Reconstruction

1. Reconstruction

2. Post-War Problems • Freed slaves are now homeless • Countless white Southerners homeless from loss of land • Reconstruction—a thing that has been rebuilt after being destroyed

3. The 10% Plan • Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan was designed to clean up the war wounds as soon as possible • As soon as 10% of a state’s voters swore an oath of loyalty to the United States, the voters could organize a new state government • That gov’t would have to declare an end to slavery • Then, the state could send members to Congress • All former Confederates who took the loyalty oath would receive amnesty—a group pardon

4. The Wade-Davis Bill • Six months later, Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill • 50% of voters would have to swear a loyalty oath • Anyone who had voluntarily fought for the Confederacy would be barred from voting for delegates to a convention to write a new state constitution • They had no voting rights • Lincoln would not sign it, so it never became law

5. Radical Republicans • Those Republicans (in the North) who disagreed with Lincoln’s soft plans and wished for a strict plan for the South • Believed only a strict plan would keep the South from regaining power and weakening the Republicans’ control

6. The Freedmen’s Bureau • Freedmen—enslaved people who had been freed by the war • Created in March 1865 • Goal: to provide emergency relief to people displaced by the war • Set up schools—great hunger for education • EdmoniaHighgate—daughter of freed slaves, taught in a school in LA. “The majority of my pupils come from plantations, three, four, and even eight miles…so anxious are they to learn that they walk these distances so early in the morning.”

7. Assassination • Lincoln shot on April 14, 1865, five days after Lee surrendered • Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth, snuck up behind Lincoln in Ford’s theater and shot him in the head • Booth was hunted down and killed two weeks later • Eight people were convicted for their parts in Lincoln’s assassination

8. Andrew Johnson • Lincoln’s vice president • Southern Democrat who had remained loyal to the Union • Many expected him to be strict with Reconstruction

9. Johnson’s Plan • Broad amnesty to former Confederates • Each state required to abolish slavery & ratify 13th amendment • Most states met Johnson’s requirements by December 1865 • Congress rejected Johnson’s approach • It refused to seat Southern elected representatives • 2 houses appointed a committee to create a new plan

10. 13th Amendment • January 1865 • Slavery and forced labor are abolished throughout the nation

11. Black Codes • Black codes—new laws used by southern states to control African Americans • No voting • No serving on juries • If unable to pay a court fine, blacks could be hired out by any white person who paid the fine • Radical Republicans furious about the black codes

12. Opposing Plans I want a quick reunion. We want real change. President Andrew Johnson (1865) • Majority of white men must swear oath of loyalty • Must ratify 13th Amendment • Former confederate officials may vote and hold office Radical Republicans (1867) • Must disband state government • Must write new constitution • Must ratify 13th and 14th amendment • Must allow African American men to vote Thaddeus Stevens

13. 14th Amendment, part 1 • Congress and the President clash during 1866. • Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866—it granted citizenship rights to African Americans and guaranteed the civil rights of all people except Native Americans • Johnson vetoed the bill and another one extending the Freedmen’s Bureau • Congress voted to overturn both vetoes

14. 14th Amendment, Part 2 • Congress wanted to make sure the Supreme Court did not strike down the Civil Rights Act so they drew up the 14th Amendment • The amendment was finally approved in 1868 after Radicals took control of Reconstruction • States that all people born or naturalized in the US are citizens & declares that states may not pass laws that take away a citizen’s rights.

15. Radical Reconstruction • By 1867, Radical Republicans had won enough support to begin a “hard” reconstruction • Removed governments of all southern states who had refused to ratify the 14th amendment • Imposed military rule on these states, dividing them into 5 military districts • Soldiers helped register African American voters in Southern states • In 1868, Republicans won all southern states, Ulysses Grant elected president

16. African Americans Stand Up • Free-born African Americans became sheriffs, mayors, judges, and legislators. • 16 served in the US House between 1872-1901 • Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce were Senators

17. 3 Key Groups Carpetbaggers—a name given by southerners to northern whites who went south to start businesses or pursue political office These groups all contributed to the power of the Republican party in the newly reconstructed south. Southerners were not pleased about any of them. Scalawags—southern whites who opposed secession Freedmen voters

18. Impeachment • Impeachment—bringing formal charges against a public official • The Radicals tried to remove Johnson by impeachment • The Constitution says the House may remove a president for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” • After impeachment, there is a trial in the Senate—if convicted, the president is removed from office • Johnson escaped removal by one vote, but was impeached by the House in February 1868

19. Ulysses S. Grant • A moderate who had support from many northern business leaders • Radicals began losing their grip on the Republican party with his election

20. 15th Amendment • African American voting rights • Barred all states from denying African American males the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” • States got around this by requiring voters to own property or pay a voting tax

21. The Ku Klux Klan • Angry at being shut out of power, some whites resorted to violence • They created secret societies to terrorize African Americans and their white allies • Wore whie robes with hoods—hid their faces • Rode by night to homes of black voters, shouting threats and burning crosses • Would whip, torture, shoot, or hang African Americans and white Republicans

23. Republicans Lose • Opponents of Republicans began to slowly chip away at the rights of African Americans • Campaigns of terror were a major factor in the shift of power • By 1877, Republicans had lost control of all but 3 southern states—they were controlled by Democrats then

24. Reconstruction Crumbles • End of Reconstruction was a direct result of the presidential election of 1876 • The choice of president was decided by Congress because of disputes—they chose Rutherford B. Hayes from Ohio • Once in command, Hayes removed all federal troops from the South

25. African Americans Lose Rights • Reconstruction ends, so do civil rights for African Americans • Poll tax—a personal tax to be paid before voting • Literacy test—a test to see if a person can read and write • Grandfather clause—a provision that allowed a voter to avoid a literacy test if his father or grandfather had been eligible to vote on January 1, 1867 • Jim Crow Laws—all of the above, plus the segregation that occurred in the South

26. Segregation • Blacks and whites were born and treated in separate hospitals • Buried in separate cemeteries • Separate playgrounds, restaurants, and schools • Blacks must take the back seats on railroads and streetcars • State and local courts consistently ruled that Jim Crow laws were legal

27. Plessy vs. Ferguson • 1n 1896, the Supreme Court upheld segregation laws • Homer Plessy had been arrested for sitting in a coach marked “for whites only” • “separate but equal” ruling by the court—in effect until the 1950s

28. Poverty: A Cycle • Sharecropper—a laborer who works the land for the farmer who owns it, in exchange for a share of the value of the crop • Landowners supplies materials on credit. When the crops did not do so well, the sharecroppers usually owed more than they made • They promise to pay more the next year and enter a cycle of debt

29. New South • Southerners hailed a “New South” based on industrial growth • The South had an abundance of natural resources but had done little to develop them in the past • New mills and factories grew to use the South’s iron, timber, and oil • Southerners were thrilled with their New South that was no longer dependent on King Cotton