Reconstruction

1. Reconstruction October 21, 2013

2. After the war… • When the Civil War ended in 1865, many soldiers on both sides went home to drastic changes • In the north, many men had died or were captured and had not returned • In the south, the economy was devastated, the money useless, and many men were either dead or missing

3. Civil War Prisons - Andersonville • During the war, those who weren’t killed in battle were often taken prisoner by the other side • A notorious prison that housed Union soldiers was in Andersonville, GA • There was not enough food, water, or shelter for all the prisoners housed there • After the war, the director of the prison was executed for excessive cruelty • The federal government made the site of the prison a national cemetery where 13,700 Union soldiers are buried

4. Putting the country back together… • During the closing days of the Civil War, President Lincoln had developed a plan to rebuild the South and restore seceded states to the union as quickly as possible • This process was known as Reconstruction • There were 3 major Reconstruction plans • Lincoln’s Plan • The Congressional Plan • Johnson’s Plan

5. Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan • Lincoln’s plan had 2 major steps: • First: all southerners, except for high-ranking Confederate leaders, would be pardoned after taking an oath of allegiance to the United States • Second: when 10% of the voters in each state had taken that oath, the state would be permitted to form a legal government and rejoin the Union

6. Congressional Reconstruction Plan • Unfortunately, Lincoln was assassinated before his plan went into effect • Many members of Congress felt that the South should be punished for starting the war • They felt like the South should be treated like a conquered country • Congress pushed the new president, Andrew Johnson, to enact harsher measures against the South

7. Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan • At first, Johnson’s plan was not that much different than Lincoln’s • He expanded the list of people who would not receive a general pardon • However, he soon bowed to Congressional pressure and added more requirements for the South to rejoin the Union • Southern states had to first approve the 13th Amendment • They also had to nullify their ordinances of secession • They also must promise not to repay those that financed the Confederate war effort

8. 13th Amendment • During and after the war, 3 new amendments were added to the U.S. Constitution • The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are known as the Reconstruction Amendments • The 13th Amendment officially abolished slavery in the U.S. • It was passed in January 1865 • Southern states had to ratify (approve) this amendment before being allowed re-entry into the Union

9. 14th Amendment • This amendment granted citizenship to freedmen and forbade any state from denying anyone “equal protection of the law” • It was passed in 1866 and ratified in 1868 • It was passed in response to “Black Codes”, which were laws that had been passed in many southern states in 1865 that restricted the rights of freedmen

10. 15th Amendment • The 15th Amendment granted all black men the right to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” • It was passed in 1869, and ratified in 1870

11. Black Legislators • In 1867, African-Americans voted for the first time in Georgia • 29 African-Americans were elected to the Georgia house and 3 were elected as Georgia senators • Henry McNeal Turner was one of the black men elected to the Georgia senate • However, in 1868, all were expelled on the grounds that even though the Constitution gave them the right to vote, it did not give them the right to hold public office

12. Freedom for slaves • With the end of the war, slaves were freed in the South • They faced huge hardships • Most were homeless, uneducated, and had little more than the clothes on their back • In an effort to help the newly freed slaves, the US government established the Freedmen’s Bureau in 1865

13. Freedmen’s Bureau • The official title is the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands • At first, the purpose was to help both former slaves and poor whites cope by offering them clothing, food, and other necessities • After a while, the focus changed to only helping the freed slaves adjust to their new lives • An important focus was education • The Bureau established primary schools, industrial schools, and teacher-training schools

14. A struggling economy • With the freedom of the slaves, farmers and planters needed people to work their land • There were many former slaves and landless whites that needed jobs • There were 2 options available: sharecropping and tenant farming

15. Sharecropping • This option was available to workers who had nothing to offer except their labor • Workers would live on the land and the landowners provided the land, tools, animals, seed, and fertilizer • The workers would give the owner a share of the harvest • They had to buy everything on credit until the money from the harvest came in • However, after giving owners their share and paying their bills, most workers had very little left over for their own and most stayed in constant debt

16. Tenant Farming • Tenant farming was similar to sharecropping except the workers would have their own equipment, seeds, and fertilizer • After the harvest, tenants would pay the owners a set amount of cash or a part of the harvest • Because they owned more of their own supplies than sharecroppers, they often made a small profit

17. Ku Klux Klan • During Reconstruction, the Ku Klux Klan became a force in Georgia • It started as a social club in TN for returning soldiers, but eventually evolved into a terror group • The Klan’s main purpose was to keep freedmen from exercising their new civil rights, especially the right to vote • Many freedmen were terrorized when they went to the polls to vote • There were many reports of beatings, whippings, and even murder

18. 1) What was Andersonville? 2) What were conditions like at Andersonville? 3) How many Reconstruction plans were there? 4) What were the 2 major steps of Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan? 5) How did the U.S. Congress feel about the South after the war? 6) What did Johnson add to the Reconstruction plan? 7) What did the 13th Amendment do? 8) What did the 14th Amendment do? 9) What did the 15th Amendment do? 10) Who was elected to the Georgia senate but eventually expelled? 11) What was the original purpose of the Freedmen’s Bureau 12) What was an important focus for the Freedmen’s Bureau 13) What were the 2 options available to farmers after the war? 14) What is sharecropping? 15) What is tenant farming? 16) What was the main purpose of the Ku Klux Klan? Questions: