■ COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS ■

1. Question

   Explain whether you see the era of Reconstruction as the end or the beginning of a distinctive period in American history. What evidence from the documents in this chapter can you provide to prove your thesis?

2. Question

   Compare Reconstruction and the early national period as historical moments when issues of federal-state power and citizenship were debated. What similarities and differences do you note in the eligibility requirements for citizenship as referenced by Adams?

3. Question

   To what extent was the Jeffersonian regard for land as a source of one’s independence an enduring ideal in the era of Reconstruction?

4. Question

   Historians have debated whether Reconstruction was a success, a failure, or an incomplete fulfillment of the American promise. How do the multiple perspectives represented by these sources help you develop your own argument about the historical significance of Reconstruction?