Respond to at least (three) of the following six prompts. Be sure to use details and examples directly from the readings, lecture materials, class discussions, etc. to support your statements. Your responses should be numbered and should include the question. Be detailed and specific in your responses; get right to the point and do not generalize. Finally, be sure to revise and edit your post for organization, clarity, coherence, grammar, and mechanics before submitting it
1) Immediately following the Civil War, America enters a period of Reconstruction. Briefly describe that period and name what the various competing interests were; in other words, what did the south want? What did the north want? and What did Congress want? Addresss all three.
2) Define the “Negro problem.” How did Washington and Dubois differ in their views on racial uplift and in their solutions to the “Negro problem.”
3) The “Black Codes” were white southerners’ solution to the “Negro problem.” How did these laws impact the lives of newly freed Black people in the south? What are examples of modern day “Black Codes”? Name at least one and describe the effect it has on Black Americans (for example, “stop and frisk” or dress code policies).
4) The “Freedom Amendments” were passed during Reconstruction. What were they and why were they critical to Black people’s fight for freedom and inclusion? What is the problem with the 13th amendment and the 15th amendment?
5) Ida B. Wells is considered to be one of the earliest advocates for criminal justice reform, especially in her fight to end lynching. In “The Red Record” She outlines very specifically the three main reasons for why lynching was used against Black people, and she skillfully refutes each reason, showing why it’s false. What does Wells say about lynching and what was her solution(s) to ending that practice?
6) Select a reading/author from the unit and discuss why or how that reading/author is an example of one or more of the rhetorical purposes we covered in the unit. Be specific! Name the rhetorical purpose(s) and use quotes or passages from the text to show how the reading/author demonstrates that purpose.
