William P. Fessenden

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/william-p-fessenden

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was William P. Fessenden born?October 16, 1806
2. Where was William P. Fessenden born?Boscawen, New Hampshire
3. What is the political affiliation?Whig, later Republican
4. What is the significant role?Chairman of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction
5. Who was William P. Fessenden?William P. Fessenden was a U.S. Senator from Maine who fought against the spread of slavery and helped shape important laws during the Civil War and Reconstruction. He worked hard to protect the Union and promote fairness for all people.
6. What did he do as Secretary of the Treasury?As Secretary of the Treasury, he managed the money for the Union during the Civil War. He created taxes and financial plans to keep the war going and keep the economy stable.

Slave Power: The perceived political influence and control exerted by slaveholding states in the U.S. government.
Radical Republicans: A faction of the Republican Party during the Civil War and Reconstruction who advocated for harsher measures against the South and greater rights for African Americans.
Reconstruction: The period after the Civil War (1865-1877) when the U.S. government worked to rebuild the South and readmit Confederate states to the Union.
Fourteenth Amendment: A constitutional amendment granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. and guaranteeing equal protection of the laws.