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Reconstruction. The period of time between 1865-1877, in which the U.S. began to rebuild and readmit the Southern states to the Union.
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Reconstruction The period of time between 1865-1877, in which the U.S. began to rebuild and readmit the Southern states to the Union
“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace.” • ~Abraham Lincoln
“The time has arrived when the American people should understand what crime is, and that is should be punished, and its penalties enforced and inflicted…Treason must be made odious…traitors must be punished and impoverished…their social power must be destroyed. I say, as to the leaders, punishment. I say leniency, conciliation, and amnesty to the thousands whom they have misled and deceived.” • ~Andrew Johnson
“We have turned, or are about to turn, loose four million slaves without a hut to shelter them or a cent in their pockets. ... This Congress is bound to provide for them until they can take care of themselves. If we do not furnish them with homesteads, and hedge them around with protective laws; if we leave them to the legislation of their late masters, we had better have left them in bondage.” • ~Thaddeus Stevens, Radical Republican
Rebuldind • Had to rebuild everything • -Political • Readmit Confederate states • Deal with rebellious leaders • -Social • Find a way to deal with hatred and freedmen • -Economic • Rebuild the economy of the South
Lincoln’s Plan • Preserve Union • Wanted South’s return to be quick and easy • -Higher Cause • -forgiving peace • -”with malice toward none, • with charity for all” • -amnesty to most • Except for high-ranking CSA officials • -10% must take oath • “Ten-Percent Plan” • -little mention of former slaves Why did Lincoln want a “forgiving peace” with the South? Who would oppose this? Why?
Radical Plan • - Radical Republicans • Charles Sumner • Thaddeus Stevens • (Congressmen) • -Wade-Davis Bill of 1864 • Congress is responsible for Reconstruction, not President • -martial law • Send troops to South to serve as the government • -majority takes oath • Not just 10% • -bar former leaders from office Radical Republicans, like Thaddeus Stevens, opposed Lincoln’s plan because they felt it was too forgiving to the rebellious South.
Lincoln Assassinated • -John Wilkes Booth • -Andrew Johnson is President • Wants to punish Southern officials • -tried to follow Lincoln’s plan with additions • -13th Amendment • Abolished slavery but did not mention freedmen’s rights • -Congress refuses plan • Radical Republicans do not think it harsh enough • -South tries to reorganize under Lincoln’s plan
Southern Politics • -Black Codes • Laws that limited what free blacks could do (segregation, jobs, etc.) • -many of the same leaders elected to office • Johnson pardoned CSA leaders, many of which were elected to high offices • -blacks denied most rights • Could not vote, serve on jury • -many people of the Union saw little change and began to question the outcome of the war With many of the pre-war leaders in charge in the South, the Southern states began passing black codes, laws which limited the rights of blacks in the South. Why did this anger Congress?
Power Struggle • Congress refuses to admit new southern delegates • See no change since before war • -Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1866 over a Johnson veto • Gave blacks citizenship, prohibited black codes • -Congress bypasses Johnson • -14th Amendment • Grants citizenship and equal protection rights to former slaves (all men) • -Radicals control Congress after 1866 elections with large majority Many angry with Johnson, vote new people in
Radical Reconstruction • Reconstruction Act of 1867 • New Congress in control of Reconstruction • -override the President • Johnson tries to veto, Congress overrides • -military rule of South • Divides South into 5 military districts, ruled by a federal general and troops • -protect former slaves • Must ratify 14th Amendment • Must ensure the black vote • -bans former leaders • Denied the right to vote
Radical Reconstruction in Congress divided the South into five military districts. How did Southerners, most of which had already applied for readmittance under President Johnson, feel about this legislation?
-Scalawags • Republicans already living in the South who favor Republican government (hated) • -Carpetbaggers • Republicans who move South after Civil War to make a profit or to gain power (hated) • -African Americans can vote • Most vote Republican • -Black leaders elected • Hiram Revels: First black senator • -some corruption
Political cartoon about Reconstruction in the South. What is the cartoonist saying about the South’s burden during Reconstruction?
Johnson Impeached • Johnson fights with Radicals • Felt Johnson was not doing his job and enforcing Recon. • -Radicals seek to impeach • Formally charge with misconduct in office • -Tenure of Office Act • President cannot fire people on his Cabinet without Senate approval • -Johnson tests the legality of Act • Fires a Radical Republican from his Cabinet • -Johnson impeached but acquitted (1st ever)
A ticket to attend the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, the first President to ever be impeached in the United States. He was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act, when he fired a Radical Republican sympathizer from his Cabinet. He was acquitted, though, because he argued that Lincoln had appointed that Cabinet, not him.
Grant Elected • Johnson serves out term with no real effect on policy • -General Grant is nominated and wins election easily • Many Republicans, esp. black Republicans, vote for him • -15th Amendment • Cannot prohibit any citizen from voting based on “previous condition of servitude” Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the 18th President of the United States, following Johnson’s disappointing behavior during Reconstruction.
Southern Economy • - No government authority • Rebuilding state governments • -Loss of slave labor • 13th Amendment • No one to farm • - Growth of government to provide public services • Built roads, bridges, schools, hospitals all with government money; • Citizens have no money
Landowners • Plantation owners hardest hit • Slaves gone • Crops destroyed • Fortunes lost • Homes looted • -Some radicals thought land should be divided to slaves as payment for slavery: • “40 acres and a mule” for every slave • -Land was never given to • slaves
Freedmans’ Bureau • -Created to help former slaves adjust • Created and funded by Congress over Johnson • -Provided education and schooling • For all ages • -Helped former slaves find work • -Was never able to really help most former slaves • -Land reform was most basic need of former slaves – needed land
“I came to Virginia one year ago, erected a school, organized and named the Freedman’s Chapel School…have about 60 who have been for several months engaged in the study of arithmetic, writing, etc…their progress has been surprisingly rapid.” ~Robert Fitzgerald from Delaware, 1867
The Freedman's Bureau, established in 1865, provided relocation, education and medical relief to newly freed Africans, as well as Southern whites displaced during the Civil War. In 1866 the Freedman's Bureau opened 45 million acres of public lands in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida to settlers regardless of race. Many freedmen took advantage of the homestead opportunity, creating the first major wave of African-American land ownership.
