Oral Histories of Formerly Enslaved Individuals

Lesson Components

What was the experience of formerly enslaved individuals during Reconstruction?
How did Reconstruction impact the lives of formerly enslaved people and their families?

Students will explore broad themes that defined the experience of Blacks living in the South during Reconstruction.

Begin class by asking students about the situation freedmen were in during Reconstruction.
- “At the end of the Civil War, around 4 million slaves were freed. What challenges do you think these individuals would experience, even if they had been freed from a great injustice?”
- Write down student answers on the board. Guide students to consider specifically the economic and social challenges.

Transition: Distribute the Primary Source: Oral Histories of Formerly Enslaved Individuals reading.
Divide the class into three “expert” groups. Assign each one to read one of the three excerpts from interviews of former slaves in a jigsaw style activity.
- Agnes James Interview
- Henry Blake Interview
- Abram Colby Testimony
As students read, they should take notes to answer the guiding question: What was the experience of formerly enslaved individuals during Reconstruction? They will become the “expert” on this source for the next step in the jigsaw process.
Once the reading and expert group discussions are complete, reorganize the class into new groups of 3.
- Each new group should include one student from each expert group-so that each group has one person who read each of the three different sources.
- In these new groups, students take turns summarizing their sources.
- Then students discuss the guiding question as a group.

Class Discussion:
- Reconvene the class. Review the answers that students initially said at the start of class, then discuss how they compare with what they found in their readings.

AND/OR

Exit Ticket: As an exit ticket, have students write a paragraph answering the question: What injustices did Black Americans face during Reconstruction?