American History—Chapter 12

1. American History—Chapter 12 Reconstruction

2. Problems after the War • Human—What do you do with all the new slaves? All the people that died? • Political—What do you do with all the Southern states? What about Lincoln’s death? • Constitutional—Does the President or Congress have the right to chose which plan will work to fix the South

3. Reconstruction • 1867-1877: Time period in which the United States tried to rebuild after the Civil War. • Also is the name for the process that the North allowed the South to come back to the United States. • Critical Period in United States History

4. Lincoln’s Plan • Didn’t blame individuals in the South—blame the Southern leaders for leaving • Wanted to restore the Union as QUICK as possible • Amnesty--To pardon (forgive) people for crimes against the government • Lincoln’s Plan never took place

5. Lincoln’s Plan cont.. • Pardon (forgive) all confederates who swear allegiance to the Union • This did not include high ranking people in the Confederacy (generals, politicians, POW) • States could form their own government if 10% of voting population swore allegiance to the Union • This made many people in the North mad because they felt it let the South off the hook

6. Radical Republicans • Radicals Republicans—people from the North who wanted to make Reconstruction difficult for the South • Thaddeus Stevens—Radical Republican leader in Congress, wanted to punish the South for what they had done

8. Wade-Davis Bill • Bill designed to counter Lincoln’s Plan • Congress would be responsible for Reconstruction • Majority (over 50%) in a state would have to swear allegiance to the Union for the state to be readmitted • Lincoln killed this bill with a pocket veto • Pocket Veto—When the president ignores a bill passed by Congress (within the last 10 days) the bill will fail

10. Johnson’s Plan • Andrew Johnson became President after Lincoln was killed (Johnson was a Democrat) • Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction • Any state could be readmitted if they declared secession illegal • Swear Allegiance to the Union • Promise to pay back their debts • Pass the 13th Amendment (no slavery)

11. Johnson’s Plan cont.. • Very easy terms for the South—within a month every state (but Texas) had passed all the requirements and was sending representatives to Congress • Problem—Johnson pardoned (forgave) all the people responsible for causing the war • Result—58 Congressman, 6 Confederate Cabinet Members and 4 Confederate Generals were in the new US Congress.

13. Congressional Elections • In 1866 the Radical Republicans won most of the Congressional Seats. • After the election, over 2/3 of Congress was made up of the Republican Party who was opposed to Johnson. • Now Congress could pass a law and then override the Presidential Veto…this started Congressional Reconstruction

14. Congressional Reconstruction • Freedman’s Bureau • Assisted former slaves and free whites in the South (food, schools, hospitals) • Civil Rights Act of 1866 • Gave blacks citizenship and forbade states from passing black codes (laws that limited freedom of black) • 14th Amendment • Gave Civil Rights to all people born or naturalized in the USA (Citizenship). Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness • 15th Amendment • No one can be kept from voting b/c of race or color • Helped ensure that Republicans would stay in power

16. Congressional Reconstruction • Reconstruction Act of 1867 • Abolish all governments created under Lincoln/Johnson Plans • Divided the South into 5 military districts • Blacks males go the right to vote • Must ratify the 14th amendment to be readmitted into the Union • Vetoed by Johnson—Congress was able to override his veto

18. Response to 1st Reconstruction Acts • Stunned the Southern Whites (how could they be equal to the blacks?) • 20,000 federal troops went to the South to make sure things went as ordered. • Now Congress turned their attention to getting rid of Johnson

19. Tenure of Office Act • Tenure of Office Act • Law passed by Congress to try to bait Johnson into doing something illegal. (How to get him out of office) • President could not remove any cabinet member without 2/3 Senate vote. • Johnson was willing to test this new act and kicked out his Sec. Of War (Stanton)

20. Impeachment • Impeachment—Bring to trial! • House of Reps voted to Impeach Johnson on the following charges • Tenure of Office Act—the problem was that Stanton was appointed by Lincoln, not Johnson, so the law didn’t apply. • Radicals accused him of being a disgrace—this was not a crime that could get the president removed • Result • The Senate voted 35 to 19 for Johnson to be kicked out of office (1 vote shy of the needed majority)

21. Election of 1868 • Democrats ran Horatio Seymour • Republicans ran Ulysses S Grant • Grant won • Almost all of the 500,000 blacks voted for Grant • Radicals decided to pass the 15th amendment which said no one could be kept from voting based on race

24. Section 2 Reconstructing the South

25. Problems for the South • Physical Conditions • Much of the South was destroyed • Sherman alone had caused more than 100 million dollars worth of damage to Georgia • Buildings, Bridges, Roads and Farms all need to be rebuilt. • Economic Conditions • No property value, Confederate bonds failed, poor • South was forced to pay for most of the rebuilding • Human • Over 1/5 of all white men in the South died in the Civil War

26. Scalawags/Carpetbaggers • Scalawags—White Southerners who joined the Republican Party • Wanted the South to industrialize quickly • Did not want former slave owners back in power • Most were considered traitors by the South • Carpetbaggers—Northerners who moved to the South after the war • Some were teachers/priest (wanted to help) • Some were old soldiers who wanted to live in warmth • Most were businessmen who wanted to make money off the rebuilding process in the South (some dishonest)

28. New Freedoms for African Americans (1865-1877) • Travel---move new places, etc… • Re-unite with family/marry • Education---more African American Teachers and Schools (80% illiterate b/f Civil War) • Religion—Methodist/Baptist • Politics---More involved in Politics • Hiram Revels—1st black Senator • 16 Blacks were elected to Congress • De-Segregation Laws

29. Economic Problems • Problem: Lots of poor people needed work and many of the old slave owners needed people to work in their fields • Sharecropping/Tenant Farming • Old Landowners divided their land • Gave each worker land, seed, tools. • When the crops were harvested, 2/3 of the profit went back to the landowner

30. Sharecropping • Good • Blacks could keep some of what they produce • In theory they could save up enough money and buy their own land • Bad • By the time they harvested crops and paid for the supplies—they were in debt • Heavy production hurt the soil—didn’t produce enough goods • Results—Poor white and black farmers were still in debt…..temporary solution to the problem

34. Section 3

35. People who opposed Reconstruction • Whites blamed the blacks for many of their problems (economic and social) • Ku Klux Klan—Began in Tennessee (1866) • Nathaniel Forrest was their leader • Initially tried to prevent blacks from voting • Eventually turned violent • Wanted to make sure that the Republicans lost political power

38. White Supremacy • Gradually Southern Whites took control of the government. • Poor whites had a hard time accepting equality because of the competition for jobs • This led to a variety of political restrictions

39. Political Restrictions • Blacks faced discrimination, especially in the voting process. • Literary test—Blacks who voted Republican would get a hard test, blacks who voted Democrat would get an easy one (what is your name?) • Poll Taxes—pay $ before they vote • Grandfather Clause—a person could fail the literacy and poll taxes and still be allowed to vote if his grandfather had been able to vote (allowed poor whites the opportunity to vote)

40. Separate But Equal? • Jim Crow Laws—laws that established the idea of “separate but equal” • Basically separate blacks and whites in a variety of places (Schools, hospitals, etc) • Plessy vs Ferguson—a Supreme Court Decision that said separate but equal was legal; just as long as the facilities were equal.

41. Response to Problems • Force Acts—Act from Congress to lessen the activity/influence of the Klan • Troops would supervise elections • Amnesty Act—Gave the right to vote to 160,000 former Confederates • Eventually people in the North got sick of Reconstruction and started to allow old leaders to come back into power

42. Weakening of Republicans • North got sick of dealing with problems in the South • Radicals were losing influence over the Republican Party • North didn’t really want full equality in the North • Business in the North wanted a stable governments in the South

43. Grant’s Administration • Grant was honest, people around him were not. • Scandals • Whiskey Ring—IRS was not taxing whiskey, govt. employees were getting kickbacks from this • William Belknap—Sec. Of War that took bribes from merchants in the west

45. Depression of 1873 • Economy was booming after the Civil War • Manufacturers had to borrow so much money to rebuild the South that the banks could not cover the loans that they were putting out. • Major Banks went bankrupt • Result: 3 million workers lost their jobs

46. Election of 1876 • Rutherford B Hayes (Rep) vs. Samuel Tilden (Dem) • Tilden won the popular vote and was leading the electoral college vote 184-165. • 20 votes were in dispute (Florida)—Tilden should have gotten those votes and won the presidency.

47. Election of 1876 • A special commission was made to investigate the votes in Florida (more Republicans than Democrats on commission) • They decided that Hayes won Florida therefore he won the election by 1 vote • Democrats were mad—they made a deal with the Republicans. • Fed. Troops had to leave the South • Give the South money to build railroads • Hayes must have a Southern Democrat in his cabinet

50. Results of Reconstruction • Good • Political and Social Conditions Improved • Blacks could now vote • Didn’t have to own property to be in government