NPS Primary Theme: During Reconstruction, the Federal government pursued a program of political, social, and economic restructuring across the South—including an attempt to accord legal equality and political power to former slaves.
- NPS Subtheme: Reconstruction became a struggle over the meaning of freedom, with former slaves, former slaveholders and Northerners adopting divergent definitions. The activities of African Americans alone gave substantive meaning to their freedom—in schools, family life, churches, and the political arena.
- NPS Subtheme: Faced with increasing opposition by white Southerners and some Northerners, the government abandoned efforts for black equality in favor of sectional reconciliation between whites.
NOTE: Please use the comments section below to chronicle your progress with this theme throughout the remaining weeks of the course. Begin by outlining how your group decided to work with the theme (e.g., assigning one theme to one person or dividing themes up between team members) and then outline in detail, at least once each week, the work that you have done toward crafting your three podcast proposals.