Download Chapter 23 Notes - Greenburgh Central Schools

Chapter 23 Notes
Reconstruction
Major Problems in Post-War America
1. Economic and physical devastation of the South
2. Education and support of Freedmen and their place in society
3. Political re-entry into the Union of rebellious states
Conditions in the South after the War
1. Cities and transportation systems destroyed
2. Cotton fields left unplanted, cotton crops would not recover for 10 years
3. Shortage of live stock
4. Over $2 billion in slaves set free (this was many peoples wealth)
5. Most southerners were extremely bitter
Freedmen
1. Lacked basic skills
2. Many tried to migrate north or west but most could not
3. Church would become the foundation of their societies
4. Many sought education
5. Had no money or possessions
Creation of Freedmen Bureau 1865
1. Created by General Oliver Howard to help freed blacks by providing food,
clothing, medical attention, and education for former slaves.
Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction
1. Amnesty to Confederates who take a loyalty oath
2. If 10% of population took loyalty oath, statehood would be re-established
3. All states must recognize emancipation
Lincoln’s plan opposed by Radical Republicans who proposed the Wade-Davis Bill
1. Required 50% of population to declare loyalty
2. Military government would rule southern states
3. South should be treated as a conquered territory
4. New State constitutions must be written
President Andrew Johnson’s plan for Reconstruction
1. Confederate leaders and wealthy Southerners would have to ask presidential
permission to take loyalty oath
2. Each state would have to approve the 13th amendment for readmission
3. 10% loyalty
4. New state constitutions must be written
Black Codes
1. Freedmen often forced to work fields of old masters for low wages
2. Could be forced to labor for debt
3. Blacks could not serve on juries or vote
4. Often, Blacks could not own land
5. Basically placed limitations on socioeconomic opportunities of Blacks
Rebuilding Congress
1. Republicans no longer have complete control of congress
2. South actually gained political power because blacks no longer count as 3/5’s of a
person. The south gained 12 electoral and congressional votes
Johnson’s battle with Congress
1. Johnson vetoed renewal of Freedmen’s Bureau, but Republicans who control the
Congress over-ride the veto
2. Congress passed Civil Rights Bill by overriding Johnson’s veto granting blacks
full citizenship
3. Congress later passed 13th amendment permanently establishing the end of
slavery
14th Amendment
1. Blacks were to be given permanent citizenship
2. States would be punished if they tried to deny Blacks the ballot
3. Disqualified former government leaders who seceded from the Union from
holding office
4. Guaranteed the federal debt
5. Equal protection under the law for all citizens
Radical Reconstruction
1. Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867
a. Divided the South into 5 military controlled districts
b. Thousands of ex-Confederates could not vote
c. States must approve of 14th Amendment for re-admission
d. State governments must allow former slaves to vote
15th Amendment 1870
1. Allows all male citizens to vote
Realities of Reconstruction
1. Women’s rights not addressed
2. African Americans gained political power 2 senators and 4 congressmen
3. Scalawags and Carpetbaggers were hated
4. Many reforms included the establishment of public schools, new public works
projects, and streamlining the tax collection system
5. Huge corruption
Creation of the Ku Klux Klan 1866
1. Used force and violence to suppress Blacks
Johnson’s Impeachment
1. Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in 1867, which required the President
to get Senate approval to remove an appointee once they had been approved by
the Senate
2. 1868, Johnson fired Secretary of War Henry Stanton
3. The House of Representatives voted 126-47 to impeach Johnson for High Crimes
and Misdemeanors for the violation of the Tenure of Office Act
4. The Senate voted on Johnson’s Impeachment, he kept his office by one vote.
Purchase of Alaska, 1867
1. Russia wanted to sell Alaska to US
a. It was furred-out
b. Feared loosing it to Britain
c. Wanted to strengthen US in order to keep Britain in check
d. Needed Money
2. William Seward the Secretary of State purchased Alaska for $7.2
3. People referred to this as Seward’s folly or Seward’s Icebox
Ending Reconstruction
1. Northern voters generally tired of Reconstruction efforts and loose interest
2. Compromise of 187 allows President Hayes to take office over Tilden if troops
are removed from the South.