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John Picture background info
What are the issues that must be dealt with? And how
should they be addressed?
•4 million newly freed slaves?
•Assimilate into society? Voting rights? Equality?
•Destruction of south?
•Letting Southern states back into the union?
•Punishment for Confederates?
•What should the powers of Federal and State Governments be now?
Lincoln was prophetic at Gettysburg when he said the war was about a
“new birth of freedom”
John Picture background info
South after war 1
South after war 1
South after war 1
South after war 1

Human toll of the Civil War: The North lost 364,000
soldiers. The South lost 260,000 soldiers.
Between 1865 and 1877, the federal government
carried out a program to repair the damage to the
South and restore the southern states to the Union.
This program was known as Reconstruction.


Freedmen (freed slaves) were starting out their new
lives in a poor region with slow economic activity.


Plantation owners lost slave labor worth $3 billion.
Poor white Southerners could not find work because of
new job competition from Freedmen.
The war had destroyed two thirds of the South’s
shipping industry and about 9,000 miles of railroad.

Lincoln’s speech
“With malice toward
none; with charity for
all; with firmness in
the right, as God gives
us to see the right, let
us strive on to finish
the work we are in; to
bind up the nation’s
wounds….to do all which may achieve and cherish a
just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with
all nations.”
Lincoln was assassinated before we would ever know what
his full reconstruction plan would be
Lincoln’s speech
What we know- in 1863 he made a reference to:
•10% of people who could vote in 1860 had to swear
allegiance to the union to become a state
•States had to create a new state government which
had to be approved at the Federal level
•States had to obey all emancipation laws
Of course, this is only a shell of a plan but we know
Lincoln would have shown mercy on the South
Lincoln’s speech
Republicans were upset about the leniency he proposed, so
congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill (1864):
•50% of people who could vote in 1860 had to swear
allegiance to the union to become a state
•States had to create a new state government which
had to be approved at the Federal level- only people
who had never served or aided the Confederacy
could be in politics
•States had to obey all emancipation laws with
stronger safeguards to protect this
Lincoln’s speech
Republicans subscribed to the “state suicide theory”- when
south seceded, they essentially committed suicide and were
not a part of the Union, therefore they should be treated as
a conquered province
Lincoln disagreed and said they had never actually left the
Union and he vetoed the Wade-Davis bill
Republicans responded by refusing to seat the delegate
from Louisiana who had met Lincoln’s 10% requirement
The war over reconstruction was already on!
Lincoln’s speech
April 15, 1865
•Born into poverty in North Carolina
•Taught himself to read and write
•Married at 18 to 16 year old Eliza McCardle
•Elected Mayor of Grenville, TN in 1833
•Served in TN House and Senate, Governor
of TN, US House and senate, and President
•Only Southern senator who didn’t leave
congress upon secession
•“I voted against Lincoln, I spoke against
him, I spent my money to defeat him. But I
still love my country”
•Became Lincoln’s running mate in 1864
•President in 1865 upon Lincoln’s death
John Picture background info
•Johnson’s wife, Eliza, was in poor health
when he took office
•She only made two public appearances
during his tenure
•His daughter (Martha Patter) handled all
white house social duties
•Andrew Johnson died in 1875 of Cholera
•His wife died 6 months later
•Ranked among worst presidents ever
•Probably the most openly racist president
•Also the last president who was not a
Republican or Democrat- he was in the Union
Party
Eliza McCardle
John Picture background info
•Supported Lincoln’s plan
for leniency towards the
South
•Engaged in a power
struggle with Congress over
who would lead the country
through Reconstruction.
•Would be impeached but
not removed from office.
John Picture background info
Johnson’s plan to readmit the
South:
Amnesty: pardoned many ex-confederates
•Rebels sign an oath of allegiance
•Once 10% of the population signs, state can be readmitted
Write new state Constitutions
•approve the 13th Amendment (Banned slavery)
•reject secession and state’s rights
•submit to U.S. Government authority
Johnson’s plan to readmit the
South:
No mention of
•Education for freedmen
•Citizenship and voting rights for freedmen
Results
•Republican Radicals were not happy- saw Johnson as a Southerner and
a confederate (he had owned slaves at one time)
•Many former confederates return to power (old power structure
returning?)
•Alexander Stephens (VP of Confederacy) elected senator from GA
•Black codes (see next slides) passed to establish white authority
•Violence against blacks in South (KKK formed)
“Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude, except as a punishment for
crime, whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted, shall exist within
the United States, or any place subject
to their jurisdiction.”
The Congress shall have power to
enforce by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
13th: Slavery14th
Abolished
 As southern states were restored to the Union under President
Johnson’s plan, they began to enact black codes, laws that
restricted freedmen’s rights.
 The black codes established virtual slavery with provisions such
as these:
 Curfews: Generally, black people could not gather after
sunset.
 Vagrancy laws: Freedmen convicted of vagrancy– that is,
not working– could be fined, whipped, or sold for a year’s labor.
 Labor contracts: Freedmen had to sign agreements in
January for a year of work. Those who quit in the middle of a
contract often lost all the wages they had earned.
 Land restrictions: Freed people could rent land or homes
only in rural areas. This restriction forced them to live on
plantations. Most became sharecroppers
 Couldn’t serve on juries or testify against whites; only real
change was marital rights were granted
Mississippi Governor, 1866:
“The Negro is free”
“Whether we like it or not; we must
realize that fact now and forever.
To be free, however, does not make
him a citizen or entitle him to
social or political equality with the
white man.”
Gov of Miss
St. Landry’s Parish,
Louisiana, 1865
Section 1: Be it ordained by the police
jury of parish of St. Landry, That no
negro shall be allowed to pass within
the limits of said parish without a
special permit in writing from his
employer. Whoever shall violate this
provision shall pay a fine of $2.50, or
in default thereof shall be forced to
work four days on the public road or
suffer corporeal punishment.
St. Landry’s Parish,
Louisiana, 1865
Section 2: Be it ordained: That every
Negro who shall be found absent from
the residence of his employer after 10
o’clock at night, without a written
permit from him employer, shall pay a
fine of $5.00, or in default thereof,
shall be compelled to work 5 days on
the public road or suffer corporeal
punishment.
St. Landry’s Parish,
Louisiana, 1865
Section 3: Be it further ordained, That
no Negro shall be be permitted to rent
or keep a house within said parish.
Any Negro violating this provision
shall be immediately ejected and
compelled to find an employer; and
any who shall rent, or give the use of
the any house to any Negro, in
violation of this section, shall pay a
fine of $5.00 for each offence.
St. Landry’s Parish,
Louisiana, 1865
Section 4: Be it further ordained,
No Negroes shall be allowed to
congregate in public meetings
between the hours of sunset to sunrise
and by special permission of the police
chief may a public meeting of Negroes
occur. However, church services are
not included in this law. Pay a fine of
$5.00, work 5 days on the road crew
or receive corporeal punishment
St. Landry’s Parish,
Louisiana, 1865
Section 5: Be it ordained, No Negro
who is not in the military service shall
be allowed to carry firearms, or any
kind of weapons, within said parish,
without the special written permission
of his employers. Subject to $5.00
fine, road work or corporeal
punishment.
St. Landry’s Parish,
Louisiana, 1865
Section 6: Be it ordained, That it shall
be the duty of every citizen to act as a
police officer for the detection of
offences and the apprehension of
offenders, who shall be immediately
handed over to the proper police
officer or captain.
Thaddeus Stevens
Charles Summner
•Blocked Southerners from entering congress in Dec. 1865
•Advocated political, social and economic equality
for the Freedmen.
•Would go after President Johnson through the
impeachment process after he vetoes the Civil
Rights Act of 1866.
Plans compared
Reconstruction Acts of 1867--76 (Harsh)
•oath of allegiance---50%
•Created Freedmen’s Bureau to be paid for by states
•Civil Rights Act 1866 (vetoed but later enacted)
•Ban high ranking Confederate officials (14th)
•lose voting rights if you don’t sign oath (14th)
•Write new state Constitutions with full suffrage
•Ratify: 13, 14 & 15 Amendments
•reject secession and state’s rights
•submit to U.S. Government authority
•Divide the South into 5 military districts- policed by Union
army
Military
Reconstructio
n
Each number indicates the
Military Districts
1865, Congress created the Freedman’s
Bureau to help former slaves get a new
start in life. This was the first major relief
agency in United States history.
Bureau’s Accomplishments
Built thousands of schools to educate Blacks.
Former slaves rushed to get an education for
themselves and their children.
Education was difficult and dangerous to gain.
Southerners hated the idea that Freedmen
would go to school.
Freedmen’s Bureau 3
Freedmen’s
Bureau 4
•President Johnson
vetoed the Civil Rights
Act of 1866 (Gave $$$$
to Freedmen’s Bureau
for schools and granted
citizenship to the
Freedmen)
•Congress believed
Johnson was working
against Reconstruction
and overrode his veto.
•Congress would
override his veto often
and basically took over
the Govt.
•Led to the 14th
Amendment
An inflexible President, 1866: Republican cartoon
shows Johnson knocking Blacks of the Freedmen’s
Bureau by his veto. Johnson’s Veto
“All persons born in the U.S. are
citizens of this country and the state
they reside in. No state shall make or
enforce any law which deprives any
person of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law, nor deny
to any person within its jurisdiction to
the equal protection of the laws.”
The Congress shall have power to
enforce by appropriate legislation, the
provisions of this article.
14th
14th: Rights of
Citizens
•Also included clauses that reduced the
number of representatives and electoral votes
from a state if they deny citizenship and
voting rights
•Disqualified all former confederate
officeholders from holding federal or state
office
•Johnson campaigned against it and all
southern states rejected it- temporarily put
on hold
14th
14th: Rights of
Citizens
•Women rights
supporters refused
to support the 14th
Amendment giving
African American
Men citizenship
unless women were
added to it.
•Abolitionists would
not support
women’s rights
Abolitionists vs Women’s rights
Brought up on 11
charges of high crimes
and misdemeanors.
Missed being removed
from office by 1 vote
Presidency would
suffer as a result of
this failed
impeachment.
President would
be more of a figurehead.
Impeachment: Bringing charges against
the President. Two steps involved……
1st Step: U. S. House of Representatives hold
hearings to decide if there are crimes committed.
They then vote on the charges and if there is a
majority, then, charges are brought against the
President.
2nd Step: U.S. Senate becomes a courtroom.
The President is tried for the charges brought
against him. The Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court is the judge. Once trial is completed,
Senators must vote to remove President with a
2/3’s vote.
Impeachment process
After
Johnson was
impeached,
Congress passes
Reconstruction Act
of 1867.
The
South would
be reconstructed
under the Radical
Republicans plan.
Republicans
would elect Grant
as their President
and he would carry
out the Radical
Reconstruction.
“The Strong
Government”,
1869-1877. Grant
enforcing the
Reconstruction Act
of 1867 and
“forcing” the South
to change.
“The right of citizens of the United
States to vote shall not be denied or
abridged by the United States or by
any State on account of race, color, or
previous condition of servitude”.
The Congress shall have power to
enforce this article by appropriate
legislation.
14th
15th: Voting Rights
Funding Reconstruction
Rebuilding the South’s infrastructure, (roads, bridges,
canals, railroads, and telegraph lines)
Funds were also needed to expand services to southern
citizens. (Following the North’s example, all southern
states created public school systems by 1872).
Congress, private investors, and heavy taxes paid for
Reconstruction. Spending by Reconstruction legislatures
added another $130 million to southern debt.
New
South
New South
•Becomes
industrialized
•Cities rebuilt
•Railroads
•Schools, over
a thousand
•Hospitals, 45
in 14 states
•Diversify
economy.
The Taste of Freedom?
Freedom to own land: Proposals to give white-owned
land to freed people got little support from the
government. Unofficial land redistribution did take
place, however.
Freedom to worship: African Americans formed their
own churches and started mutual aid societies,
debating clubs, drama societies, and trade
associations.
Freedom to learn: Between 1865 and 1870, black
educators founded 30 African American colleges.