edHelper.com
After the Civil War
(1865-1870)
 Reconstruction : A "Tag Team" Event

Reconstruction : A "Tag Team" Event
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.75

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    administration, amnesty, arena, brawl, chaos, corruption, easygoing, economic, fraud, groundwork, grudge, on-going, policies, post-war, radical, re-enslaving
     content words:    American Civil War, Four U. S., President Lincoln, Vice-President Andrew Johnson, White House, Black Codes, Radical Republicans, Ulysses S., Civil War, Republican Party

Print Reconstruction : A "Tag Team" Event
     Print Reconstruction : A "Tag Team" Event  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format
     Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
     Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format
     Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Reconstruction : A "Tag Team" Event
     Leave your feedback on Reconstruction : A "Tag Team" Event  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Reconstruction : A "Tag Team" Event
By Toni Lee Robinson 		  
1     At the end of the American Civil War, one problem loomed menacingly on the horizon. The southern states were a disaster. The chaos and destruction of war had to be cleaned up. The Reconstruction project became a formidable opponent in an on-going wrestling match. Four U.S. Presidents in turn dealt with this mammoth problem.
 
2     Each leader had his own ideas about what should be done. President Lincoln studied this question long before the war ended. He planned to get the South back on its feet as soon as possible. He wanted amnesty for those who took an oath of loyalty to the U.S. Constitution.
 
3     Congressmen angrily attacked his policies. They claimed that Congress alone had the power to carry out Reconstruction. In the midst of this clash came Lincoln's assassination. Round one of the contest was over.
 
4     At Lincoln's death, Vice-President Andrew Johnson entered the ring. This second round was a grudge match from the beginning. Most of Congress wanted the Southerners punished for their rebellion. They advocated a "hard peace." Johnson riled Congress by adopting policies more easygoing than Lincoln's were.
 
5     In Johnson, Southern leaders felt they had a friend in the White House. In response to Johnson's light touch, they passed laws known as the "Black Codes." These laws limited property holdings by black people and specified which jobs they would be allowed to hold. The laws legitimized the arrest of blacks who "misspent" their money or appeared to be vagrant. Those arrested could then be forced to work for whites.

Paragraphs 6 to 14:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2009 edHelper