1. Learn a basic narrative of the Reconstruction era
2. Understand how Reconstruction reshaped the two American political parties
3. Discover how the successes and failures of Reconstruction shaped the future of the United States.
4. Consider how Reconstruction still shapes modern race relations in our country
5. Learn the nature of the two political parties during the Gilded Age
6. Consider who really held political power in the years after the Civil War
7. Understand why America rapidly industrialized during the Gilded Age, the benefits of this industrialization, and the plight of those that paid a price for it