The documents in this collection illustrate the struggle over black voting rights during Reconstruction and the remarkable lengths to which African Americans have gone to secure these rights. Students will engage with a wide range of primary sources, constructing an argument based on the central

The documents in this collection illustrate the struggle over black voting rights during Reconstruction and the remarkable lengths to which African Americans have gone to secure these rights. Students will engage with a wide range of primary sources, constructing an argument based on the central question: What were the causes and consequences of the Reconstruction-era expansion of voting rights, and how did black suffrage change the face of American democracy?

Students are guided in their analyses of the documents by a learning objective, central question, historical background, source headnotes, source questions, project questions, and suggestions for further research. Through their work with these documents, they will gain a deeper awareness of the diversity of the American experience, a more complete understanding of the present in an historically-based context, an enhanced ability to read, interpret, assess, and contextualize primary sources, and practice explaining historical change over time.