Reconstruction

1. Reconstruction

2. Reconstruction Begins • When the war ended, the Union had to deal with the defeated south. • Reconstruction, or the process of readmitting the former Confederate states to the union, lasted from 1865-1877. • Damaged South • Cities, towns, and farms had been ruined. Many southerners faced starvation because of high food prices and widespread crop failures. • The money held by Confederate banks was worthless and many merchants went bankrupt because people were unable to pay their debts.

3. Lincoln’s Plan • Lincoln’s goal had always been to preserve the union. His goal now was to reunite the nation as quickly and painlessly as possible. • He called his plan the Ten Percent Plan. • It offered southerners amnesty, or official pardon for all illegal acts supporting the rebellion • Southerners had to do two things: • Swear an oath of loyalty to the U.S. • Agree that slavery was illegal • Once 10% of the voters agreed, the state could be readmitted to the Union

4. Wade-Davis Bill • Some leaders in Congress believed they should have the power to control southern states’ return to the union. • They thought the 10% plan did not go far enough. • Two senators, Benjamin Wade & Henry Davis had an alternative to Lincoln’s plan. • Wade-Davis Requirements: • The state had to ban slavery • A majority of adult males had to take an oath of loyalty. • Under this plan, only southerners who swore they had never supported the Confederacy were able to vote or hold office. • Lincoln refused to sign the plan because he believed his plan would restore order more quickly.

5. Freedom for African-Americans • On January 31, 1865 at the urging of Abraham Lincoln, Congress proposed the 13th Amendment – made slavery illegal throughout the United States. • It took effect December 18, 1865.

6. Freedom for African-Americans • Once slaves were set free, many couples got married, freed people searched for relatives who had been sold, women began to work at home, and others adopted children. • Freed people began to take new last names and demanded the same economic and political rights as whites. • Freedmen’s Bureau • An agency created by Congress to provide relief for freed people and certain poor people in the south. • The bureau played an important role in establishing schools in the south. • Despite this, many southerners still believed that African Americans should not attend school.

7. A New President • April 14, 1865 • Lincoln attended a play with his wife at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. • During the play, John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln. • Lincoln was rushed across the street to a boardinghouse but he died early the next morning. • Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn into office. • Johnson said that former Confederate officials needed a Presidential pardon to receive amnesty. Ford’s Theater

8. New State Governments • Johnson had his own plan for readmitting states: • Temporary Governor for each state • State constitutions needed to be revised • Voters elected state and federal representatives • Had to declare secession illegal and ratify the 13th amendment. • Congress disagreed as many of the reps were former Confederate leaders. The Union remained divided.

9. Opposition to Johnson • Black Codes – laws that were passed by southern states to limit the freedom of African Americans. • African Americans were required to sign work contracts. • Codes angered many Republicans who thought the south was returning to its old ways. • Radical Republicans – wanted the federal government to force change in the south. • Two Radicals: • Thaddeus Stevens & Charles Sumner • Both opposed Johnson

10. Fourteenth Amendment • Congress proposed a new bill to allow the Freedmen’s Bureau to try those who violated African American’s rights. • Johnson Disagreed • Republicans responded by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866 – Provided African Americans with the same legal rights as whites. • Johnson Vetoed!!! – Did not think African Americans should have the same rights. • Fearing the Act would be overturned, Republicans passed the 14th Amendment: • Defined African Americans as citizens • Guaranteed equal protection • Must allow for due process • Banned Confederate officials from holding office • State laws subject to federal review • Congress had the power to pass any laws needed to enforce it

11. Reconstruction Acts • After the election, Congress passed the Reconstruction Acts – Divided the South into five military districts • To be readmitted: Constitution had to support the 14th amendments and African American men had to be given the right to vote.

12. 1866 Elections • Main Issue: Civil rights for African Americans • Johnson traveled the country to speak against it. His trip was a disaster. • Riots broke out in Memphis and New Orleans killing nearly 40 people. • Outcome: Republicans gained a 2/3 majority making it possible to override a veto.

13. President on Trial • Johnson opposed the Reconstruction Acts and Congress knew it. • Congress passed a law limiting the power of the President but he broke the law immediately. • As a result, the House voted to impeach him. • Impeach – bring charges of wrongdoing against a public official • Saved by one vote.

14. Election of 1868 • Grant was nominated for the Republican ticket. • Shortly after he was nominated, 7 states were re-admitted. • African Americans in those states helped Grant win a narrow victory. • 15th Amendment – Gave African American men the right to vote

15. Carpetbaggers & Scalawags • Carpetbaggers: • Northern-born republicans who moved south after the war and were accused of trying to profit off of the south. • Scalawag: • White southern Republicans, also called greedy. Southerners believed these people betrayed them.

16. African American Leaders & the KKK • African Americans = Largest group of voters in the south. • Hiriam Revels – became the first African American to serve in the U.S. Senate. • The KKK • Created by a group of white southerners in TN to oppose civil rights for African Americans. Biggest threat = suffrage. • Attacked and murdered African Americans, white Republicans, and public officials. • Congress passed laws to make it a crime to interfere with elections. • Within a few years, the clan died out but attacks continued.

17. Panic of 1873 • Panic = Severe economic downturn • Major RR company lied about the value of land. When it was discovered, stocks crashed. • During the panic, 18,000 businesses failed. • Unemployment was at 14% and 2 million were out of work. • 1874 – Democrats gain control of the House.

18. Election of 1876 • Republicans: • Selected Rutherford B Hayes • Democrats: • Selected Samuel Tilden • Used violence to keep Republicans away in the south. • In the end, a commission decided the outcome. • Compromise of 1877 – Hayes takes the presidency in exchange for the end of Reconstruction in the south.

19. Restricting African American rights • Poll tax – special tax people had to pay before they could vote. • Some states required a literacy test. • Segregation – the forced separation of white and African Americans in public. • Jim Crow laws upheld segregation. • So did Plessy v. Ferguson – supreme court case that said separate but equal was allowed