Authors: John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & CivicsSarah Waltman King, Richmond Public Schools In 1865, the ratification of the 13th Amendment officially ended slavery in the United States. After fighting for their liberty before and during the Civil War, enslaved African Americans saw their dreams of emancipation realized. In the years that followed the end of the war, Virginia and other southern states had to reconfigure their social, economic, and political systems during a period called Reconstruction. During this era, newly freed Black Virginians experienced advancements but also encountered barriers to achieving true equality. This lesson explores  whether African Americans truly “free” following the passage of the 13th Amendment.Key Hook/QuestionWere African Americans truly free following the passage of the 13th Amendment?

John Marshall Center for Constitutional History & CivicsSarah Waltman King, Richmond Public Schools Throughout the four centuries of history covered in Determined, access to education was at the heart of the African American struggle for equality. While slavery was legal, enslaved Americans were prohibited by law from being taught to read and write, and had no access to formal education. Following emancipation and the 13th Amendment, Black Americans temporarily enjoyed increased access to education, but those rights quickly evaporated under new Jim Crow laws. Under those provisions, Virginia and other southern states established “separate but equal” schools that segregated students by race, which resulted in unequal conditions for Black and White children. Despite these setbacks, African Americans continued to aggressively pursue their right to an education.What academic challenges and successes did Mary S. Peake and Barbara Johns experience throughout their lives?

Create a museum exhibit that will explore a specific historical time period or event through the display and analysis of historical artifacts and primary sources.

This activity will ask students to trace various historical events, as well as state and national laws and their impacts on two different women in the South. Following along with a series of overlapping Twine stories, students will learn how computer programs can be constructed using simple variables and if-then statements to tell complex stories. Moreover, they will analyze how different women experienced historical events differently, leading to widely different points of view about the Civil War. 

Students will work with a partner to pair-program a comparison of two different leaders and their role in the Civil War (Abraham Lincoln/Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant/Robert E. Lee, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson/Frederick Douglass) using Twinery.org. Their product must also incorporate and attribute existing digital media (i.e.images). Students will then find a partner group that selected different figures and peer review their Twine product with emphasis on usability, content, language, user perspective, image layout/attribution and ease of use. The feedback given must be addressed and incorporated. Students will then complete a Partner Evaluation form to review their experience working with pair programming.This lesson may need to be split across two class periods.

Fifth grade students in Michigan begin their study of American history with American Indian peoples before the arrival of European explorers and conclude with the adoption of the Bill of Rights in 1791.