The Reconstruction Era and The Fragility of Democracy presents educators with materials they need to engage students in a deep study of the pivotal era of American history that followed the Civil War. It provides history teachers with dozens of primary and secondary source documents, close reading exercises, lesson plans, and activity suggestions that will push students both to build a complex understanding of the dilemmas and conflicts Americans faced during Reconstruction and to identify the legacies of this history that extended through the twentieth century to the present day.

These materials will help students examine closely themes such as historical memory, justice, and civic participation in a democracy. The unit includes a variety of interdisciplinary teaching strategies that reinforce historical and literacy skills.