The

Reconstruction
Anita Komatsu
Sara Santa Elena
Joshua Wolfe
Edna Uraje
Summary
● Post Civil War, freed slaves now had opportunities for education
○ Opposition of many whites led to an uncertain direction
○ Lack of government funding during the Reconstruction Era
■ Former slaves dedicated their lives to getting an education.
Quote #1
● “These developments help explain the extraordinary emphasis that blacks
placed on creating a modern educational system when they had the
political means to influence state policies.” (Holt, Paragraph 16).
○ We can see how former slaves were willing to go to any extent in order to
obtain an education because they saw it as a form of changing their lives for
the better. By creating schools to become educated, former slaves knew they
could change government policies that would benefit them rather than
harming their movement to positively changing their lives.
Quote #2
● “Impoverished former slaves voluntarily paid school tuition; purchased
schoolbooks; hired, fed, boarded, and protected their teachers;
constructed and maintained school buildings. They put their money,
blood, sweat, and tears into those efforts.” (Holt, Par.12)
○ This shows how the freed slaves were willing to do whatever it took to
pursue their education. Even if they couldn’t afford it, they found ways to
make do.
Quote #3
● “In fact, the former slaves themselves played the central role in building
financing, and operating the southern school system that emerged
immediately after the Civil War.” (Holt, Paragraph 12)
○ The former slaves were the backbone to build their own educational system
post Civil War. It was up to them to get schools up and running even though
they had little to build from. They put in the work they needed to, in order to
get the education they desired and dreamed for themselves.
Holt and Minhaj
● The American Dream
○ Minhaj spoke about how the American Dream is yours for the taking and the
freed slaves were pursuing their dream to become educated people
● The Hate
○ After 9/11 Minhaj’s family received backlash and hate for being Muslim, just
as after the Civil War, former slaves were looked down on and not treated as
an equal but also with hate for being different.
● Expectations for the Future
○ Hassan’s dad expected him to become educated and during the
Reconstruction, freed slaves were expected to become educated