The Rebuilding Years

1. The Rebuilding Years Chapter 15

2. Timeline April 9 1865 General Lee surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse VA April 14 1865 Abraham Lincoln assassinated; Andrew Johnson becomes president March 3, 1865 Freedmen’s Bureau created December 8, 1865 13th Amendment Ratified December 24, 1865 1st meeting of the Ku Klux Klan April 9, 1868 14th Amendment Ratified February 3, 1870 15th Amendment Ratified 1868 President Johnson Impeachment and trial 1869 Ulysses S Grant inaugurated as President 1867 Reconstruction Acts 1876 South Carolina’s governor’s election ends with two governors and two state legislatures 1877 Compromise ends Reconstruction Era 1876 Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone 1877 Compromise resolves disputed US and SC elections 1872 Yellowstone National Park created

3. Why was much of the work of rebuilding left to the Southerners?

4. Civil War Damage After the Civil War, South Carolina had to rebuild its destroyed state and economy. The federal government did not believe it was their responsibility to rebuild the South economically Left much of the work to the Southern states themselves. Damage to the Confederate capitol, Richmond, VA.

5. What was South Carolina responsible for rebuilding? • What problems did individuals and state governments have with rebuilding?

6. Civil War Damage South Carolina was responsible for rebuilding • Towns, factories, farms, and transportation systems The problem with this was that… • Individuals & state government did not have the money to rebuild Because… • The economy was destroyed now that slave labor was gone Damage to Archdale Hall plantation in Dorchester County

7. The federal government created reconstruction plans to ensure that the hundreds of thousands of free slaves in SC received what?

8. The Freeing of Slaves The federal government created reconstruction plans that focused on the South’s social and political roles. The federal government wanted to make sure that hundreds of thousands of freemen living in SC received fair treatment from the white Southerners. Emancipation did not guarantee equal treatment

9. After the Civil War, how did the labor on farms change?

10. The Freeing of Slaves Reconstruction did little to help the South’s economic recovery The economy continued to rest on agriculture and cotton • But now depended on sharecropping rather than slave labor. s). Freedmen working in the fields in Port Royal, South Carolina. • The national government did not rebuild the war-torn region economically • It did not have an active role in managing the economy until the 20th century. • The South remained in a state of economic depression well into the 20th century (1900)

11. What were the former slave owners’ reactions to slaves that left the plantation?

12. The Freeing of Slaves As a result of the war and the 13th amendment, SC plantation owners lost their labor force and a very large part of their wealth. Many were astonished that their former slaves, who they thought were loyal to them, left the plantations. Feeling betrayed and resentful of the former slaves’ attitudes, many former slave owners became more hostile to the freedman. Abandoned plantation in Louisiana.

13. Why did former slaves not leave the South as soon as they had the opportunity?

14. The Freeing of Slaves At the end of the war, many freedmen left the plantation looking for relatives sold “down the river” or seeking a taste of freedom. Most soon returned to the area that they knew best, their former plantations. Former slaves did not often leave the South as soon as they had the opportunity to escape because they had no where else to go. They worked to consolidate their families and communities and establish a network of churches and other self-run institutions. Freedmen’s school

15. The Freedman’s Bureau One of the promises of the Bureau to the freedmen was 40 acres and a mule. The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, known as the Freedman’s Bureau, was established by Congress prior to the end of the Civil War.

16. Who did the Freedmen’s Bureau help? • What did the Freedmen’s Bureau do?

17. The Freedman’s Bureau The Bureau was the first line of assistance to everyone affected by the war, including whites, as well as destitute freedmen. Under the control of the United States army this agency provided food, clothing, medical care, education and some protection from the hostile white environment. 2. The Freedman’s Bureau helped many freedmen find jobs and established courts to protect the illiterate workers.

18. What happened to the land promised to freedmen?

19. The Freedman’s Bureau • Promised “40 acres and a mule.” • They were to be given land that had been abandoned during the war or that had been confiscated to punish Confederates. • The Bureau was forced to take these lands back from the freedmen when President Johnson pardoned the white owners & returned their property to them. • Congress would not pass legislation granting lands to freedmen because they respected the constitutional rights of Southern whites to their landed property. Land that had been given to freedmen to start new lives had to be given back.

20. What was the most important contribution of the Freedmen’s Bureau?

21. The Freedman’s Bureau The most important contribution of the Freedman’s Bureau was the establishment of over 1,000 schools throughout the South. The Northern Aid Society created the Penn School in Beaufort. Religious denominations and Northern philanthropists also provided support for the establishment of colleges for African Americans in South Carolina. Both men & women traveled to the South to serve as teachers at the schools that were established. Top: inside view of Penn School Above: School children from Penn School

22. Why did many freedmen go to the privately supported freedom schools?

23. The Freeing of Slaves • The missionaries that came to the South to teach made a significant contribution to the education of African Americans. • African Americans flocked to the privately supported freedom schools and the new public schools, anxious for the opportunity to learn to read and write denied them during slavery. • Most freedmen, young and old, desperately wanted to learn. • Prior to the end of slavery, some blacks had established schools. Children from a Freedman’s School

24. Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction • Overall Purpose: • Main Parts of the Plan: • ___ • ___ • ___ • ___ • ___ • Political Purpose: Next 3 slides

25. Reconstruction in SC The overall purpose of Pres. Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction was to end the war as quickly as possible & was formulated before the end of the fighting. • He hoped to convince southern states, including SC, to surrender. • The 1st part of his planrequired that only 10% of the population swear allegiance to the Union before they could reform their state governments and send representatives to Congress. In this illustration, published after Abraham Lincoln's assassination, reconciliation is offered in Lincoln's memory to the secessionist South. - Library of Congress

26. Reconstruction in SC The political purpose of Lincoln’s plan was to restore the southern states into full political union with the other states. The other parts of Lincoln’s plan were: • Remove the government officials of the Confederate States of America and replace them with officials loyal to the Union • Punish high ranking Confederates by removing their right to vote.

27. Reconstruction in SC The other parts of Lincoln’s plan were: • Confederates who took oath to the constitution and Union laws would receive a pardon and get their land back • State governments were to impose significant social change by recognizing the end of slavery. Lincoln’s assassination did not significantly change this Presidential Reconstruction plan.

28. Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction • Overall Purpose: • Main Parts of the Plan: • ___ • ___ • ___ • ___ • ___ Next 2 slides

29. Reconstruction in SC President Johnson basically continued Lincoln’s plan with the additional purpose of humiliating the southern elite. The main parts of his plan were: • State would be readmitted when 10% of men took oath of allegiance to Union. Same as Lincoln • Southern elite had to request a pardon from the president President Andrew Johnson as published in Harper’s Weekly magazine.

30. Reconstruction in SC The main parts of his plan: • Approve the 13th amendment made slavery illegal • Nullify the Ordinance of Secession • South had to repay people and institutions that helped finance the Confederacy President Andrew Johnson as published in Harper’s Weekly magazine.

31. Radical Republican Plan for Reconstruction • Overall Purpose: • Political Purpose: • Main Parts of the Plan: • ___ • ___ • ___ • ___ • ___

32. Radical Republican Plan • Overall – written to protect the rights of newly freed slaves • Political – protect the Republican’s political power. Main parts – • The Confederacy would be split into 5 military districts, under the command of a military governor Main parts cont. – • New state legislatures had to approve the 14th amendment • Voting rights (suffrage) were given to black MALES and taken away from white males who participated in war. • No person who participated in war could hold public office. • State constitutions had to be approved by Congress

33. While the US Congress was not in session, what did South Carolina do concerning representatives and freedmen?

34. Reconstruction in SC • While the US Congress was not in session, the SC legislature elected former Confederates to Congress and passed Black Codes, which led to increased violence towards freedmen. This, along with President Johnson’s opposition veto of the Freedman’s Bureau bill and his opposition to the 14th Amendment, significantly changed the course of Reconstruction policy.

35. Because of the black codes, how did Congress treat South Carolina’s elected Southern officials?

36. Reconstruction in SC Because of the Black Codes Congress refused to admit returning Southern officials to their elected positions in Congress. “Radical Republicans” won a majority in the congressional elections of 1866 and passed their own plan for Reconstruction. This plan, known as the Radical Republican plan, was written to protect the rights of the newly freed slaves, as well as protect the Republican’s political power. Manuscript of the South Carolina Black Codes

37. Reconstruction in SC Map of the five military districts of the Radical Republican plan (Tennessee was not included in a district).

38. Reconstruction in SC • The Southern white population had little social change in the beginning. • Social classes remained fairly stable despite the loss of economic status by the planter elite. • White South Carolinians resented most actions of African Americans. A Library of Congress image entitled “The Black Codes”

39. What did the white Southerners fear that the newly freed slaves would do? • What did the “black codes” show about white South Carolinians’ attitudes after the Civil War?

40. Reconstruction in SC • Some white southerners feared retaliation by their former slaves, who were now free of the abuses of slavery. • Racial tensions escalated. When the Black Codes were developed, it showed that white South Carolinians were unwilling to recognize the social and political rights of the newly freed slaves.

41. After the war, how did the role of white women in South Carolina change?

42. Reconstruction in SC The impact on women of the Reconstruction period depended on their social class. The wives of both elite plantation owners & small farmers shared their husbands’ loss of social status and fear of economic competition from the freedmen. Elite white women had to negotiate household services from former slave women or perform household tasks themselves. The large number of men killed, and others physically & mentally impaired during the Civil War meant that many elite white women took on non-traditional roles. Men who lost limbs during the war were unable to help on the farms afterward, leaving much of the work to the women.

43. Which groups supported more rights for women?

44. Reconstruction in SC Former slaves, carpetbaggers and scalawags also pushed for some women’s rights. As a result of the constitution of 1868, women achieved some rights, including the right to own property in their own name after marriage. A copy of the 1868 South Carolina Constitution

45. The 13th Amendment to the Constitution:

46. Radical Reconstruction Before they could form new state governments, Southern states had to ratify and assure that they would honor the 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment was the constitutional amendment which officially abolished slavery, which had a major social impact on Southern African Americans. Freedmen worked to bring together their families and communities, establish a network of churches and other self-supporting institutions, claim equal citizenship, got an education and carve out as much independence as possible in their lives. A signed copy of the 13th Amendment.

47. Radical Reconstruction A political cartoon showing African Americans ‘ civil rights finally being recognized.

48. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution:

49. Radical Reconstruction The 14th Amendment was designed to protect the political & social rights of freedmen from intimidation of the Southern governments and people. The 14th Amendment overturned the Dred Scott decision & recognized the citizenship of African Americans It upheld the right of all citizens to “equal protection” before the laws and “due process” of law.

50. The 14th Amendment Required that 2/3 of the Congress vote to grant amnesty (forgiveness) to ex-Confederates before they could hold public office. It included a provision that was designed to force states to grant political rights to freedmen by reducing representation for states that did not allow African Americans to vote. This provision proved ineffective Document showing both black and white representatives in the first state legislature after the war.