Reconstruction Chapters 22 & 23 Key Questions 1. How do we bring the South back into the Union? 4. What branch of government should control the process of Reconstruction? 2. How do we rebuild the South after its destruction during the war? 3. How do we integrate and protect newlyemancipated black freedmen? What Branch of Government Should Control Reconstruction? Hinges on this question: Was secession legal? Lincoln: NO Never left Union, so he is in charge of enforcing law and Reconstruction Congress: YES CSA states are now conquered territories Must apply for statehood Congress in charge of dictating terms 1
How do we bring back the South? Peacefully? Punish leaders? Political Parties Republicans have control of Presidency and Congress Republicans want to show bipartisan effort to reunite country Democrats could take blame if Reconstruction failed Lincoln nominated Democrat Andrew Johnson as his VP in 1864 Impact of Civil War on Economies: How do we rebuild South? North: Successful factories Strong cities Productive farms Superiority of free over slave labor South: Land in ruins Railways destroyed Failed banks Economic limbo 2
What do we do with 4 million Freedmen? Many left plantations Many returned when opportunity was not found Others moved to cities or out west Many old ways of treating whites gone Many could not afford land Freedmen s Bureau (1865) «Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. «Many former northern abolitionists risked their lives to help southern freedmen. «Called carpetbaggers by white southern Democrats. Freedmen s Bureau School 3
Freedmen s Bureau Seen Through Southern Eyes Plenty to eat and nothing to do. White Response to Freedmen Southern society was shaken Competition for jobs in cities Many offended of new boldness of blacks Many Southerners believed slavery was lawful until state legislatures outlawed it or Supreme Court ruled Many only acknowledged freedmen when military came through Fear President Lincoln s Plan «10% Plan * Believed individuals rebelled, not whole states * Restore Union quickly: didn t consult Congress * Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (December 8, 1863) * Pardon to all but the highest ranking military and civilian Confederate officers. * When 10% of the voting population in the 1860 election had taken an oath of loyalty and established a government, and pledged to abide by emancipation, it would be recognized. 4
Congress Reaction Congress believed Lincoln was overstepping his Constitutional authority Radical Republicans: War was over slavery Wanted to destroy Southern power Also wanted full citizenship for blacks (which was not covered in Lincoln s plan) Wade-Davis Bill (1864) «Required 50% of the number of 1860 voters to take an iron clad oath of loyalty (swearing they had never voluntarily aided the rebellion ). Senator Benjamin Wade (R-OH) «State constitutions had to be approved before Southern leaders enacted. «Enacted some safeguards of freedmen s civil liberties. Congressman Henry W. Davis (R-MD) Congress Adjourned After Passing Wade-Davis Bill Lincoln killed it by Pocket Veto Lincoln s plan goes into effect while Congress was out of session. Radical Republicans angry with Lincoln 5
President Lincoln s Plan «1864 à Lincoln Governments formed in LA, TN, AR * loyal assemblies * They were weak and dependent on the Northern army for their survival. * Congress refused to seat many of the newly elected reps. After Civil War Lincoln assassinated and Andrew Johnson becomes President Many Confederate leaders were arrested and put in prison. Andrew Johnson will pardon most of them in 1868. President Andrew Johnson «Jacksonian Democrat. «Anti-Aristocrat. «White Supremacist. «Agreed with Lincoln that states had never legally left the Union. Damn the negroes! I am fighting these traitorous aristocrats, their masters! 6
President Johnson s Plan (10%+) «Offered amnesty upon simple oath to all except Confederate civil and military officers and those with property over $20,000 (they could apply directly to Johnson) «In new constitutions, they must accept minimum conditions repudiating slavery (13th Amendment) and secession. «Named provisional governors in Confederate states and called them to oversee elections for constitutional conventions. EFFECTS? 1. Disenfranchised certain leading Confederates. 2. Johnson pardoned many planter aristocrats who were then brought back to political power by their states. 3. Republicans were outraged that planter elite were back in power in the South! 13 th Amendment «Ratified in December, 1865. «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 power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Growing Northern Alarm! «Many Southern state constitutions fell short of minimum requirements. «Johnson granted 13,500 special pardons (mentioned previously). «««Revival of southern defiance. Many reps in Southern govts were old Confederates Black Codes 7
Black Codes «State Laws (first enacted in Nov. 65) «Forbidden: intermarriage, bear arms, possess alcohol, ownership of land, vagrancy «Purpose: * Guarantee stable labor supply now that blacks were emancipated. * Restore pre-emancipation system of race relations. «Forced many blacks to become sharecroppers [tenant farmers]. ««««Congress Breaks with the President Congress bars Southern Congressional delegates in Dec. 65 «Johnson announces in response that all former Confederate states had satisfied all Reconstruction conditions February, 1866 à President vetoed the Freedmen s Bureau bill. March, 1866 à Johnson vetoed the 1866 Civil Rights Act. «Gave blacks citizenship rights and struck down the Black Codes June, 1866: Congress approved the 14th Amendment and sent it to states «Get around Johnson s vetoes «Make sure South couldn t repeal a Civil Rights law if they gain control of Congress in the future. 14 th Amendment «Proposed in 1866, ratified in July, 1868. * Provide a constitutional guarantee of the rights and security of freed people--equal protection * States would have to guarantee black male suffrage in their constitutions. * Enshrine the national debt while repudiating that of the Confederacy. * Amendments cannot be touched by President * Black voters would vote Republican and prohibit old Confederate control of South. 8
The Balance of Power in Congress State White Citizens Freedmen SC 291,000 411,000 MS 353,000 436,000 LA 357,000 350,000 GA 591,000 465,000 AL 596,000 437,000 VA 719,000 533,000 NC 631,000 331,000 The 1866 Mid-Term Election «Johnson made an ill-conceived propaganda tour around the country to push his plan. «Many moderates pushed into Radical camp «Republicans won a 2/3 majority in both houses and gained control of every northern state. Johnson s Swing around the Circle Reconstruction Acts of 1867 «Rioting in Southern cities in 1867. «Military Reconstruction Act * Divide the 10 unreconstructed states into 5 military districts. * Military would oversee new elections and writing of new Constitutions. 9
Radical Plan for Readmission «Civil authorities in the territories were subject to military supervision. «Ignored Ex parte Milligan (1866): Supreme Ct. said civilians could not be tried in military court. «Required new state constitutions, including black suffrage and ratification of the 13 th and 14 th Amendments. «In March, 1867, Congress passed an act that authorized the military to enroll eligible black voters and begin the process of constitution making. Johnson s Reaction Johnson vetoed all parts of Radical Reconstruction Radicals overrode his vetoes South had no choice but to approve these acts or military would occupy them. Radical Reconstruction of 1867 «Tenure of Office Act * The President could not remove any officials [esp. Cabinet members] without the Senate s consent, if the position originally required Senate approval. Designed to protect radical members of Lincoln s government. A question of the constitutionality of this law. Edwin Stanton 10
President Johnson s Impeachment «Johnson removed Stanton in February, 1868. «Johnson replaced generals in the field who were more sympathetic to Radical Reconstruction. «The House impeached him on February 24 before even drawing up the charges by a vote of 126 47! The Senate Trial «11 week trial. «Johnson acquitted 35 to 19 (one short of required 2/3s vote). What Did the People Want? Obvious that Radicals wanted to punish South and Johnson, while protecting their power. Many states began electing moderates in the 1870s and Radicals will eventually lose power 11
Despite Radical Reconstruction Southern land still concentrated in hands of rich Concentration on cotton production Freedmen still had problems finding farm land and jobs Homestead Act of 1866 Example of failure of Reconstruction Made public lands available to blacks and loyal whites in five southern states Land was of poor quality No transportation, tools or seed provided Fewer than 4000 blacks applied Sharecropping 12
The Invisible Empire of the South The 1868 Republican Ticket The 1868 Democratic Ticket 13
Waving the Bloody Shirt! Republican Southern Strategy 1868 Presidential Election Impact of Black Voters Grant won many southern states due to the approximately 500,000 black voters First black Congressmen, Senators and local governmental officials elected in 1868. 14
Black Senate & House Delegates «Ratified in 1870. 15 th Amendment «The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. «The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. «Women s rights groups were furious that they were not granted the vote! Despite These Advances, Enforcement a Problem By 1869, most of federal soldiers were gone South leadership still made up of elite classes Some Carpetbaggers moving South and voting Republican Most of white South loathed the Republicans (seen as outsiders) Democrats began to gain control in some southern states Republicans will continue to control states in the Black Belt where black population was more equal to whites Also the area hardest hit by Black Codes, Jim Crow and Redemption after Reconstruction 15
Increased Violence in the South With military leaving the South, black intimidation increased KKK and other white supremacist groups continue to grow in power President Grant and Congress pass Force Acts in 1870 and 1871 Force Acts of 1870 and 1871 Gave President strong powers to use federal supervisors to make sure citizens were not prevented from voting Ku Klux Klan Act made hate groups illegal Rarely enforced Democrats and local officials did not enforce Republicans more concerned with Northern issues Grant also believed continued protection of blacks would hurt him in 1872 election White juries rarely found whites guilty of violence against blacks Supreme Court would later rule these unconstitutional Reconstruction and the North North tiring of the Southern problem Move on: Continue to build industry Complete railroad system Solve issues between factory owners and unions (500,000 unionize between 1866-1873) Northern Congressmen begin diverting money from Reconstruction to Northern issues 16
Grant Administration Scandals «Grant presided over an era of unprecedented growth and corruption. * Credit Mobilier Scandal. * Whiskey Ring. Election of 1872 Rumors of scandal hurt popularity of Republican party Grant and other Republicans begin to move to the center of political spectrum to capture votes Radical ideas and increasingly unpopular within the party--bad for Reconstruction plans. 1872 Presidential Election 17
The Panic of 1873 «Caused by overconstruction of railroads, failure of banks and businesses, removal of paper money from circulation, etc. «Poor economy and Grant s policies hurt the Republican party. «Democrats gain control of the House in 1874 Reconstruction s Support Wanes «Corruption in Grant Admin. «Panic of 1873 [6-year depression]. «Concern over westward expansion and Indian wars «Monetary issues «Civil War and Post-Civil War fatigue--time to put the differences aside «Northern indifference and Southern dislike of Reconstruction. 1876 Presidential Tickets 18
Election Controversy 20 Electoral votes disputed 3 of 4 states were in the South House of Reps. creates Electoral Commission 8 Republicans, 7 Democrats Hayes declared winner of all votes Democrats did not challenge in return for Hayes pledge to end Reconstruction 1876 Presidential Election Alas, the Woes of Childhood Sammy Tilden Boo-Hoo! Ruthy Hayes s got my Presidency, and he won t give it to me! 19
A Political Crisis: The Compromise of 1877 Result of Compromise of 1877 Redemption Jim Crow Laws: state segregation laws Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) Literacy tests, poll taxes, other voter registration laws that kept blacks from voting Return of white supremacy 20