Rebuilding the Union 18-1

1. Rebuilding the Union18-1 By Morgan Swanson

2. Presidential Reconstruction

3. Reconstruction Under Lincoln • After the war, the nation began Reconstruction (1865-1867) • Lincoln promised to reunify the nation in his Second Inaugural Address (1865) • Congress established the Freedman’s Bureau, an agency to help assist former slaves • Set up schools and hospitals along with distributing food, clothes, and fuel

4. Reconstruction Under Johnson • When Lincoln was killed, Andrew Johnson became president • Believed that the Reconstruction was the job of the President, not Congress • He insisted that states followed the Thirteen Amendment, which banned slavery • He offered amnesty to most white southerners • Eventually, almost everyone gained amnesty

5. Johnson’s Failure • Southern states rebuilt themselves when Congress wasn’t in session • Some states refused to follow the Thirteenth Amendment • Johnson’s main plan was to have the south follow the Reconstruction and for them to become Union states • He never did meet the needs of slaves • Southern states passed laws, known as black codes, that limited freedom of enslaved people • North suspected that the South was bringing back the “old South”

6. Congressional Reconstruction

7. Congress States Its Intentions • Refused to let in Southern Representatives • Set up a committee to observe the South • Republicans outnumbered Democrats in both houses • Radical Republicans, a group of congressmen using federal power to promote citizenship for freed African Americans, wanted the government to play an active role in remaking Southern politics

8. Civil Rights for African Americans • Congress passed a bill encouraging civil rights • The Civil Rights Act of 1866 confirmed that all people born in the US were citizens, except for Native Americans • Republicans were shocked, Johnson vetoed the bill • They wanted equality to be protected by the Constitution, so they proposed the Fourteenth Amendment • It stated that all people born or naturalized in the US had the same rights

9. Radical Reconstruction • Johnson refused to support this Amendment • So did every other former Confederate state except Tennessee • The two groups collaborated and passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 • Before Southern states joined the Union they must: • Approve new state constitutions that gave the vote to all adult men, even African Americans • Ratify the Fourteenth Amendment

10. The Impact of Reconstruction

11. Constitutional Delegates • Many Republicans were poor farmers, and Democrats called them scalawags • Carpetbaggers were the people who originated from the North but moved to the South after the war • African Americans made up the last group of delegates, most of them teachers or skilled workers

12. New Southern Governments • The new constitutions gave the vote to all adult males • By 1870, all Southern states had their new constitutions • Union let the states come into Congress • During Reconstruction, almost 700 former slaves served state legislatures, while 16 served as US Congressmen

13. Johnson Is Impeached • Johnson’s conflicts with Congress eventually led up to a showdown • Congress passed the Tenure of Office Actin 1867, prohibiting the president to fire government personnel without Senate approval • In 1888, Johnson fired his Secretary of War • The House impeached the president, and the case moved to Senate