Provider: Victoria Smalls, National Park Ranger – Reconstruction Era National Historical Park

Reconstruction began when the first United States soldiers arrived in slaveholding territories and enslaved people escaped from plantations and farms; some of them fled into free states, and others found safety with US forces. The experience of Reconstruction, and the rebuilding of the Union following the Civil War, played out across America. For enslaved African Americans and the newly freed, quilts had hidden messages, shared special messages, and told stories hidden in plain sight. Students will learn important aspects of the Reconstruction era (1861 to 1900) and create their own story quilts, incorporating images of the nation’s history that interest them, as well as Reconstruction Era history in their home state.