United States History Student Edition

Harper’s Weekly was a New York magazine published from 1857 to 1916. Thomas Nast was its most well-known political cartoonist. His 1872 cartoon “The Man With the (Carpet) Bags” reveals how Southerners viewed Northerners who went to the South to help during Reconstruction. C Writing an Informative Essay ACTIVITY Writing About Carpetbaggers and Scalawags Analyze the Thomas Nast cartoon. Then go online and find out more about carpetbaggers and scalawags and how Southerners felt about them. Write an informative essay in which you explain your analysis and report your findings. Answer this central question as part of your essay: How is the viewpoint of Southerners displayed in the cartoon?

Building Citizenship D The Fourteenth Amendment aimed to preserve the rights of formerly enslaved people. Today, it protects the rights of all Americans through a particular part of the amendment called the Equal Protection Clause. This clause says that no state may “deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

ACTIVITY Creating a Slideshow About the Effects of the Fourteenth Amendment Work with a small group and research a U.S. Supreme Court case that has used the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as its basis for judgment. Look for a case that involved expanding the civil rights of a certain group of Americans. Create a slideshow presentation in which you explain the history of the case, the judgment of the Court, its use of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the lasting impact of the decision. Each slide should have an image as well as a caption that explains the image. Your slideshow should have at least four slides. Present your slideshow to the class.

PHOTO: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division [LC-USZ62-77793]; TEXT: Constitution of the United States, 1787, National Archives and Records Administration.

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