A Nation Needs Rebuilding (Reconstruction)

1. A Nation Needs Rebuilding (Reconstruction)

2. Reconstruction was the period of rebuilding after the Civil War. It also refers to the process of bringing the Southern states back into the nation. Wartime Reconstruction 1865-1877

3. Reconstructing Society • Conditions in the Postwar South: • Many plantations and small farms remained destroyed. • The population of the south also was devastated. More than one-fifth of adult men died. • Woman and children who stayed home often suffered malnutrition and illness. • The government began public works program to repair region’s physical damage. They also provided social services.

4. Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction • Lincoln had a simple plan called the 10% Plan • Pardon Southerners who took oath of loyalty to the United States • A state could be readmitted in the Union once 10% of the state’s voters swore allegiance to the nation. • Four states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Virginia readmission to the Union.

5. President Lincoln’s Plan • The plan angered a minority of Republicans in Congress known as the Radical Republicans. Radical Republicans wanted to reshape southern society and favored a more thorough program of Reconstruction. They wanted freed slaves to have economic opportunities and political equality. But moderate Republicans still controlled Congress. • The Radical’s thought Lincoln’s plan was: • Too easy on the South • They wanted the South to be punished. • Give African-American full citizenship and the right to vote.

6. Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865 left his successor Andrew Johnson to deal with the Reconstruction controversy. Johnson continues Lincoln’s Policies but he announces his own plan. The remaining Confederate states could be readmitted to the Union if it would meet several conditions: Each state must withdraw its secession swear allegiance to the Union Ask President for pardon for officers & government officials Annul Confederate war debts Ratify the thirteenth Amendment Johnson’s Plan

7. The Radicals were upset with Johnson’s plan. He failed to address the needs of former slaves in three areas: Land Voting rights Protection under the law Although Johnson supported abolition; he was not in favor of former slaves gaining the right to vote. The remaining Confederate states quickly agreed to Johnson’s term. Some states did not fully comply with the conditions of the plan. Mississippi did not ratify the 13th amendment. Johnson’ Plan

8. Reconstruction Amendments Thirteenth Amendment (1865) abolished slavery in the United States. Fourteenth Amendment (1868) Guaranteed citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the United States. Fifteenth Amendment (1870) Gave the right to vote to African American men.

9. Radical Republicans take control of Reconstruction • Civil Rights Act of 1866 was passed. It declared that states could not enact black codes. It guaranteed to a person by law; like voting and equal protection. • Reconstruction Act of 1867 • The south divided into 5 districts under military rule • Each state had to write a new constitution • African Americans were to be allowed to vote & guarantee equal rights • Had to ratify the 14th amendment

10. Resistance to Racial Equality • When the new southern members of Congress appeared in Washington to that their seats; Northerners were alarmed. • Many of the new members were former leaders of the Confederacy as well as the state and local offices. • After the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery; all former slave states enacted Black Codes; which were laws that limited African American right’s • Under the code; they could not serve on juries; own guns; or gather in groups after dark and could only do certain jobs.

11. Radical Republicans take control of Reconstruction • The Radicals passed a law creating the Freedmen’s Bureau to help African Americans make the transition to freedom. • It assisted former slaves and poor whites. • It gave them food; clothing; jobs; medicine; and set up hospitals and schools.

12. President Johnson’s Impeachment • Johnson fired his secretary of state without the approval of Congress. • Johnson removed cabinet member Edwin Stanton • The House brought 11 charges of impeachment against Johnson. • Johnson’s lawyers disputed these charges by • pointing that Lincoln, not • Johnson, had appointed • Secretary Stanton, so • the act did not apply.

13. The Senate Trial The lucky holders of tickets like the one below could see Johnson’s Impeachment proceedings in 1868. • 11 week trial. • Johnson acquitted 35 to 19 (one short of required 2/3s vote).

14. Ulysses S. Grant Is Elected • Grant won the Presidency by a wide margin in the electoral college but the popular vote was less decisive. • Most of the votes came from Southern African-American. • African-American votes in the South helped Grant win.

15. Politics in the Postwar South • Difficulty facing the new Republican government was the different groups within the Republican Party in the South. • “Scalawags” were white southerners who supported Republicans and Reconstruction of the South. • “Carpetbaggers” were northerners who moved to the south to help with rebuilding and supported the Republicans • African Americanswere eager to vote and take part in politics. • The differences between the three led to lack of unity in the party.

16. Black "Adjustment" in the South

17. African Americans faced decisions without land jobs tools money and with few skills Reunification of Families Slavery had split many African American families apart. Once free they took advantage of looking for loved ones. Once reunited they married and raised their children without the fear of being separated. Churches & Volunteer Groups They founded their own churches (Methodist & Baptist) Ministers often became important community leaders They also formed volunteer organizations. That provided financial and emotional support for their members. Education Thousands of African Americans of all ages sought an education. Groups organized schools colleges and universities. They raised money to buy land and to pay teacher’s salaries. Some white southerners outraged by the idea of educated African Americans responded with violence. Despite the threat of violence freed people were determined to learn. Former Slaves Face Many Challenges

18. African Americans wanted to own and farm their own land. Congress failed to redistribute land to the vast majority of African Americans after the war. Southerner planters wanted to return to the plantation system to regain their control of land labor and African Americans. There was two systems: Sharecropping and tenant farming. Sharecropping is a system in which landowners give a few acres of land to their farm workers. The farmers keep a small portion of their crops and give the rest to the landowner. Tenant Farming were tenant farmers rented land from the landowners for cash. Cotton was no longer in great demand. As result; the price of Southern cotton fell dramatically. How did the Southern Economy Change after the Civil War?

19. Sharecropping

20. Republicans decided not to run Grant for a third term. Instead, they choose Rutherford B. Hayes. The Democrats ran Samuel H. Tilden. Although Tilden won popular vote, he was short of one vote of the electoral vote needed to win. The presidential election was disputed with charges of massive voting fraud. With the Compromise of 1877 Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops in the South, and in return, Rutherford B. Hayes became president. Republicans withdrawn troops from the South to gain Hayes the presidency in 1876 By 1870,Northerners were tired of Reconstruction. The nation’s economy was not doing so well. People were worried about having a job & earning enough money. They turned away from the problems of African Americans.

21. A Political Crisis: The “Compromise” of 1877 • Hayes Prevails

22. Many whites frustrated by their loss of political power and by the South’s economic stagnation; took out their anger on African American. Certain groups embarked on a campaign to terrorize African American into giving up their political rights and their efforts at economic improvement. The opposition to Reconstruction begins…