South Carolina
Reconstruction Vignette
William Beverly Nash (1822-1888)
Source: National Museum of African American History & Culture
On April 23, 1866, William Beverly Nash and several other freedmen in Columbia, South Carolina, wrote to the local Freedmen’s Bureau acting assistant commissioner. They outlined major discrepancies in medical care for Black and white patients afflicted with smallpox, and asked the federal government to intervene on behalf of their community. According to Bureau records, the assistant commissioner forwarded this petition to several parties, including the Bureau’s surgeon-in-chief. A follow-up letter between Bureau surgeons suggested that local agents had addressed these complaints by early May, but the extent of their work remains unclear. Two years later, Nash was elected to the state Senate and played a pivotal role in developing a new, progressive constitution for South Carolina.
We would ask if there is no help or Relief for the Shameful treatment that our people are now receiving at the Small Pox Hospital, in this City. We beg to make a few Statements for your information. There was at one time nineteen men, Six woman & four children Sick in one room with Small Pox, there was also one white man, who had a room to himself while all of the 29 persons of Color, was in one room, with no person to nurse or cook for them, thay had to cook for themselves. No tea or other noureshments for them. with the Exception of Sour meal. We appeal to you as the representative of the Goverment and beg you to foward this our petition on to Gen Howard and See if Something cannot be done for our Suffering people. . . . will you not interpose in our behalf untell we can appeal to the Commissioner Gen Howard at Washington and the Great head of the Goverment to assist us in this the hour of our distress, which is Great just at this time. . . .
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South Carolina
Standards Overview
Coverage of Reconstruction: Partial
ZEP Standards Rubric Score: 3.5 out of 10
The coverage of Reconstruction in South Carolina’s standards is partial, and their content is subpar. South Carolina’s state educational standards were adopted in 2019. Students are supposed to learn about Reconstruction in grades 4, 8, and 9–12.
The standards are accompanied by an “Alignment Guide” intended “to assist educators in aligning inquiry and skills based instruction” with the content-based state standards.
Grade 4
The grade 4 course spans the colonial era to Reconstruction. The organizing concept in the Reconstruction unit is around “rebuilding” and the “multiple challenges to the planning and implementation of laws designed to reshape the nation following the Civil War.” Troublingly, the standards describe the end of Reconstruction as the result of “compromise to demilitarize the southern states” instead of the violent overthrow of multiracial democracy and withdrawal of federal protection for Black rights.
The goal of the Reconstruction unit in grade 4 is for students to “demonstrate an understanding of the contributions different groups made to impact the economic, political, and social developments during Reconstruction of the United States and South Carolina in the period of 1860–1880.” Students look at the regional “successes and failures” shaped by “economic, political, and social forces” that led to the compromise that undid many of the “advances achieved by post-Civil War legislation.”
The standards focus on six key areas:
Comparing “interactions between various groups to include northerners and southerners, such as African Americans, white land owners, politicians, and business leaders during Reconstruction.”
Federal legislation such as the Reconstruction Amendments.
Reconstruction as “a turning point in American history” whereby students connect Reconstruction to the founding principles.
The social, economic, and political conditions in South Carolina including the Port Royal Experiment and adoption of the state constitution in 1868.
Examining the Black experience during Reconstruction with an emphasis on Reconstruction era policies like the constitutional amendments, Black Codes, and Jim Crow laws to show how Reconstruction was “the foundation for the struggle for Civil Rights.”
Analyzing the broader effects of Reconstruction “on different populations in the South and in other regions of the U.S.”
The Alignment Guide offers additional Reconstruction content, but avoids assigning agency and responsibility for the end of Reconstruction and restriction of Black rights. Their rights simply “were further restricted after the withdrawal of federal troops from the South.” Discussion questions focused on the Freedmen’s Bureau and Reconstruction Amendments are well framed. Less useful is one that asks “Is sharecropping a good or bad system?”
Grade 8
The grade 8 course examines the history of South Carolina from the colonial period to the present. Reconstruction does not have its own standard but is included in standards on the Civil War and the early 20th century. The first organizing concept is “compromises and conflict” where students are generally supposed to understand the emergence of the Civil War and the controversies of Reconstruction. This section explains that “South Carolina struggled to maintain its unique culture and economy throughout the Reconstruction Era.” The standards fail to define what made “the unique culture and economy” of South Carolina unique prior to Reconstruction and what social and political movements made its maintenance a struggle. Note that collapsing everyone into the category of “South Carolina,” fails to help students consider the role of race and class in history.
The standards detail a series of important specific topics for students to learn about, including the Reconstruction Amendments and the “struggle to create an understanding” among South Carolinians of the status of “the former planter class, African Americans, women, and others” as they “adjusted to, gained, lost, and/or regained position and status during Reconstruction.” They are also required to learn about the “successes and failures of Reconstruction” with an emphasis on the “evolution of Restrictions for African Americans.” The standards direct students to engage with the Black experience during Reconstruction starting with the Port Royal Experiment, the constitutional conventions, and the rise of Jim Crow.
The grade 8 Alignment Guide focuses on the legal changes at the state and federal levels that created “a period of diverse political representation, expanded educational opportunities, and protected rights for women.” Lacking from this narrative, however, are any historical actors. It is unclear from the narrative who supported these reforms and who then repealed them to ensure that “limitations on voting rights occurred” after the end of Reconstruction. It does specifically mention the KKK as an anti-Black terrorist group.
High School
South Carolina’s high school U.S. history standards mention Reconstruction just twice. Standards ask students to compare continuity and change during Reconstruction and to examine Reconstruction as a turning point in U.S. history. Students also examine the role of the federal government in securing natural rights, a term that the standards’ glossary unhelpfully defines with a tautology: “any right that exists by virtue of natural law.”
The Alignment Guide offers additional context for the Reconstruction era fight over equal rights for the formerly enslaved. The narrative is framed around the battle between federal and state authority
Educator Experiences
South Carolina teachers we surveyed expressed that the new standards were an improvement on previous treatments of Reconstruction. In particular, they were encouraged by the creation of a separate Reconstruction unit in the middle school curriculum and found that the state standards provided good guidelines for teaching the subject.
MaryAnn Sansonetti-Wood, a middle and high school teacher from Columbia, explained that the standards were fine, but due to time pressures, Reconstruction was the “first thing most teachers cut out when they are behind in pacing.” Sansonetti-Wood used the ZEP Reconstruction mixer to extend discussion of Reconstruction beyond what was covered in the standards. Tracy Olmsted, a middle school teacher from Charleston, took the time to pursue professional development to deepen her own knowledge — notably the NEH Teacher Summer Institute on Reconstruction.
Anna O’Brien, a middle school teacher in Fort Mill, told us, “I get around the time restraint by injecting Reconstruction history throughout the year, using ‘Warm Up’ time and opportunities to teach about the experiences of freedpeople where it fits. For example, the Port Royal Experiment is referred to in the standard; but there is no elaboration about it in the narrative. Teaching about the Battle of Port Royal Sound is the opening for teaching about Mitchelville, which is not even mentioned at all.”
Since 2017, The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park located in the Penn Center National Landmark District (formerly Reconstruction Era National Monument) in Beaufort County has welcomed teacher and student visits. The monument was the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the Reconstruction era.
Assessment
South Carolina’s Reconstruction standards contain promising elements but have significant room for improvement. The grade 4 and grade 8 units on Reconstruction are extensive in comparison to those of many other states. Positives include detailed references to the successes and failures of Reconstruction, Black people’s struggle to hold land and redefine freedom in the Port Royal Experiment, and the emergence of Jim Crow. More troubling is the framing of the Reconstruction units in both years around “rebuilding” and the “struggle to create an understanding” of what post-war South Carolina would look like. Both approaches hide the radical promise of Reconstruction for Black people and the violence of its overthrow. Particularly troubling is the description of the end of Reconstruction as the result of a “compromise to demilitarize the southern states” rather than as a result of white supremacist terrorism.
The high school standards on Reconstruction are overly broad. While the focus on Reconstruction as a turning point in U.S. history is good, the coverage of the topic is much more extensive in the elementary and middle school curricula. It is important to have the complexity of Reconstruction drawn out again at a high school level. Returning to Reconstruction in high school would give teachers a chance to delve more deeply into the difficult and contested narratives of Reconstruction, an opportunity that South Carolina’s current educational standards miss entirely.
The Alignment Guide at each grade level offers additional content on Reconstruction, with varying degrees of accuracy. Troublingly, the guide for grade 4 has a narrative focus that is reminiscent of discredited Dunning School approaches to history. At times, it also echoes the common “both sides” approach in our country’s U.S. history curriculum, in which curriculum writers seek “balance” rather than accuracy. Although not without issue, the guide for grade 8 offers an excellent expository summary of Reconstruction that emphasizes strides toward multiracial democracy at state and federal levels.
Teaching Reconstruction effectively requires centering Black people’s struggles to redefine freedom and equality and gain control of their own land and labor during and after the Civil War. Any discussion of Reconstruction must also grapple with the role of white supremacist terrorism in the defeat of Reconstruction and the negative and positive legacies of the era that persist to this day.
In 2021, South Carolina’s state budget bill H630 passed with provisions that prohibit districts and schools from using state funding to teach about systemic racism and sexism. Three other bills targeting the teaching of “critical race theory” and “discriminatory concepts” were introduced for the 2022 and 2023 sessions, but they have failed to pass. Several respondents to our survey expressed concern about the possible chilling effects on classroom education that such bills can have around the country, particularly on discussions of the history and legacies of Reconstruction.
moments in Reconstruction history
This short list of events in South Carolina’s Reconstruction history is from the Zinn Education Project This Day in History collection. We welcome your suggestions for more.
Nov. 1861 The Port Royal Experiment Initiated
The Union Army occupied the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina, freeing approximately 10,000 people who had been enslaved, starting what became known as the Port Royal Experiment.
Jan. 1863 Tunis Campbell Goes to Port Royal to Aid the Formerly Enslaved
Tunis Campbell, who assisted in the Port Royal Experiment to assist Blacks during Reconstruction, became a Black Abolitionist, state Senator, and Justice of the Peace, and never stopped fighting for the rights of African Americans.
June 1863 Harriet Tubman Frees Nearly 800 People
Harriet Tubman planned and guided a significant armed raid (becoming the first woman to do so in the Civil War) against Confederate forces, supply depots, and plantations along the Combahee River in coastal South Carolina.
Feb. 1865 Black Soldiers March into Charleston
The Union Army moved into Charleston, the city where the Civil War had begun four years earlier.
April 1866 Freedmen Demand Equal Medical Treatment
William Beverly Nash and several others asked the federal government to intervene to ensure equal medical treatment for all.
March 1867 Staged Ride-ins in South Carolina Streetcars
Staged ride-ins during Reconstruction in South Carolina were among the first (recorded) organized protests of segregation on a streetcar.
Jan. 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention
The South Carolina constitutional convention met with a majority of Black delegates, adopting a constitution that provided for all people regardless of race, economic class, or gender.
Oct. 1870 First African Americans Elected to the House of Representatives
For the first time, African Americans were elected to the House of Representatives in 1870.
Dec. 1870 Joseph H. Rainey First African-American in U.S. House of Reps
Joseph H. Rainey, from South Carolina, was the first African-American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
July 1871 Testimony at Klan Hearings by Elias Thomson
Elias Thomson, an African American who lived in Spartanburg, South Carolina, bravely shared testimony detailing violence inflicted against him because he voted for the Republican ticket in the local election.
Oct. 1873 Henry E. Hayne Accepted at USC Medical School
Henry E. Hayne was the first Black student to be accepted to the University of South Carolina’s medical school, a bold act which encouraged other Black students to apply. By 1875, Black men comprised the majority of the student body.
Nov. 1874 Robert Smalls Elected
Robert Smalls was elected to Congress from South Carolina during Reconstruction.
A Black militia was accused of blocking a road and punished with the Hamburg Massacre. This was Reconstruction era voter suppression.
Sept. 1895 South Carolina Constitutional Convention Convened
The South Carolina Constitutional Convention convened to disenfranchise Black voters.