Reconstruction Discussion

Carefully read the following question, and submit your answer based on your readings and understanding of the subject.  Your answer should be at least a paragraph in length. Please proofread your submission--points will be deducted for sloppy work. Please type or paste your answer directly on the Blackboard page.

1) A southern local businessman and former Confederate officer

2) A black Union veteran and former slave living in the South

3) A poor white Confederate veteran who lost his home in the war

4) A Quaker abolitionist working for the Freedman's Bureau

5) A northern farm family who lost a son serving in the Union Army

6) A poor recently-freed slave with no employment and a family to support.

How would they view Reconstruction?  What political group or faction would they tend to support?  How would they see opposing groups?

2nd Part: Read the following Discussion question carefully, then submit an original answer.  Your answer should be at least a few sentences to a paragraph in length.  There is no "right" or "wrong" answer, but your opinion should be well-reasoned and based on fact. 

 Reconstruction has been, and remains, one of the most controversial topics in American History.  Why does it continue to elicit such diverse and emotional reactions from different Americans?  Was there a "right" or "wrong" side to Reconstruction?  Are the "competing notions of freedom" discussed in the textbook reconcilable?