The Reconstruction Era

1. The Reconstruction Era 1865 - 1877

2. The Problem of Reconstruction Issues and Perspectives

3. Do Now • With which of the following statements do you agree? Write 1 – 2 sentences explaining your choice. • Forgiveness should be our top priority: Now that the Civil War is over, the Union must be restored quickly so that the nation can begin to heal. After all, haven’t we all suffered enough? • Justice should be our top priority: The South is responsible for the war and should be punished for its crimes. Besides, if we are too easy on them, how can we trust that these traitors won’t just rebel again?

4. Conditions in the North Other than the tragedy of lost lives, the effects of the war were hardly noticeable in the North. Few battles had been fought there, so towns and cities were basically unharmed. Life, in fact, had changed little, even while fighting was going on. In addition, the Northern economy continued to boom. It was a completely different story, however, in the South . . .

5. Conditions in the South • “Total War” had destroyed • 2/3 of the South’s shipping industry • about 9,000 miles of railroads • many bridges, canals, and levees.

6. Conditions in the South • Homes . . . factories . . . entire cities lay in ruins.

7. Conditions in the South • Confederate currencywas now worthless, destroying the savings of thousands. • About 1/4 of the adult white male populationdied in the war. • Millions of acres of land (the South’s most valuable asset) had been abandoned or confiscated by the Union Army.

8. Conditions in the South • Some 4 millionAfrican Americans were now free, but • they have no money, no property, no education and • they must now compete with poor white laborers for scarce jobs.

9. What’s the Plan? • The years following the Civil War would have to be devoted to putting the nation back together and rebuilding the devastated South. • As people all over the country considered how this should be done, several difficult questions were raised. • People’s answers to these questions usually depended on their position in society. • For example: a Confederate general, an ordinary Confederate soldier, a Union soldier, a widow – Northern or Southern, a Northern Congressman, a former Confederate Congressman, a white factory worker, a small farmer, a white plantation owner, and a former slave all would answer many of these questions very differently.

10. Some Difficult Questions What steps, if any, will rebel statesneed to take before they can re-enter the Union? Will citizenship be restored automatically, or will it have to be earned back? If so, how? How should we deal with leaders of the old Confederate government?

11. Some Difficult Questions Should Confederate military leaders receive a pardon, or should they be punished for fighting against the U.S.? Should ordinary Confederate soldiers receive the same treatment as high-ranking officers? Will Freedmen (former slaves) have equal rights? If so, how will those rights be enforced?

12. Some Difficult Questions What should be done with the roughly $100 million worth of Southern property that was either abandoned or confiscated during the war? Who will be responsible for rebuilding (both physically and economically)?

13. Lincoln’s Plan • President Lincoln hoped to make the South’s return to the Union as quick and easy as possible. • More than a year before the war ended, he outlined his plan in the “Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction” (a.k.a the 10% Plan) • Congressmen known as “Radical Republicans” thought Lincoln’s plan was far too lenient.

14. What’s the Plan? Moderate Republicans and Northern Democrats Southerners Radical Republicans Working in a small group, you will be asked to answer some of the difficult questions of Reconstruction from one or more of the following perspectives:

15. Plans for Reconstruction Presidential vs. Congressional

16. What did the Southern states have to do to get back into the Union? At least 3 bullet points here

17. Describe at least 3 ways Congress addressed the needs of Freedmen here

18. voted to expand the Freedmen’s Bureau. Describe at least 3 ways Congress addressed the needs of Freedmen here • outlaws Black Codes • passed 14th Amendment, making African Americans citizens; forced Southern states to ratify it. • forced states to include voting rights for African American men in their constitutions; later passed the 15th Amendment (just in case)

19. President Johnson vetoed Congress’ Reconstruction Act. At least 2 bullet points here • Congress overrode the President’s veto and tried to impeach him.

20. What Were Black Codes? • Laws restricting the civil rights of former slaves. • Examples from Mississippi include: • Anti-miscegenation (1865) – declared interracial marriage a felony (life in prison) • Railroad Segregation (1865) – It was “unlawful for any freedman, free Negro, or mulatto to ride in any first-class passenger car used by white persons.”

21. What Were Black Codes? Congress reacted to these laws by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1866. The Codes also energized the drive for the 14th Amendment, which extended citizenship to anyone “born or naturalized” in the U.S., and the 15th Amendment, which gave African American men the right to vote. Ratification of the 14th Amendment (and later the 15th Amendment) became requirements for readmission into the Union under Congress’ Reconstruction plan.

22. Problems in the South economic social political • Problems • Problems • Problems

23. Find and label the Responses to: • (A)State and local governments faced the challenge of rebuilding a region destroyed by war. • (G) Many Southern women and children suffered from malnutrition and illness. • (M) State and local governments needed to increase state spending at a time when few financial resources existed.

24. Problem-Response Problem Response • State and local governments faced the challenge of rebuilding a region destroyed by war. • State and local gov’t begin public works programs. • Many Southern women and children suffered from malnutrition and illness • State and local gov’t provide social services for families in need.

25. Problem-Response Problem Response • . . . needed to increase state spending at a time when few financial resources existed. • State and local gov’t raise taxes.

26. Find and label the Responses to: (E) African American families were often separated under the slavery system. (I) Nearly 80% of African American adults were illiterate. (L) African Americans were confronted with racist laws restricting their newfound freedom.

27. Problem-Response Problem Response • African American families were often separated under the slavery system. • African Americans search for loved ones; Freedmen’s Bureau helps reunite families. • African Americans organize schools, colleges, and universities. • Nearly 80% of African American adults were illiterate.

28. Let’s infer . . . problem response • (L) African Americans were confronted with racist laws restricting their newfound freedom. • They vote; • They organize conventions demanding equal rights; • They run for public office

29. Page 386 African Americans as Voters • African American men gained suffrage under which Amendment? • Qualified African American voters flocked to the polls (90% in some areas). • 9 out of 10 supported the Republican Party.

30. African Americans in Congress Hiram Revels (R) Joseph Rainey (R) Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (Mississippi, 1870) Elected to the United States Senate (North Carolina, 1870)

31. Why did it take so long? 1865 – Slavery is abolished with the ratification of the 13th Amendment 1868 – African Americans are guaranteed citizenship under the 14th Amendment 1870 – African American men guaranteed the right to vote under the 15th Amendment; First African American representatives elected to U.S. Congress 2008 – Barack Obama becomes the first African American President (138 years after Joseph Rainey – a former slave – took his seat in Congress)

32. Let’s infer . . . problem response • (D) Many white southerners refused to accept equal rights for African Americans. • Some white legislators pass laws restricting rights of freedmen; • Some use violence and intimidation to keep freedmen from exercising their rights Ku Klux Klan

33. Problem-Response (C) African Americans had no land and, therefore no means of supporting themselves. (F) The planter class wanted to restore the plantation system.

34. Let’s infer . . . problem response • (C) African Americans had no land and, therefore no means of supporting themselves. • volunteer organizations provide financial assistance; • moved to cities, to the North, and to the West; • many became sharecroppers;

35. Which problem(s) are being addressed here? Sharecropping Consequences How did the sharecropping system make it hard for small farmers to improve their standard of living? • How: • Landowners dictate crop, & provide land, seed & housing in return for a share of the harvest; • Sharecropper buys tools, food, & other supplies on credit Page 391

36. Sharecropping (HOW) Page 391 Landowners dictate crop, & provide land, seed & housing in return for a share of the harvest; Sharecropper buys tools, food, & other supplies on credit.

37. Let’s infer . . . problem response • (F) The planter class wanted to restore the plantation system. • Sharecropping keeps croppers in a perpetual cycle of debt

38. Which problem(s) did proposals like this one attempt to resolve? Was it successful? Page 390

39. Page 394 Ku Klux Klan Video

40. The North Loses Interest in Southern Problems Political Scandal • Fraud • Bribery • corruption • Bank failure • Unemployment • The money question Economic Crisis

41. Supreme Court Weakens Reconstruction Page 398

42. The Compromise of 1877

43. Carpetbaggers Page 385 • Is the man in this cartoon shown in a positive or negative light? • How can you tell?

44. Collapse of Reconstruction

45. Progress Comes to an End 1865 – Slavery is abolished with the ratification of the 13th Amendment 1868 – African Americans are guaranteed citizenship under the 14th Amendment 1870 – African American men guaranteed the right to vote under the 15th Amendment; First African American representatives elected to U.S. Congress 1877 – Reconstruction comes to an end; troops withdrawn from the South; Democrats regain control of state government; Jim Crow laws are passed.

46. Comparing Viewpoints Page 400