This assessment measures students' ability to contextualize and periodize two historical documents by placing them on a timeline. The first document is an excerpt of Louisiana's 1868 state constitution, and the second is an excerpt of the state's 1898 constitution. This HAT draws on students’ historical knowledge, but in a way that requires more than the simple recall of information. Students must understand how and why the civil rights afforded by former Confederate states' constitutions changed during and after Reconstruction.
Two versions of this assessment are available to download. The "specific" version asks students to reason about specific historical events that marked the start and end of Reconstruction and may be appropriate for students who have just concluded a unit on the era. The "general" version asks students to draw on more general content knowledge of the era and may be appropriate as part of an end-of-semester, summative assessment.
