 24, 1865. Where: Mississippi. For whom: Mississippi's courts and officials. Why: to set the law on vagrancy. Note: Free negroes and mulattoes are the law's own words of 1865. Excerpt (Mississippi, the Vagrant Act, November 24, 1865, Section 2; Fleming, Documentary History of Reconstruction, vol. 1, 1906, vol. 1, pp. 284-285; checked against Albert Bushnell Hart, No. 151, pp. 479-480): "all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes in this State, over the age of eighteen years, found on the second Monday in January, 1866, or thereafter, with no lawful employment or business, or found unlawfully assembling themselves together, either in the day or night time … shall be deemed vagrants, and on conviction thereof shall be fined … fifty dollars … and imprisoned … at the discretion of the court … not exceeding ten days"
Milo reads Section 2 of the Mississippi Vagrant Act. Why is it good evidence of how the state's lawmakers treated freed people in 1865?
- It shows what Mississippi voters wanted, since the legislators were chosen by those voters
- It shows the views of the Freedmen's Bureau, since the Bureau oversaw freed people
- It is the legislature's own law, written to guide courts and officials
- It shows how the law was applied in court, since the text is the law's own words
Du Bois on the Bureau's agents, 1903
Who made it: W. E. B. Du Bois, a historian and sociologist, writing in a book of essays. When: 1903. Where: Chicago. For whom: general readers. Why: to describe the Freedmen's Bureau 38 years after it began. Note: Negroes is the word used in 1903. Excerpt (The Souls of Black Folk, chapter 2, "Of the Dawn of Freedom"; Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903, ch. 2; checked against W. E. B. Du Bois, p. 23 and a third edition): "Forthwith nine assistant commissioners were appointed. They were to hasten to their fields of work; seek gradually to close relief establishments, and make the destitute self-supporting; act as courts of law where there were no courts, or where Negroes were not recognized in them as free; establish the institution of marriage among ex-slaves, and keep records; see that freedmen were free to choose their employers, and help in making fair contracts for them"
Du Bois was born in 1868 and wrote this in 1903. How should Zee use Du Bois's list of what the Bureau's agents did?
- As an eyewitness record, since Du Bois watched the agents at work in the South
- As a Bureau record, since it lists the agents' duties in the order they were given
- As a scholar's later account, to be checked against laws and records of the time
- As reliable on each detail, since Du Bois was a trained scholar of the period
Elliott on the amendments, 1874
Who made it: Robert B. Elliott, a Representative from South Carolina, speaking in the House. When: January 6, 1874. Where: Washington. For whom: the House and the public. Why: to argue for a civil rights bill. Excerpt (Speech on the Civil Rights Bill, Representative Robert B. Elliott, January 6, 1874; Congressional Record, vol. 2, 1874, p. 407 ff. (speech begins on p. 407); checked against Alice Moore Dunbar, pp. 67-89 and a third edition): "The constitution of a free government ought always to be construed in favor of human rights. Indeed, the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth amendments, in positive words, invest Congress with the power to protect the citizen in his civil and political rights."
Representative Elliott spoke in the House in 1874 to argue for a civil rights bill. What does that tell Kira about how to use Elliott's words?
- They show what the House decided, since the House passed the bill he supported
- They state the settled meaning of the amendments, since Elliott helped to write them
- They are a neutral summary written by historians after the debate ended
- They show how a lawmaker argued for a bill, not a neutral ruling
The Mississippi Vagrant Act, Section 2
Who made it: the Mississippi legislature, in a state law. When: November 24, 1865. Where: Mississippi. For whom: Mississippi's courts and officials. Why: to set the law on vagrancy. Note: Free negroes and mulattoes are the law's own words of 1865. Excerpt (Mississippi, the Vagrant Act, November 24, 1865, Section 2; Fleming, Documentary History of Reconstruction, vol. 1, 1906, vol. 1, pp. 284-285; checked against Albert Bushnell Hart, No. 151, pp. 479-480): "all freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes in this State, over the age of eighteen years, found on the second Monday in January, 1866, or thereafter, with no lawful employment or business, or found unlawfully assembling themselves together, either in the day or night time … shall be deemed vagrants, and on conviction thereof shall be fined … fifty dollars … and imprisoned … at the discretion of the court … not exceeding ten days" Source card "The 14th Amendment, equal protection". Who made it: Congress, in a federal law or resolution. When: June 1866. Where: Washington. For whom: the state legislatures and the public. Why: to propose a change to the Constitution. Excerpt (Article XIV, Section 1 (second sentence), Joint Resolution of Congress, June 1866; Statutes at Large, vol. 14, 1868, 14 Stat. 358 (Res. No. 48); checked against Robert Desty, p. 37): "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Ren compares who the Vagrant Act covers with who the 14th Amendment protects. What is the difference?
- The Act names freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes; the amendment says any person
- The Act names the citizens of the state; the amendment names the voters
- Both list freedmen, free negroes and mulattoes by name, in the same words
- The Act covers any person in Mississippi; the amendment names freedmen alone
The 13th Amendment, Section 2
Who made it: Congress, in a federal law or resolution. When: February 1, 1865. Where: Washington. For whom: the state legislatures and the public. Why: to propose a change to the Constitution. Excerpt (Article XIII, Section 2, Joint Resolution of Congress, February 1, 1865; Statutes at Large, vol. 13, 1865, 13 Stat. 567 (Res. No. 11); checked against Robert Desty, p. 37): "Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation." Source card "The 15th Amendment, Section 2". Who made it: Congress, in a federal law or resolution. When: February 1869. Where: Washington. For whom: the state legislatures and the public. Why: to propose a change to the Constitution. Excerpt (Article XV, Section 2, Joint Resolution of Congress, February 1869; Statutes at Large, vol. 15, 15 Stat. 346; checked against Robert Desty, p. 38): "The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."
Luz reads Section 2 of the 13th and of the 15th Amendment. What do the two sections share?
- Each gives Congress power to enforce the amendment by appropriate legislation
- Each bans slavery and protects the vote, using the very same words
- Each gives the state legislatures the power to enforce the amendment by law
- Each sets a date on which the amendment takes effect in the states
The Freedmen's Bureau Act of 1865, the land
Who made it: Congress, in a federal law or resolution. When: March 3, 1865. Where: Washington. For whom: the Bureau's officers and the public. Why: to set up the Bureau and give it powers. Excerpt (Freedmen's Bureau Act, March 3, 1865, Section 4; Statutes at Large, vol. 13, 1865, 13 Stat. 507, chap. 90, sec. 4, pp. 508-509; checked against William Macdonald, No. 44 and a third edition): "the commissioner … shall have authority to set apart, for the use of loyal refugees and freedmen, such tracts of land within the insurrectionary states as shall have been abandoned … and to every male citizen, whether refugee or freedman, as aforesaid, there shall be assigned not more than forty acres of such land, and the person to whom it was so assigned shall be protected in the use and enjoyment of the land for the term of three years at an annual rent not exceeding six per centum upon the value of such land … the occupants of any parcels so assigned may purchase the land and receive such title thereto as the United States can convey" Source card "The Freedmen's Bureau Act of 1866, schools". Who made it: Congress, in a federal law or resolution. When: July 16, 1866. Where: Washington. For whom: the Bureau's officers and the public. Why: to continue the Bureau and widen its work. Excerpt (Freedmen's Bureau Act, July 16, 1866, Section 13; Statutes at Large, vol. 14, 1868, 14 Stat. 173, chap. 200, sec. 13, p. 176; checked against William Macdonald, No. 51 and a third edition): "the commissioner of this bureau shall at all times co-operate with private benevolent associations of citizens in aid of freedmen, and with agents and teachers, duly accredited and appointed by them, and shall hire or provide by lease buildings for purposes of education whenever such associations shall, without cost to the government, provide suitable teachers and means of instruction; and he shall furnish such protection as may be required for the safe conduct of such schools."
Tala compares the Bureau's Act of 1865 on land with its Act of 1866 on schools. Which statement is right?
- Both acts dealt with land, but the 1866 act cut the number of acres assigned
- The 1865 act let it assign forty acres for rent; the 1866 act let it lease school buildings
- The 1865 act dealt with schools for children and the 1866 act with land
- The 1865 act gave land away free; the 1866 act made the Bureau run the schools itself
Black members of Congress, 41st to 43rd Congresses
Columns: Congress (years); Representatives; Senators. 41st (1869-1871): 2 Representatives, 1 Senators. 42nd (1871-1873): 5 Representatives, 0 Senators. 43rd (1873-1875): 7 Representatives, 0 Senators. Data: US House of Representatives, History, Art and Archives, Black Americans in Congress, "Black-American Representatives and Senators by Congress" (read Nov 11, 2026). A Member who served part of a Congress is counted.
Esme reads the table of Black members of Congress. Which statement is supported?
- Black members were a majority of the House by the 43rd Congress
- Black Representatives rose from 2 to 5 to 7 across the three Congresses
- Black Senators rose from 1 to 5 to 7 across the three Congresses
- Seven Black Representatives served the whole term of the 43rd Congress
Black officeholders in the South, 1870 to 1901
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The House historians count roughly 2,000 Black officeholders in the South by 1877, in local, state, and federal posts, citing the historian Eric Foner. From 1870 to 1901, 22 Black men served in Congress: 20 in the House and 2 in the Senate. Eleven of the Black Members elected in the 1800s were born enslaved. The 44th Congress (1875-1877) had the most, with seven Representatives and one Senator.
Ari reads that roughly 2,000 Black officeholders served in the South by 1877. What kind of claim does that support?
- That 2,000 Black men sat in Congress between the years 1870 and 1901
- That Black officeholders held a majority of posts in the Southern states
- An exact count of officeholders, with their names and the posts they held
- That Black Southerners held many posts at all levels, as a rough count