Students identify carpetbaggers and scalawags. Then, they learn about sharecropping and examine advantages and disadvantages for the former slaves. Finally, they write a journal entry from the point of view of a person that participated in sharecropping as a land tenant.
Students examine a political cartoon of a carpetbagger and contribute individual observations to a shared table, then read a brief introduction explaining that they will study carpetbaggers, scalawags, and sharecropping as economic and social changes after the Civil War.
Teacher MovesIntroduce the overall experience and objective, prompt students to closely observe details in the carpetbagger cartoon, and highlight how these details connect to Reconstruction-era economic and social changes. Organize students into small groups for the upcoming scenes and unlock the next scene when groups are ready.
Students read What’s the Difference Between a Carpetbagger and a Scalawag? to learn about the groups that made up the Republican Party in the postwar South, then discuss the reading in small groups. Working collaboratively, they complete a three-column graphic organizer to compare and contrast carpetbaggers and scalawags, including their backgrounds, motives, and how others viewed them.
Teacher MovesClarify the definitions of carpetbaggers, scalawags, and newly freed slaves as components of the Southern Republican coalition. Circulate among groups as they discuss and fill in the organizer, prompting students to identify both similarities and differences and to use evidence from the article. Use the sample characteristics as a reference to check for understanding, then unlock the next scene when groups are ready.
Students view an image of sharecroppers being evicted and read explanatory text describing how sharecropping and tenant farming replaced slavery as labor systems in Texas after the Civil War. They then read Sharecropping and Sharecropping and Tenant Farming to deepen their understanding of how these systems worked. In small groups, they complete a graphic organizer listing advantages and disadvantages of sharecropping for formerly enslaved people, and finally read about how sharecropping declined with land purchase programs and mechanization.
Teacher MovesUse the image and explanatory text to connect Reconstruction labor systems to the end of slavery. Guide students to see both the limited opportunities and serious risks sharecropping posed for former slaves. Support groups as they identify advantages and disadvantages, using the sample points to ensure they note issues such as debt, unfair contracts, and limited crop choices. Emphasize the long-term continuation and eventual decline of sharecropping, then unlock the next scene when students are ready.
Students read about the limited options available to many formerly enslaved people and, as a class or in groups, watch the videos Sharecropping as Slavery, The Complications of Sharecropping, and The System of Sharecropping to explore how sharecropping affected daily life. After small-group discussion, each student individually writes a journal entry from the perspective of either a landowner or land renter involved in sharecropping, describing a typical day, including struggles and hardships.
Teacher MovesFrame the videos and discussion to deepen students’ empathy and understanding of the human impact of sharecropping. Encourage students to draw on prior scenes and video details as they write historically grounded journal entries. Invite selected students to share their entries with the class to highlight different perspectives, then direct students to complete the final scene individually and unlock it when all are ready.
Students complete the exit quiz by answering all the questions.
Teacher MovesFacilitate the assessment and use student data to evaluate understanding, address misconceptions, and identify areas for growth.
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