SAQs for APUSH Topic 5.10 and 5.11— Reconstruction

Fifteen questions designed to help students review for the annual exam and that relate to the period in American history that lasted from 1865 to 1877 and marked a significant chapter in the history of civil rights in the United States.

1. Reconstruction and the Civil War ended slavery. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
2. Reconstruction and the Civil War altered relationships between the states and the federal government. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
3. Reconstruction and the Civil War led to debates over new definitions of citizenship, particularly regarding the rights of African Americans. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
4. Reconstruction and the Civil War led to debates over new definitions of citizenship, particularly regarding the rights of women. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
5. The women’s rights movement was emboldened over the ratification of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
6. The women’s rights movement was divided over the ratification of the 14th Amendement to the Constitution. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
7. The women’s rights movement was emboldened over the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
8. The women’s rights movement emboldened over the ratification of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
9. Reconstruction opened up political opportunities and other leadership roles to former slaves. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of this claim.
10. Reconstruction opened up political opportunities and other leadership roles to former slaves, but it ultimately failed, due both to determined Southern resistance and the North’s waning resolve. Name and briefly describe one piece of evidence in support of the claim that the political opportunities and leadership roles that were opened up to former slaves during Reconstrutionmg ultimately failed due to determined Southern resistance.
11. Briefly describe ONE perspective about citizenship expressed in the image.
12. Briefly explain ONE specific historical development that led to the change depicted in the image.
13. Briefly explain ONE way in which the historical change depicted in the image was challenged in the period 1866–1896.
14. During Reconstruction and in the years thereafter, former slaves sought land ownership but generally fell short of self-sufficiency. Give one reason why former slaves who sought land in the south generally fell short of self-sufficiency?
15. During Reconstruction and in the years thereafter, segregation, violence, Supreme Court decisions, and local political tactics progressively stripped away African American rights to such a great extent that the leaders of the African American Civil Rights Movement would claim that America, even by the time of the 1960s, had not fulfilled its Reconstruction promises. Name and briefly describe one way in which the executive branch of the federal government, between 1945–1980, responded to this claim in a positive manner. Also, name and describe one way in which the legislative and judicial branches of the federal government responded to this claim in a positive manner between 1945–1980.