The American Vote
ReconstructionAll 5 grade bands · K-2 through APFree download

1872

Lesson plan.
Ulysses S. Grant vs Thomas A. HendricksGrant won re-election in a landslide over the Liberal Republican nominee Horace Greeley, who was also endorsed by the Democrats. Greeley, the famous newspaper editor, died three weeks after the election before the Electoral College voted, causing his 66 electoral votes to be scattered among other candidates — the largest such dispersal in history. The Credit Mobilier scandal had damaged Grant's reputation but voters chose him over Greeley, whose eccentric campaign style failed to inspire confidence.

In 1872, Ulysses S. Grant (Republican) won the U.S. presidency. Ulysses S. Grant took 286 of the 352 electoral votes to Thomas A. Hendricks's 42. Ulysses S. Grant led the national popular vote with 55.58%. The race falls within the Reconstruction era; the lesson packets below dig into its central debates, with Corruption reform among the major themes.

What is in each packet
Cover
Cycle metadata + band eyebrow
Lesson plan
Instructor — timing, materials, standards
Reading
Sized to grade band (K-2: ~250 words → AP: ~650)
Background
Curated cycles — 5-7 vocab terms + primary-source excerpt
Student worksheet
K-2: 3 questions → AP: 8, mixed format
Answer key
Instructor — rationale on every item
Discussion prompts
3 prompts tied to era
DBQ (AP only)
Long-essay + 5-point rubric + second source
Download by grade band
  • K-2
    Story
    4 pp
    20 min
    Free
  • 3-5
    Reading
    5 pp
    35 min
    Free
  • 6-8
    Reading
    6 pp
    50 min
    Free
  • 9-12
    Source
    8 pp
    75 min
    Free
  • AP
    DBQ
    12 pp
    105 min
    Free