Reconstruction 1865-1876
WHAT IS RECONSTRUCTION? A rebuilding of the South after the Civil War between 1865-1877 Re = again, Construct = build to build again Post-war problems: NORTH 800,000 union soldiers needed jobs after the war Government canceled wartime orders = factories laid off workers North lost more soldiers SOUTH Two thirds of the South s railroads destroyed Columbia, Richmond and Atlanta completely destroyed Financial system in chaos Nearly 4 million new citizens who were former slaves
Rival Plans to Fix the Union Lincoln s Plan Wanted it to be easy to rejoin the Union Did not want to punish Southern states too harshlywanted forgiveness The Ten Percent Plan: A confederate state could rejoin the union after 10 percent of it s citizens pledged an oath of allegiance to the U.S. Congressional Plan Believed Southern states should be punished Did not want it to be easy to rejoin the Union Wanted harsh punishments against former Confederate leaders
A Turning point in rebuilding the Union: Lincoln s Assassination April 14, 1865- Lincoln is shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth while watching a play at the Ford Theatre in Washington, D.C. Booth is later caught and killed. Lincoln never got the chance to see the nation rebuild. Vice President Andrew Johnson, from Tennessee, became President... and had his work cut out for him.
President Johnson Takes Over Republicans thought Johnson would support a strict plan for Reconstruction, but it was very mild Most importantly, all states rejoining the Union had to ratify (approve) the Thirteenth Amendment
The Civil War Amendments 13th 1865 Abolished Slavery 14th 1868 Granted citizenship to African Americans 15th 1870 Guaranteed the right to vote cannot be denied based on race
Abolition of Slavery Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. 13 th Amendment, January 31, 1865
1868: Defined citizens as All persons born or naturalized in the United States (not Native Americans!) Granted citizens due process of law- states cannot take away your right to life, liberty or property without due process Any state that denied any male 21 years or older the right to vote would have its representation in Congress reduced
15 th Amendment 1870- gave African American men the right to vote. Women s rights activists were angry because the amendment did not also grant women the right to vote.
STOP AND THINK: How do you think Southerners reacted to Johnson s plan? What about Northerners?
Freedmen: A New Social Class Freedmen: men and women who had been slaves and were now FREE: Did not own property Couldn t read or write Little to no savings or possessions of value What kind of life was ahead of these freed men and women? Freedmen s Bureau: a government agency created to help former slaves: Gave food and clothing to former slaves Helped find jobs Provided medical care Established schools with volunteer teachers Helped poor whites as well
Political cartoon: An illustration containing a political or social message; an editorial (opinion) What does this political cartoon say about the Freedmen s Bureau? Whose opinion might this be?
Black Codes Although most Southern states quickly ratified the thirteenth amendment as part of Johnson s plan to be readmitted to the Union, they also created black codes- Laws that severely limited the rights of freedmen: Forbid voting Could not own guns Could not serve on juries Limited the right of an African American to own property Limited work opportunities, mainly as farmers and servants The Goal: To guarantee a stable workforce of laborers now that slavery is banned To keep whites as superior to (better than) blacks
Radical Reconstruction: Taking Harsh Measures Against the South
Radical Republicans Who Were Radical Republicans? Radical: a person who wants to make drastic changes in society Radical Republican: members of Congress who vowed to take control of Reconstruction to make drastic or extreme changes Led by Thaddeus Stevens (PA) Radical Republicans had two goals: To break up the power of wealthy planters in the South To ensure freedmen received the right to vote Tensions Grow Congress bars Southern delegates from taking their seats A Joint Committee On Reconstruction is formed President Johnson vetoes the Freedmen s Bureau Bill Reports of violence against blacks in the South and riots in major cities
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 Passed by Congress in 1866 as a way to protect against violence and the black codes Granted citizenship and the same rights enjoyed by white citizens to all male persons in the United States "without distinction of race or color, or previous condition of slavery or involuntary servitude. President Johnson vetoed the bill, and Congress overrode his veto with a two-thirds majority to pass the bill anyway. This is the first time in history! Johnson s attitude toward Reconstruction contributed to the growing radical movement. He was, essentially, a racist who supported white control of power in the US.
Military districts were created in the ten southern states that refused to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment to maintain law and order until new local governments could be set up. This law gave full power to military leaders rather old Confederate leaders who were being reelected to local governments.
Impeaching a President Impeach: to formally charge with wrongdoing. *One can be impeached without necessarily being removed from office* Thaddeus Stevens (PA) led the crusade to impeach President Johnson. Although he was formally charged with a crime, the Senate was one vote shy of convicting him and removing Johnson from office. The only other impeachment in US history was former President Bill Clinton.
Sharecropping Sharecropping is agricultural production in which a landowner allows a tenant (someone who pays rent for the land) to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land. THE BELIEF THE REALITY
Segregation and Jim Crow Segregation - the legal separation of blacks and whites in public places Jim Crow Laws (1881) - laws that forced segregation: separate hotels separate parts of theaters ride in separate rail cars Separate schools, libraries, and parks Jim Crow laws allowed legal segregation of blacks and whites until the 1960s.
Scalawags and Carpetbaggers Scalawags: any Southerner who supported Republicans (mostly businessmen who opposed secession and wanted to forget the war and move on). The word was a popular Southern term for a low-grade farm animal Carpetbaggers: Northerners who came to the South after the war. The word referred to a ragged suitcase made out of old carpet that most Northerners came to the South carrying
Violence in the South: The KKK KKK = Ku Klux Klan A secret society that used threats, intimidation and violence to prevent African Americans from exercising their new rights.
Black Codes Continue to Oppress African Americans Poll taxes: a fee that voters were required to pay in order to vote Literacy tests: required voters to read and explain a section of the Constitution Grandfather Clause: a law that said if a person s father or grandfather had been eligible to vote on January 1, 1867, the voter did not have to take a literacy test.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal Segregation was fair as long as separate but equal facilities were provided for African Americans. In practice, the African American facilities were usually separate and unequal. It would take until the 1965, 100 years after the Civil War ended, for Jim Crow laws to be outlawed and blacks to finally realize legal equality in America.
Key Players Booker T. Washington Hiram Revels W.E.B. DuBois
The End of Reconstruction 1870s: Radicals begin losing steam; the nation is tired of trying to rebuild the South. The Republican Party is weakened by Grant s corruption. 1876: The Tilden-Hayes presidential election is controversial; Tilden (D-NY) won the popular vote but was one electoral vote short of winning the presidency against Hayes (R-OH). A special commission that was set up to deal with disputed votes decided to give the electoral votes to Hayes. Hayes withdrew all military troops from the South and officially called an end to Reconstruction.
Compromise of 1877 In order to settle the dispute of the Tilden-Hayes election, a special commission agrees to give Hayes (R) the presidency in exchange for: A Southern Democrat in the presidential Cabinet Removal of all military troops from the South Financial support for growth and rebuilding