Reconstruction in the South

1. Reconstruction in the South Reconstruction of the South; 13th , 14th , & 15th Amendments; Freedman’s Bureau; Black Legislators; Rise of the KKK; Tenant Farming & Sharecropping.

2. Two Plans for Reconstruction Presidential Plan • Amnesty for all Southerners • States to form a new government. • New State Constitution outlawing Slavery. • Except for Confederate leaders, any males who took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. can VOTE Congressional (Radical Republican) Plan • Only after a time period that would punish them and keep the Democrats out of power. • Except for certain categories of ex-Confederates, all adult males, black and white, who took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. can VOTE • Write a new state constitution and ratify the 14th and 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution

3. New Amendments • 13th Amendment: Abolishes Slavery ((FREEDOM)) • 14th Amendment: Gives legal equality to everyone born in the US ((CITIZENSHIP)) • 15th Amendment: Gives all men right to vote regardless of race ((VOTE))

4. Black Legislators • 1867 election was the first time African males voted in GA. • 37 Black legislators were elected. • 1868 election, 32 black legislators were elected to the GA General Assembly.

5. Freedman’s Bureau • Federal agency who issued food, clothing, fuel and other supplies to freed blacks & poor whites • Bureau set up schools and encouraged blacks to become involved in politics.

6. Rise of the KKK • Began in 1866 in Tennessee by Southern White Democrats. • Started as a effort to gain control of Southern governments from Republican • KKK members began to attack members of the Republican party in South (mostly former slaves) • KKK used threats, intimidation and terror tactics to attempt to control blacks in the South.

7. Tenant Farming • Southern planters needed laborers to work their fields. • Planters turned to poor whites and freed blacks who had no land but would be willing to live & work on someone else's land. • Land owners divided plantations into sections & constructed crude shacks for tenants. • Tenants would provide own supplies & farm the land. • Tenants gave a portion of their profits to the land owner.

8. Sharecropping Emerges • Sharecropping was different from tenant farming. • Land owner supplied land, house, plows, mules, seed and other supplies to families. • Land owner would receive a share of the crops raised on the land occupied by the sharecropper.