Reconstruction

1. Reconstruction A.P. U.S. History Mr. Krueger

2. After War • The Reconstruction of the south was difficult • Constitution provided no guidelines because founders didn’t anticipate a Civil War • How far should the federal government go to secure freedom and civil rights for 4 million former slaves • Advocates for minimal Reconstruction favored quick restoration with no protection for the freed slaves beyond prohibition of slavery • Radicals wanted loyal men to replace Confederates in elite positions and blacks would receive basic rights of citizenships

3. Wartime Reconstruction • Major question – how do seceded states return to the Union • 1863 – Lincoln issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction • Offers full pardon to southerners (not confederate leaders) who would take an oath of allegiance to the Union and acknowledge emancipation (10% Plan) • Congress did not support Lincoln’s 10% Plan • Radicals were strongly anti-slave • They felt Lincoln exceeded his authority • Only Congress could determine readmittance • Congress felt that by leaving the Union, the South forfeited their right to a republic. • Congress passed the Wade – Davis Bill (50% plan) – but Lincoln used his pocket veto, and his relations with Congress reached an all time low.

4. Andrew Johnson • Attempts to put the Union back together with his own authority in 1865 – angers Congress and the Rep. Party – provokes problems between Executive and Legislative Branches • Johnson as President was a strange accident that a southern democrat and white supremacist came to reside over the Republican Administration • Former Jacksonian Democrat • Hated the Southern Planter Class • Endorsed Lincoln’s Emancipation Plan • Some Radicals liked Johnson • Strongly Loyal to the Union • Wanted to punish confederates and southern traitors • Johnson’s Reconstruction Policy changes this. • He placed N. Carolina and other states under provisional governors • They were chosen mostly from prominent southern politicians who opposed secession and did not serve the CSA.

5. Johnson’s Plan • Governor’s Responsibility • Call for constitutional conventions • Ensuring only legal whites would vote for delegates (must take an oath) • To regain political and property rights, southern land owners loyal to the CSA must apply for a presidential pardon • Wealthy planters were excluded if they possessed taxable property exceeding $20,000 • Johnson Urged: • Declare the ordinances of secession illegal • Repudiate CSA debt • Ratify the 13th Amendment • Once Reconstruction process was complete, the south could regain their rights • Some states approved Johnson’s Plan, but with qualifications and all constitutions that limited suffrage to whites.

6. Black Codes • Republicans were outraged when states passed the Black Codes, vagrancy laws, and apprentice laws • Forced Blacks to work • Denied free choice of employers • Blacks in some states could not testify in court • Blacks were subject to special codes and laws • Radicals thought this was similar to slavery • A number of ex-CSA leaders were elected to Congress • Johnson was responsible • He granted amnesty to CSA leaders • Johnson and Congress drift apart • Johnson wants to restore the federal system quickly without change • Most Republicans did not want the return of the Southern ruling plantation class back in power

7. Congressional Initiative • Reconcile between Johnson and Congress inevitable because he vetoed two bills: • Extended the Life of the Freedman’s Bureau – give black relief, education, land, legal aid • Civil rights bill – nullify black codes and give blacks equal rights • Congress overrode the veto to Civil Rights Bill (1st time in history) • Passed the 14th Amendment • Section 1 – equal rights to all Americans • Section 2 – established a punishment to all states who denied suffrage to black males • Section 3 – denied federal office to CSA supporters • Section 4 – Repudiated CSA debt • During the election of 1866 – Johnson opposed the Amendments because they violated states’ rights • Bloody race riots in New Orleans and Memphis • State governors were not protecting life and liberty for blacks • Johnson had a very crude campaign • This allowed radicals to gain 2/3 majority in Congress

8. Radical Reconstruction • Radicals like Charles Sumner, Thadeus Stevens, George Julian – reshape southern society before readmitting ex-CSA to the Union • Regeneration before Reconstruction – Military rule to confiscate and redistribute property of large landowners. Provide Federal Aid to Blacks • March 1867 – 1st Reconstruction Act passed (overrode presidential veto) • South divided into 5 military districts • Black suffrage was seen as a way for Northern Reps. to stay in power • Reconstruction had a radical aspect. It allowed poor to have access to the ballot box, this was a bold application of principle of government by consent of the governed. • The biggest problem was to enforce equal suffrage in the South.

9. Impeachment Crisis • Johnson opposed radical reconstruction • Began to dismiss office holders – Congress responds with the Tenure of Office Act, limiting presidential power and requiring Senate approval for the removal of cabinet members • Also limited Johnson’s ability to command the military • Johnson objected – Congress spoke of impeachment • 1869 – Johnson tries to dismiss the Secretary of War – the only radical in his cabinet • The House viewed this as a violation of the Tenure Act • Johnson went to trial in the Senate, but a Rep. Senator broke from party leadership and voted for acquittal • Result – one vote short • Arguments ensue • President can only be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors • Removal for political reasons places too much power in Legislative hands

10. Social and Economic Adjustments • South was devastated by war • Problem – Emancipation had taken away planters most productive asset • Southern prosperity would still rely on cotton • Sherman was hampered by a huge number of black fugitives – set aside 40 acre plots for them along the coasts • Freedman Bureau gave 40 acre plots and an option to buy after 3 years • Most blacks on small farms failed to acquire title, problems committing to wage labor • Sharecropping was common • Work a piece of land for a % of the crop • Tenet shared the risk of crop failure, and low cotton prices • Credit problems • Blacks in cities found themselves living in segregation because of Black Codes and Separate but Equal institutions

11. Political Reconstruction • State governments had little respect for freed slaves • Black codes made unemployment a crime • Denied the right to own property • Extreme violence – 1000’s were murdered – terrorism and violence were used to keep blacks from voting • Southern Republican Party was made up of 3 groups • North Republican businessmen – carpetbaggers and scalawags – given opportunity for commercial development • Poor white farmers • Nearly enfranchised blacks – formed a majority in some states and were concerned with education, civil rights, land ownership • Problem – each groups stood alone and Southern Democrats exploited this • Corruption due to Radical Reconstruction affects economy

12. Age of Grant • Grant was the only President to serve 2 consecutive terms between AJ and W. Wilson • Grant is regarded as a failure • Corruption • Inconsistency • Ultimate failure of southern policy • Top priority was to old friends and politicians • Money was an issue in the election • Many wanted to return to greenbacks • Others wanted to stay with the gold standard • 1869-1870 – Congress passed a law that assured payment in gold, but eased the burden of the huge Civil War debt for bond holders not due for the next 10-30 years • What should be done with 356 million in greenbacks in circulation? • Grant administration wanted them to float until economic expansion would bring them to par with gold • Panic of 1873 brought economy to its knees – debt at an all time high • Grant vetoed a Congressional greenback bill • Deflation continued – workers and farmers upset creates the Greenback Party

13. Retreat from Reconstruction • 15th Amendment – States are prohibited from denying a citizen the right to vote based on race, color, or previous servitude • Limited by: Literacy Tests, Property qualifications, Poll taxes • The amendment makers did not see that the amendment would be used to strip blacks of the right to vote • Feminists were upset the amendment did not extend the right to vote to women – campaigned against it • Elizabeth Cady Stanton • Susan B. Anthony • The Grant Administration was charged with enforcing the Amendment. The Republican Party depended on it: • African American Support • Political Partnership • Dictated federal action • A big threat to the Republicans were white supremacists like the KKK

14. Klu Klux Klan or Knights of the Camellia • Organized in Tennessee – grass roots movement with support from all classes • Klan caused Grant to lose Louisiana and Georgia during the election of 1868 • Insurrections broke out in many states as militias were called out against the KKK • In Tennessee, N. Carolina, and Georgia, Klan activities brought the Democrats to power in the 1880’s • Grant faced overthrow in the South – passed laws to enforce the 15th amendment • Federal protection for black suffrage • Use of the army against the KKK • KKK or Force Act • Made interference with voting a federal crime • Gave the president the right to call federal troops • Gave the president the right to suspend habeas corpus • Result – Election of 1872 was peaceful • Democrats change tactics – promote the idea of white supremacy and agrarian hostility to the government • Republicans start to lose the South

15. Scandal • Grant’s power was failing • Reformers charged that a corrupt national administration was protecting poor southern governments for personal advantage • Example: Grant’s administration intervened in Louisiana to protect a poor Rep. faction headed by his wife’s brother – in – law. • Credit – Mobilier Scandal – Grant’s 1st term VP (Schuyler Colfax) took profits that should have gone to the Union Pacific Railroad • U.P. benefited from federal land grants • To stop a government inquiry the Credit Mobilier stock was distributed to influential Congressmen and Colfax • Republicans split – Liberal Republicans try to create an honest government and reconcile North and South • Grant still wins because southern democrats do not support Liberal Republicans • Whiskey Ring 1875 – Federal revenue collectors conspired with distillers to steal millions of dollars in liquor taxes • Grant’s private secretary indicted • Grant’s secretary of war impeached because he took bribes

16. Compromise • Compromise of 1877 – End of Reconstruction • Election of 1876 – Rep. Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Sam Tilden promised honest government • Tilden won the popular vote and seemed to win the electoral vote – S. Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana were contested • Congress appointed an electoral commission of 15 members to determine the outcome • Democrats filibuster • Compromise is reached – Hayes would be president, southern home rule would be restored, and blacks left to fate • Hayes ordered the army to not to resist Democratic takeover • Radical governments were ended

17. The New South • Committed to economic development, commercial and industrial interests – led by the “redeemers” • Wealthy planters supported a return to plantations • Professional Politicians • Interest groups dominate policy • Laissez Faire, White Supremacy • Government remained corrupt and dishonest • Embezzlement of funds, bribery and corruption of state lotterys • Cut back on money for schools and public service • Crop Loan and credit affected black and white farmers • Said they would not impede black suffrage (as long as they voted for the Democratic Party) • Democrats also: stuffed ballot boxes, discarded votes, reported false totals • African Americans were defenseless to the Jim Crow Era