The Media Library of Genesee Valley BOCES

Looks at some of the issues surrounding the reconstruction period after the Civil War ended in the South. Looks at how the government dealt with the thousands of slaves freed through the Emancipation Proclamation, the formation of the Radical Republican faction that fought for African American rights, and the 1866 Civil Rights Act

Examines the end of the Civil War, its aftermath, and the promise of reconstruction. Includes the Battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, Sherman's March, and the plight of the freed slave after the war

Reconstruction was fitfully under way in 1867. New state constitutions were drafted, black freedmen voted and were elected to southern legislatures, and white southerners struggled to regain control of their land in the new South. Secret societies meant to intimidate blacks into subservience developed across the South, causing President Grant to declare marshal law in South Carolina. A more sweeping civil rights bill was passed but was never fully enforced

How did Jim Crow begin? As Reconstruction ended, betraying the promises of Emancipation, African Americans' efforts to assert their constitutional rights began to be repressed at every turn by Southern whites. Laws that segregated the South were passed and enforced by a campaign of violence and terror. This program recounts the Black response by documenting the work of leaders such as anti-lynching crusader Ida B. Wells and Booker T. Washington

Adopts the example of the steel industry in Pittsburgh to explore the impact of the industrial revolution on cities in the U.S

Problems faced by the postwar nation are clarified through a variety of historical materials and live action scenes. (Revised)

Looks at the United States at 100-years-old, with many of the early principles of the young Republic yet unrealized. Includes the issue of race and women's rights

The sustained development of new technology in the second half of the 19th century has earned this period the name, "The Age of Invention."

During the immediate post-war years, racial rioting became commonplace. President Andrew Johnson fanned the flames with his racist rhetoric and pardons for former Confederates, leading to his impeachment. Grant's feelings about the former slaves changed during this time: he now believed that American freedoms be extended to African Americans as well. He responded to calls to run for president and was easily elected. The country was struggling with Reconstruction, the Industrial Revolution, and forming a workable Indian policy.

In the 1880s, the United States fell into the worse economic slump of its history. Some saw colonies as an answer to the malaise. At the same, both Cuba and the Philippines were rebelling against Spanish control. The New York media used events in both countries to stir up public opinion. After the U.S. battleship Maine blew up while on duty in Havana Harbor, Assistant Secretary Theodore Roosevelt took unprecedented steps towards war without the knowledge or consent of superiors. Spain declared War and the U.S. followed suit. Hostilities between the U.S.