What Reconstruction Meant to Freedwomen | Reconstruction 360

Under slavery many African-American women had to work as field hands, or in the slave owners’ homes, doing domestic chores and raising the white children. Freedom meant that black women became mistresses of their own homes and could devote themselves to their families and communities.

Reconstruction 360 is a digital educational program that explores Reconstruction history through humanities themes. This module, 40 Acres and a Mule, focuses on the theme of land and labor as experienced by freedpeople at the close of the Civil War. Set in South Carolina, it features 360-degree interactive video and short documentaries, and includes lesson plans, primary documents, and curriculum standards.