Primary Source Activities: Equality Before the Law Pamphlet
Author: Charlene McChesney
Grade(s): 6
Description
Allow students, in groups or individually, to examine the primary source linked under Resources to the right, while answering the questions below in order. The questions are designed to guide students into a deeper analysis of the source and sharpen associated cognitive skills.
Level I: Description
1. What is the title of this primary source?
2. What type of a communication is this document?
3. What year was this document printed?
Level II: Interpretation
1. In Ohio, who would be celebrating the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution?
2. What might be another good title for this document?
Level III: Analysis
1. It should be noted that this celebration took place following the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment and not the Thirteenth or the Fourteenth Amendments. Why do you think that happened?
2. The Civil War ended in 1865. What was the state of the United States in 1874?
Standards
- History 6-8, Benchmark G: Analyze the causes and consequences of the American Civil War.
- Indicator: Grade 8, GLI 11. Analyze the consequences of Reconstruction with emphasis on: b. Attempts to protect the rights of and enhance opportunities for the freedmen, including the basic provisions of the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
