If not already provided, distribute the Student Context to students in order to ensure they understand the impact of Reconstruction on the expected outcomes of the Civil War. Then, as a class, read or review Frederick Douglass’s “Reconstruction.” Because it is a difficult document, it may be best to have a different student read each paragraph aloud to the class and then clarify its meaning. For students *Gr.5 + you may want to summarize and then review the quote provided. 

As a whole class discussion or an individual response ask students to consider the validity of Douglas’s words in the present day in relation to current events. 

“The arm of the Federal government is long, but it is far too short to protect the rights of individuals in the interior of distant States. They must have the power to protect themselves, or they will go unprotected…”