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Do laws shape me as a person? What makes a person a citizen? Are laws the limit of social justice, or do individuals play an active role in expanding and protecting human rights? Is it fear that contributes most to racism? After returning from Winter Break, students in my U.S. History courses were confronted with these questions before taking a deep dive into the contentious history of Reconstruction after the Civil War, or as historian Eric Foner famously referred to it, America’s unfinished revolution. As part of Hyde’s People Are Created Equal project, students went to the beginnings of the early Civil Rights struggles of African Americans in the wake of emancipation and the passage of the 13th Amendment.

Reconstruction was not only a time when African Americans experienced and navigated freedom after slavery, it led to the fundamental transformation of the nature and meaning of American citizenship, the makeup of the electorate, and the relationship between American citizens and the federal government. In the past decade, there has been a public history reckoning with this era of American history, usually covered in American history classrooms at the beginning or end of the midterm or as a bridge between Thanksgiving and Winter Breaks. In the past decade or so since the creation of a National Historic Park dedicated to shedding light on the time historian W.E.B. DuBois once characterized as the “brief moment in the sun,” formerly enslaved people experienced in the United States before Jim Crow and segregation returned the South to a society built on racial and economic inequality. By bringing new curriculum developed over the past half decade to fill in this gap in the American story, Hyde students have learned that to study history is also its own form of reckoning. 

After several teacher-led, but student-centered seminar-style discussions through primary sources drawn from Facing History and Ourselves, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a new Graphic History of the era’s political struggles jointly published by historian Kate Masur and artist Liz Clarke on this pivotal period, students were well-versed after two weeks to tackle their own particular interests from this era of American history. Students conducted their own research into the history of this period by consulting digitized archival material, historians’ essays, and resources from the Library of Congress, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and The Last Seen Project, featuring advertisements from formerly enslaved people trying to locate lost family members who were sold away. By choosing their own paths to explore, analyze, and present their findings, they went beyond the received narratives students often find in standard high school textbook accounts.

Figure: Last Seen Project Database, https://informationwanted.org/ 

Through a variety of creative and analytical projects of their own design—including podcasts, interactive maps, documentary clips, and personal life stories—students examined the complexities of Reconstruction, its promises, African Americans’ aspirations for freedom, and the challenges that left questions about racial equality unsettled for the next century. By taking ownership of their learning, and selecting the medium that best suited their unique potential, the students gained a better understanding of this often overlooked period in United States History and learned to communicate the past to an audience in engaging and meaningful ways. 

Figure: Student Masa’s ‘26 sketch of Andrew Johnson and commentary on Presidential Reconstruction. 

One standout project was a historical debate podcast created by Petra ‘26, Sofi ‘26, and Daniela, who explored the ways formerly enslaved people sought out education—something they were unilaterally denied while held in bondage in every slave state. Through the individual stories of Laura Towne and Charlotte Forten, women who ventured out from the north at the start of the War to settle into lives 

as educators in Beaufort, South Carolina, participating in what later historians referred to as the “Port Royal Experiment” or rehearsal for later Reconstruction. Their podcast provided a window into African Americans’ freedom aspirations after emancipation. Classmates Sergio ‘26, Gustaw ‘26 and Alidar ‘26 took a creative spin for their podcast, taking on the personas of historians debating the causes and consequences of Reconstruction’s failure, “Redemption,” and the rise of the New, Jim Crow South.

Figure: Student Raya ‘26 Prezi Interactive Map using the Military Districts overlay. 

In the realm of digital history, Raya ‘26 designed an interactive map that pinpointed key locations of events that happened in each Military District carved out of the former Confederate States. From emancipation events, to the rise of black political activity, to Klan terrorist activity and Freedman’s Bureau government aid, Raya put the timeline of these events into a spatial framework, tracing the path of the freedom struggle from rural Arkansas to the Sea Islands of coastal South Carolina, accompanied by historical documents and first-hand accounts. This project provided an immersive way to engage with the geography of Reconstruction and understand how different regions of the South experienced this tumultuous history. 

Figure: Screen Shot from Miguel’s ‘26 Narrated Documentary Short on Robert Smalls. Link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=T3c1W_t3H5E

Finally, solo producer and budding Ken Burns, Miguel ‘26 put in the hours and produced a documentary film clip, worthy of a History Channel trailer, analyzing the life and experiences of Robert Smalls, Reconstruction era politician who had made his way to freedom by capturing the Confederate naval vessel, the Planter. Presenting a mixture of photographs, letters, action shots and stock footage from the late nineteenth century to today, Miguel took this assignment to heart and learned a lot about an individual whose life and political career held out the promise of biracial democracy that is worth remembering and celebrating. 

These projects exemplify how student choice can deepen historical understanding, allowing each learner to engage with the history of Reconstruction in a way that speaks to their own curiosity and creativity. Whether through storytelling, debate, digital mapping, or film, these students have brought the past into the present, ensuring that the lessons of Reconstruction remain relevant today. As we here at Hyde move forward with our busy academic schedule this Spring, students in history will be taking the broader lessons they’ve learned about what it means to rebuild a nation, and a people divided with them on their respective academic journeys.