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Honors History Class Writes 131-Page Book on Reconstruction in Montgomery County
In a typical history class, students learn how U.S. Reconstruction affected people on a national scale. But what was it like in Maryland, or even right here in Montgomery County?
Ten seniors in this year’s new Honors History Capstone Seminar tackled that question head-on and shared their findings in a 131-page collaborative book, “Constructing Freedom: A History of Black Resilience in Montgomery County, Maryland.”
“It’s very rewarding, and it’s great college preparation," said Samantha Winter ’17.
During the two-trimester course, students conducted research using primary sources at Peerless Rockville, a nonprofit, community-based organization founded to preserve buildings, objects, and information important to Rockville’s heritage. Then they wrote sections of the book in teams and edited the entire text in a seminar setting.
Alex Haight said he created the class for seniors who were passionate about history, and was pleased the first crop of students were motivated and invested in the project.
“What I wanted them to do is have the experience of a college or even graduate level course,” Haight said. “It’s been a lot of fun. It was the right first group of kids to have.”
William Yeo ’17 said they found few books written on Reconstruction in Montgomery County and said it was interesting to be some of the first people to investigate the topic in depth.
“It’s really hard when you read and find out Montgomery County was not what it’s like today. It was a really conservative county and deep down it had a lot of racist attitudes,” Yeo said. “It’s hard to look at that, but it’s transformed so much in (150 years).”
The central argument of the book is that black people in Montgomery County during Reconstruction were active agents in creating their new world, rather than “passive victims.”
“This is not a new thesis. What’s different about this book is we haven’t seen one done on the local level,” Haight said. “This is really trying to run a test case. Do the conclusions of historians hold true on the local level?”
While students found evidence that black people actively created churches and schools, evidence of black political leadership was impossible to find, Haight said.
Winter said completing the book was more challenging than the Oral History Project because it wasn’t a solo endeavor; students had to communicate and work together to get the job done.
“Seeing it compiled together, all the sections we’ve written and edited, and finally this book is really happening…it’s rewarding to see our progress and hard work pay off,” Winter said.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal School is a private, coeducational college preparatory day school for students in preschool (Age 2) through grade 12, located in Potomac, Maryland.