The Reconstruction

1. The Reconstruction Quinn Davis, Alyssa Hannah, Nicholas McGowan, and Grace Watson

2. Our Agenda... • Lincoln’s assassination • The Reconstruction Amendments • Life as a free slave • Lincoln’s vision of Reconstruction and how it was changed

3. “I cannot bring myself to believe that any human being lives who would do me any harm.” -- Abraham Lincoln to General Edward H. Ripley April 5, 1865, nine days before his assassination.

4. Lincoln’s Assassination • On April 14, 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was shot. • Lincoln was at a play with his wife when John Wilkes Booth shot him in the back of the head. • “Sic semper tyrannis!” • Booth escaped the theater while Lincoln died.

5. John Wilkes Booth

6. The Mourners • Lincoln was said to be “like Moses,” and “something greater than greatness itself” at his funeral. • There were stories dedicated to Lincoln. • People hung pictures of Lincoln in their homes. • Lincoln’s wife, Mary, shut herself up in her room and refused to be seen by the public. • Lincoln’s sons were shocked and very saddened as well.

7. Ribbon In Memorial of Lincoln

8. The Nation’s Reactions to Lincoln’s Death • Even the South was angry about Booth shooting Lincoln • The South still believed Lincoln was wrong in his beliefs. • The North and Blacks were all devastated. • Everybody was searching for Booth, wanting revenge. • The Northerners were so angry, they all wanted Booth hung or killed.

9. Poster Asking for the Capture of the Men

10. The Other Assassins • Lewis Powell attacked Secretary of State William H. Seward • John H. Surratt was a suspect of the Seward attack, but was falsely accused. • David Herold was an acomplinese of Booth, and helped him get away. • Vice President Andrew Johnson was targeted, George Atzerodt was assigned to kill him but ran away. • Many other men were part of the act, although most were not found out.

11. What Happened to the Assassins • John Wilkes Booth escaped from Washington to Maryland. • All the assassins were in hiding. • $100,000 was being offered for the capture of the men. • Booth and his men were in hiding, going from house to house. • Booth and Herold were eventually found, and although Herold surrendered, Booth refused and was shot.

12. Map of the Assassins Hideouts

13. The Assassin’s Plan and Motives • Booth had always loved the South and slavery. • Booth turned to avenging the South instead of loving it. • Lincoln’s reelection enraged Booth. • August 1864 Booth and some of his friends (former Confederate agents) met and started to plan to kidnap Lincoln. • In the end, Booth decided to kill Lincoln, not kidnap him.

14. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments • 13th - Passed by Congress January 31, 1865; Ratified December 6, 1865 • 14th - Passed by Congress June 13, 1866; Ratified July 9, 1868 • 15th - Passed by Congress February 26, 1869; Ratified February 3, 1870

15. 13th Amendment • Slavery is no longer legal in the United states. • Involuntary servitude (bondage) is also not legal unless used as punishment for a crime. • Congress has the right to enforce this amendment when needed.

16. 14th Amendment • All citizens of the United States shall be treated equal. • State and federal government cannot make laws discriminating any group of people. • Representatives of each state will be decided by the population including all people except for indians who are not taxed. • No person who has been involved in any rebel action can be elected for any government position. • The U.S. promises to pay its Civil War debt. • All debts acquired by the confederate government are illegal.

17. The 14th Amendment

18. 15th Amendment • Every citizen of the United States has the right to vote. • Federal and State Governments cannot deny any person the right to vote. • Congress has the right to enforce this amendment when needed.

19. Hurray, Slaves are Freed! Freed Slaves can now: • Vote! • Hold a Government Position! • Have the Right of Speech!

20. BTS: The Challenges African Americans Faced After the Civil War • Many former slaves couldn’t go anywhere. • Disease that killed many African Americans. • Jim Crow Law’s formed with a strong force of segregation.

21. Life After Being Freed • Freed slaves had no where to go due to no education or life skills. • Most blacks had to go to contraband camps to survive. • Most camps were abandoned slave pens and the only way out was going back to your old master to work. • Disease like smallpox and cholera was caused because of low sanitation in these contraband camps, about one fourth of 4 million African Americans died from 1862-1870 from disease.

22. Jim Crow Laws The unwritten rules of segregation. Voting • Poll taxes were enforced on blacks that most could not afford. • Literacy tests, blacks had to take almost impossible tests to vote. Segregation • Blacks were called “Boy” “Girl” “Nigger” by whites, but blacks referred to whites as “Mr.” and “Mrs.” • Blacks couldn’t have any relation to whites. • Jobs and schools were limited to blacks. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/tools.html

23. Lincoln’s Vision of Reconstruction • “The Greatest Question ever presented to practical statesmanship” -- Lincoln • All southerners, except high-ranking Confederate Officers could swear an oath that pledged future loyalty to the Union • Once 10% of the voting population of the state pledged loyalty to the Union, the citizens of the state could vote in order to change the state’s government and constitution • This was called the “Ten Percent Plan”

24. Henry Davis and Benjamin Wade

25. The Wade-Davis Bill • Several Radical Republicans in Congress thought that the Ten-Percent Plan was too lenient • A more stringent plan was proposed by Senator Benjamin F. Wade and Representative Henry Winter Davis • February, 1864 • Would require 50% of white males to pledge allegiance and for the state to allow blacks to vote.

26. Image of the Wade-Davis Bill

27. Wade-Davis Bill Aftermath • Both houses of Congress pass the Wade-Davis Bill and it goes to Lincoln’s desk • Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill and kept advocating tolerance for Reconstruction • The veto of the bill outraged members of Congress and led to some calling for his resignation

28. Johnson’s Changes • Johnson would appoint governors himself • Governors would be allowed to appoint officials in state administrations • New Southerners ended up enacting a system of laws called “Black Codes”

29. Andrew Johnson

30. Congress’s Changes to Reconstruction • Extended length of the Freedmen’s Bureau (federal agency to aid former slaves) • Civil Rights Act of 1866 • President Johnson eventually vetoed both bills

31. After the Congressional Elections of 1866... • Congress “effectively” eliminated all of Johnson’s control over Reconstruction and ratified the Fourteenth Amendment. • Passed the Reconstruction Acts • Due to Congressional control and harsh policy, Reconstruction was prolonged resulting in violent attacks against blacks. • After: The Jim Crow Era

32. Sources and Works Cited • The Battle over Reconstruction. National Endowment for The Humanities, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2014. <http://edsitement.neh.gov/curriculum-unit/battle-over-reconstruction>. • The Charters of Freedom. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2014. <http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_amendments_11-27.html>. • Harris, Paul. “How the End of Slavery Led to Starvation and Death for Millions of Black Americans.” • The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 16 June 2012. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jun/16/slavery-starvation-civil-war>. • Holzer, Harold. The President Is Shot. Honesdale: Boyds Mills, 2004. Print. • Our Documents -- Wade-Davis Bill (1864). National History Day, The National Archives and Records Administration, and USA Freedom Corps., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. <http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=37>. • “The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow.” PBS. Educational Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/>.