Standard 8-5.1: The Development of Reconstruction Policy During the periods of Reconstruction, industrial expansion, and the Progressive movement, South Carolina searched for ways to revitalize its economy while maintaining its traditional society. To understand South Carolina s experience as representative of its region and the United States as a whole during these periods, the student will analyze the development of Reconstruction policy and its impact in South Carolina, including the presidential and the congressional reconstruction plans, the role of black codes, and the Freedmen s Bureau. Reconstruction (1865-1877) was the federal government s attempt to rebuild and reform social and political systems in the south. During the Reconstruction periods, the industrial expansion, and the Progressive Movement, South Carolina searched for ways to revitalize its economy while holding on to its agricultural roots. Reconstruction policy included the effects of presidential and congressional plans for Reconstruction, the black codes, and the Freedmen s Bureau. The Reconstruction policies of the federal government affected society and politics in South Carolina after the Civil War. Despite those plans, the federal government believed that the individual states and local governments should be responsible for rebuilding their economies and towns. This was difficult for much of the South due to the lack of money and the damage done by the war. The Freedmen s Bureau was a government agency created to assist everyone affected by the war, including whites, as well as freedmen (the former slaves). The Freedmen s Bureau was created by Congress before the end of the Civil War. The Freedmen s Bureau was under the control of the US Army and provided medical care, food, clothing, education, and protection from hostile whites who were angry about the results of the war. The Freedmen s Bureau helped many freedmen find jobs and created courts to protect illiterate workers. The bureau was also charged with distributing lands to freedmen that had been confiscated by the federal government or abandoned during the war. After distributing the lands, the bureau was forced to take the lands back because President Johnson pardoned the white landowners and returned their land to them. Congress did not step in and protect the land rights of freedmen because they did not want to take away the constitutional rights of southern whites. Instead of receiving land and becoming economically independent, most African Americans established sharecropping relationships with white landowners with the help of the Freedmen s Bureau. The sharecropping relationship was beneficial for white landowners who had lost their workforce as a result of the war. Unfortunately for African Americans, the sharecropping relationship left them in a system of continual debt and dependence to the white landowner (any poor landless whites also sharecropped). Sharecropping did help to rebuild the economy of South Carolina. The greatest accomplishment of the Freedmen s Bureau was the establishment of over 1,000 schools throughout the South. Plans for Reconstruction were already being created before the war ended. Lincoln s main purpose in his Reconstruction plans was to end the war as quickly as possible and reunite the Union. Lincoln s plan only required 10% of a state s population to swear allegiance to the United States before they
could write a new constitution and send representatives to Congress. By creating such an easy plan, Lincoln hoped to persuade the Confederate states to surrender and end the war. Lincoln also required states to recognize the end of slavery. Lincoln was assassinated a week after the end of the Civil War, but his plan for Reconstruction was carried on by new president Andrew Johnson. Andrew Johnson continued Lincoln s plan, but did make a few additions including, ratifying the 13 th Amendment and humiliating the southern elite by requiring them to individually ask him for a pardon. Johnson quickly granted pardons to those who asked. Congress also created a plan for Reconstruction, but their primary purpose was to protect newly freed slaves. The Republicans had freed the slaves and by protecting the slaves rights, they could ensure they were protecting Republican power. Several southern states, including South Carolina, passed Black Codes and elected former Confederates to Congress. The Black Codes were laws passed in southern states that denied most legal rights to newly freed slaves. Congress refused to admit the Southern Congressmen and was angry about the Black Codes. Reconstruction policy changed as violence against freedmen increased and President Johnson vetoed (refused to accept) Congress extension of the Freedmen s Bureau. President Johnson also opposed the 14 th Amendment which gave all men equal rights as citizens and protection under the law. Due to the violence and opposition of the President, the Radical Republicans won a majority of seats in Congress in 1866. The Radical Republicans were a political group that supported equal political and social rights of African Americans. After the election of the Radical Republicans in 1866, they passed a congressional plan for Reconstruction that called for military occupation of the former Confederacy and also split the Confederacy into five military districts. South Carolina was in the second military district. Each district was assigned a military governor and the army enforced all policies and rules. Congress, the Radical Republicans, impeached President Johnson so he could not undermine their efforts. He was not removed from office, but he effectively lost his power. The Union Army was then used to enforce the Radical Reconstruction policy and enforce the 13 th, 14 th, and 15 th Amendments. The 13 th Amendment freed all slaves in the United States and changed the social standing of African Americans. Many African Americans, now known as freedmen, worked to find their families and build communities. Freedmen also worked to claim equal citizenship, get an education, and become as independent as possible. The planter elite lost their workforce through the 13 th Amendment, but as with most whites, they supported the Black Codes and refused to recognize the rights of the freedmen. Whites and African Americans kept their distance from each other, and African Americans left white churches and created churches of their own. The freedmen also left the slave cabins and built
communities of their own away from the plantations and white communities. The activities of the freedmen bothered the whites and many whites feared retaliation by their former slaves which led to anxiety among the white population. This anxiety and fear became apparent in the creation of terror groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. The purpose of the Ku Klux Klan was to keep African Americans in their place politically, socially, and economically. The 14 th Amendment was created and passed to protect the political and social rights of freedmen. The 14 th Amendment overturned the Dred Scott decision because it recognized African American citizenship and gave them equal protection of the law. The amendment also ensured due process to all citizens, which the freedmen now were. The 15 th Amendment was passed to guarantee that all men regardless of race or previous condition of servitude could vote. This amendment was created as a way to ensure that Republicans held onto power in the South. As long as freedmen were guaranteed the right to vote, they would vote Republican since that was the party that gave them freedom. South Carolina refused to ratify or approve the 14 th and 15 th Amendments. The military governor of District 2 required South Carolina to write a new state constitution that would recognize the 14 th and 15 th amendments. This constitution is commonly referred to as the Constitution of 1868. Section Review : 1) Who did the federal government say should be in charge of rebuilding Southern economies and towns? 2) Why was it difficult for the South to participate in the rebuilding of their towns? 3) Briefly explain what the Freedmen s Bureau was and who it helped. 4) Why did the freedmen have their land taken back from them after the Freedmen s Bureau gave it to them? 5) How did sharecropping affect former slaves? 6) What effect did sharecropping have on South Carolina? 7)What was the most important accomplishment of the Freedmen s Bureau? 8) What was the purpose of President Lincoln s Reconstruction plan?
9) What percentage had to swear an oath of allegiance to the United States as part of Lincoln s plan? 10) What did Southern states have to recognize as part of Lincoln s plan? 11) What two additions did President Johnson add to Lincoln s Reconstruction plan after Lincoln s assassination? 12) What was the purpose of the Radical Republican plan the Congress passed? 13) What was the purpose of the Black Codes? 14) When the Radical Republicans won a majority in Congress, what did they do to the South (Confederacy) to help with Reconstruction? 15) How many military districts were in the Radical Republican plan and which military district was South Carolina in? 16) What did the Radical Republicans in Congress do to try and limit President Johnson s power as president? 17) What did the 13 th Amendment do? 18) Describe racial relations between African Americans and whites during Reconstruction. 19) What changes to churches happened during Reconstruction? 20) What was the purpose of the Ku Klux Klan? 21) What did the 14 th Amendment do? 22) What Supreme Court case was overturned because of the 14 th Amendment?
23) What did the 15 th Amendment do? 24) What political party did most African Americans vote for? 25) What did the Constitution of 1868 force South Carolina to do?