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Reconstructing the South. 1865-1877. 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?.
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Reconstructing the South 1865-1877
Key Questions! 1. How do webring the Southback into the Union? 4. What branchof governmentshould controlthe process ofReconstruction? 2. How do we rebuild the South after itsdestruction during the war? 3. How do weintegrate andprotect newly-emancipatedblack freedmen?
The Politics of Reconstruction Executive vs. Congressional Reconstruction • Who has the power to reconstruct the South? • President Lincoln? “With malice toward none, and charity for all…” • Congress? 1787? Wade-Davis Bill?
Wade-Davis Bill Required 50% of the number of 1860 voters to take an “iron clad” oath of allegiance (swearing they had never voluntarily aided the rebellion) Required a state constitutional convention before the election of state officials Enacted specific safeguards of freedmen’s liberties Congr.HenryW. Davis(R-MD) SenatorBenjaminWade(R-OH) Lincoln would use a “pocket veto” on the Wade Davis Bill, thus killing any hopes of Congressional Reconstruction
Lincoln’s Plan Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (10% Plan) Once ten percent of the registered voters from 1860 had taken an oath of allegiance to the union, the state could form a new government and gain representation in Congress Arkansas Virginia Louisiana Tennessee Four states were admitted under Lincoln’s plan before…
The New President: Andrew Johnson • Old Jacksonian Democrat • Anti-Aristocrat • White Supremacist • Agreed with Lincolnthat states had neverlegally left the Union “Damn the negroes! I am fighting these traitorous aristocrats, their masters!”
Presidential Reconstruction II • Johnson’s Plan • Each state could be readmitted to the Union if they did the following • Withdraw its articles of secession • Swear allegiance to the Union • Annul Confederate war debts • Ratify the 13th Amendment (abolition of slavery)
Impact of Johnson’s Policies 1. Disenfranchised certain leading Confederates. 2. Pardoned planter aristocrats and brought them back to political power to control state organizations. 3. Republicans were outraged that planter elite were back in power in the South Radical Republicans were TOTALLY ticked off! Johnson’s plan did NOT address the needs of the Freedmen: land, voting rights, and protection under the law!
Northern Alarm? Many Southern state constitutions fell short of minimum requirements Johnson granted 13,500 special pardons Revived the old “southern defiance” BLACK CODES
Freedman’s Bureau Act 1866 Many former northern abolitionists risked their lives to help southern freedmen. Called “carpetbaggers” by white southern Democrats. *Johnson vetoed the act*
The Freedman’s Bureau from the Southern Perspective “Plenty to eat and nothing to do”
Congress vs. Johnson • Radical Republicans Radical Republicans: standing (left to right): James F. Wilson, George S. Boutwell, John A. Logan; seated: Benjamin F. Butler, Thaddeus Stevens, Thomas Williams, John A. Bingham; Horace Greeley (alone) • Election of 1866 • Congressional elections created a “veto proof” congress; things didn’t look good for Johnson!
Radical Reconstruction! 1. Civil authorities in the territories were subject to military supervision 2. Required new state constitutions, including black suffrage and ratification of the 13th and 14th Amendments 3. In March, 1867, Congress passed an act that authorized the military to enroll eligible black voters and begin the process of constitution making
Impeachment? • Tenure of Office Act • If Congress had the power to approve presidential appointments, they should also have the power to approve presidential firings • Johnson vetoed the Act • Congress overrode the veto • Johnson (ticked off) decides FIRE someone to prove a point Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War Johnson fired Stanton and set himself up for the Radical Republicans to possibly remove him from office… IMPEACHMENT!
Impeachment Part II Johnson was impeached in 1868. The trial took place in May of 1868 The Senate voted 35-19 for removal, one vote shy of the 2/3rds needed!
Reconstruction Amendments • 13th • Abolished slavery in the US • December 1865 • 14th • Defined citizenship and protection under the law (due process) • July 1868 • 15th • Black male suffrage • 1870
Women’s Suffrage? • 14th and 15th Amendment? • Wyoming • Utah • AWSA and NWSA • Minor v. Happersett
Carpetbaggers and Scalawags Carpetbaggers were called thus due to allegedly packing up their belongings in “carpet bags” and moving to the South Scalawags were white Southerners who joined the Republican Party
Republican Rule Black and White political participation • Core black voters were veterans • Most Southerners were not prepared to give political power to blacks • Blacks had been able to register and vote in states since 1867 • 15th Amendment allowed blacks to vote in federal elections
Emancipation’s Effect • Black “Adjustment” • Liberty and migration: Many blacks moved to towns and cities for economic opportunity • Families became reunited as the black family gained “legal status” • How do they acquire land? • Who will protect them?
Emancipation’s Effect II Historically Black Colleges
Emancipation’s Effect III Hiram Revels National Politics
1. Sharecroppers are given small plots of land and seed by landowners Cycle would then start over again 6. Sharecroppers pay of their accounts; some landlords and merchants charge unfair fines for late payments Share Cropping and Tenant Farming 7. Some with leftover cash could become tenant farmers 2. Sharecroppers buy food, clothing, and supplies on credit 5. Sharecroppers sell what they have left, but are at the mercy of the market 3. Plant a crop; yields are low and the same crop every year depletes the soil 4. Sharecroppers must give landlords a large share of their crops
Election of 1868 Waving the “Bloody Shirt!”
President Grant • “Grantism” • MAJOR corruption issues • Credit Mobilier • Whiskey Ring • Bribes (Belknap)
President Grant Enabled the Federal government to use military force to quell the violence of the KKK in the South The Enforcement Acts 1870-1871 (KKK Acts)
Corruption on the Local Level William Marcy Tweed, New York City(notorious head of Tammany Hall’s political machine)
Liberal Republicans? • Issues • End Corruption • Civil Service Reform • Free Trade • Gold Standard • Condemned “bayonet rule” in the South
Panic of 1873 • Causes • Railroad failures • Failure of Jay Cook and Company • Bank Failures • Loss of Jobs Does this sound familiar? *Raised the question of “hard money” again: Poor = wanted greenbacks and paper currency Rich/Intellectuals = favored hard currency Helped to establish the Greenback Party; won some congressional seats campaigning on the “Crime of 73!”
Constitutional Issues Supreme Court Cases • Ex Parte Milligan (1866): Civilians could not be tried in military courts in an area where civilian courts were open • Slaughterhouse Cases (1873): Civil rights ruled to be states responsibility and therefore unprotected by the 14th Amendment • US v Cruikshank (1876): 14th Amendment ruled not to give Fed government power to punish whites who oppressed blacks in the south • US v Reese (1876): 15th Amendment determined not to grant voting rights to anyone; rather restricted types of voter discrimination
Abandonment of Reconstruction? Northern support on the decline Regional Balance? • “Grantism” a problem • Monetary Issues (Panic of 1873) • The “Indian Wars” • Industrialization and the “Robber Barons” • Civil Rights Act of 1875 • No other civil rights legislation for 90 years! *Compromise of 1877 (Corrupt Bargain part II)?* ELECTION TIME!
FAILURE? Couldn’t preserve white-black voter coalition No land reform to help blacks economically Racial prejudice a NATIONAL issue, not regional Economic issues more important to the North after 1873 Supreme Court undermined federal authority SUCCESS? Blacks participated in ALL levels of government State governments had some success solving social problems Black institutions: schools, churches, families Breaking the plantation system 14th and 15th Amendments led the way to Civil Rights Reconstruction Evaluated