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Reconstructing the United States, 1865 - 1877. Unit 6 - Civil War and Reconstruction RUSH Mrs. Baker. The Politics of Reconstruction. What is Reconstruction?. Effort to rebuild the Southern states and restore the Union. Time period = 1865 – 1877
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Reconstructing the United States,1865 - 1877 Unit 6 - Civil War and Reconstruction RUSH Mrs. Baker
What is Reconstruction? Effort to rebuild the Southern states and restore the Union. Time period = 1865 – 1877 Required the rebuilding of the nation’s economy and government.
Lincoln’s Plan • Plan for reconstruction was based on the idea that Southern states had NEVER left the Union • Wanted seceded states to rejoin the Union on an equal status with those in the North • Plan featured the following elements: • Pardons to Southerners who swore oaths of loyalty to the United States • Ten Percent Plan: • New Southern governments were recognized when 10% of those who had voted in the 1860 election took the loyalty oath • States had to guarantee the end of slavery
Johnson’s Plan • Vice President Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln after his assassination • Intended to follow the broad outlines of Lincoln’s plan. • A state had to deny important Confederate leaders the right to vote, while granting it to all other Southern white men.
Radical (Congressional) Republicans • Radical Republicans - sought stricter terms for reconstruction. • Had control of Congress • Able to dictate the terms of Reconstruction • Chief feature of plan: • The division of the South into five military districts controlled by the U.S. Army while new governments were being set up. • Requirement of the new state governments to grant African American males the right to vote • Requirement of states to ratify the 14th Amendment.
Summary • On your do-it-now activity paper: • In your own words define the three plans of reconstruction used during and after the war. • Lincoln • Johnson • Radical
Reconstruction Amendments • Thirteenth Amendment (1865) • ABOLISHED slavery in all states • Fourteenth Amendment (1868) • Granted CITIZENSHIP to “all persons born or naturalized in the US” • Fifteenth Amendment (1870) • Stated that VOTING rights could not be denied because of “race, color, or previous conditions of servitude.”
Other Major Reconstruction Legislation • Freedmen’s Bureau Acts (1865 – 1866) • Offered assistance to freed slaves and war refugees • Distributed clothing, food, medical aid and education • Civil Rights Acts of 1866 • Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to African Americans • Forbade states to create discriminatory acts known as black codes
Johnson v. Radical RepublicansThe Impeachment of Andrew Johnson • Johnson provoked Radical Republicans in Congress by vetoing each step of their reconstruction plan. • All vetoes were overridden by Congress • 1867, Congress created Tenure of Office Act: prohibited the president from firing a cabinet officer without Senate approval. • Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. • 1868: Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives for 11 counts of high crimes. • Impeachment fell 1 vote short.
After the Civil War • Immediately after the war white Southerners who had served in leadership positions tried to reassert control. • Concerned with limiting the freedom and movement of former slaves. • Were Confederates allowed into Southern government during Reconstruction? • Who was responsible for these actions?
Result of New Southern Government Structure Many white Southerners deeply resented the federal imposition of Radical Republicans. Resented new Reconstruction governments Hated the new role of African Americans Blamed new political leaders in the South
New Southern Political Leaders Scalawags Carpetbaggers Republican Northerners who came to the South looking for economic and political gains Southerners who joined the Republican Party
The Image of a Carpetbagger Is Schurz shown in a positive or negative light? Explain. Why do you think the cartoonist portrays the Southern people standing in a group, far away from Schurz? Image of Carl Schurz, a liberal Republican who advocated for legal equality for African Americans "The Man with the (Carpet) Bags' cartoon by Thomas Nast, 1872, depicting the Southern attitude toward Northerners during Reconstruction"
Changes in Southern Economy Sharecropping Tenant Farming
Sharecropping 7. A few Sharecroppers with leftover cash might become tenant farmers How did the sharecropping system make it hard for small farmers to improve their standard of living?
Opposition to Reconstruction • Ku Klux Klan • Founded as a social club for Confederate veterans. • Grew rapidly throughout the South & turned towards violent terrorism • Goal of Group: • Restore white supremacy • Method: • Prevent African Americans from exercising their political rights.
The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant • Grant the Politician: • Strength was as a military leader, not as a politician or government leader. • Scandals and corruption damaged his administration. • Business owners in the booming postwar economy offered bribes to politicians who would do favors for them. • Most notorious scandals: • Credit Mobilier Scandal: Railroad official impoverished the railroad, then bribed members of Congress to block any investigation. • “Salary Grab”: Congress voted itself a 50% pay raise and added to years of back pay. Act repealed due to public outcry. • “Whiskey Ring”: Whiskey distillers paid graft to federal tax collectors rather than pay tax on their liquor.
Result of Grant Administration • As a result of Grant’s Administration • Political strength of Republican party was weakened. • By early 1870s, all but a handful of former Confederates could vote again. • Began to vote Democratic as a result of Radical Republican agenda. • South became a Democratic section for the next century. • Republican influence in the South began to die but remained strong in the North and Midwest.
Election of 1876 Democratic nominee – Samuel J. Tilden Republican nominee – Rutherford B. Hayes
The Election & Results • Tilden won the popular vote but… • Electoral vote was contested. • 4 states sent in disputed election results. • Special Electoral Commission was named to count the votes. • Republican majority on the commission gave all the electoral votes to Hayes • Equals VICTORY!!!!! • Democrats agreed to election with a major compromise,
Compromise of 1877 • Withdraw remaining federal troops from the Southern states • Ending reconstruction • Name a Southerner to the cabinet • Support federal spending on internal improvements in the South. • Result: • Effectively weakened the North’s political victory in the Civil War. • Restored power to many former Confederates.
Historians Interpretation of Reconstruction Activity Was Reconstruction interpreted as a success or failure?
