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Title: Reconstruction
Today, I will learn how Reconstruction brought the nation together again.
My job is to identify the plans and key players that rebuilt our nation.
NOTES:
The term Reconstruction refers to the period after the Civil War, beginning in 1865 and lasting until 1877.
During this time, the former Confederate states were brought back into the Union, and new organizations like the Freedmen's Bureau
helped former slaves. Though amendments and laws were passed to increase the civil rights and liberties of African Americans, these
were virtually ignored by the southern states. Many states managed to pass laws that left African Americans segregated (separate but
equal) and without a voice or power in government. For the most part, many historians believe that the attempts to improve the status
of African Americans during Reconstruction failed to do any good. The Freedman’s Bureau is going to start schools for Blacks and
help them with employment.
Reconstruction Events:
Lincoln's Plan for Reconstruction
Abraham Lincoln's proposed plan for Reconstruction, also known as the Ten Percent Plan, called for 10% of the voters from the
1860 election in southern states to swear an oath of loyalty to the United States. His plan would bring the southern states back to the
Union quickly, but it was never passed. Shortly after the end of the Civil War, Lincoln was assassinated. His vice president,
Andrew Johnson, was sworn in as the next president.
Presidential Reconstruction
Presidential Reconstruction was the period from 1865 to 1867 that was characterized by the policies of President Andrew Johnson.
Many people in the United States believed President Johnson was too lenient (easy) on the former Confederate states. In the 1866
congressional elections, the Republican Party took control of both houses of Congress in a landslide victory, an event that marked
the beginning of the period known as Congressional Reconstruction.
Congressional Reconstruction
Known as Congressional or Radical Reconstruction, this period was characterized by the imposition of martial law on 10 southern
states with the passage of the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. A major tenet (part) of Congressional Reconstruction was the (1)idea that
when new policies were declared, they should actually be enforced. Many people felt this aspect was lacking in Presidential
Reconstruction. Another important goal for Radical Republicans was (2)to take land away from Southern plantation owners and
distribute it among the newly-freed slaves. Congress attempted to accomplish this through the Freedmen's Bureau, but President
Johnson used his executive powers to return Southern land to its original owners.
04/08/2013
WELCOME BACK!!!
Today, I will learn how political words described a New Nation.
My job is to create a crossword puzzle using Reconstruction terms.
GET LINCOLN PERMISSION SLIP SIGNED!!
NEW VOCABULARY:
Reconstruction Terms
Carpetbagger: a derogatory term for a northerner who came to the South during the Reconstruction period. This term originated from
the use of cheap suitcases covered in carpet that many travelers carried. The prevailing opinion was that these northerners were
opportunists who came to the South only to make money in the areas that needed to be rebuilt, but some wanted to help the newly
freed slaves.
Ku Klux Klan: a group of white supremacists who wanted to keep white control of the South and did not want African Americans to
vote or hold office. They threatened African Americans to keep them from voting and were responsible for a great deal of violence
during the Reconstruction period. Though many Southerners approved of the Klan's actions early on, a backlash eventually occurred
when the violence escalated to a level most felt to be unacceptable. At this time, Southerners started to blame the Klan for the
continued presence of Northern troops throughout the South.
Radical Republicans: a group of Republicans who supported punishing the Confederate states. Radical Republicans wanted to force
the majority of white males in the Confederate states to take an oath to the U.S. and to exclude anyone who had served in the
Confederate government or army from participating in new government. Radical Republicans also wanted to take land away from
southern plantation owners and distribute it among the newly-freed slaves. Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania was one
of the leaders of the Radical Republicans.
Scalawag: a southern white who helped in the Reconstruction effort. Some southerners viewed scalawags as traitors to the South.
Sharecropper: a person who grew crops on land owned by someone else and gave the landlord (owner of the land) a share of the crop
to pay for expenses. Many of these people were freed slaves who could not afford to buy their own land.
Solid South: the states of the southern U.S. that traditionally supported the Democratic Party after the Civil War. By 1876, only three
southern states (Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana) were under federal occupation and Republican rule.
Reconstruction Amendments
Following the Civil War, the Reconstruction Amendments were adopted. The Reconstruction Amendments consist of the 13th
Amendment, 14th Amendment, and 15th Amendment, all of which are concerned with equal rights.
13th Amendment: Ratified in 1865, this amendment abolished slavery in the U.S.
14th Amendment: This amendment, passed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, stated that all people born in the U.S., except Native
Americans, were U.S. citizens.
15th Amendment: This amendment gave African American men the right to vote and was ratified on February 3, 1870. This
amendment states that no citizen of the U.S. can be denied the right to vote based on race or color.
Freedmen's Bureau
Congress created this bureau in 1865 to assist former slaves. The bureau established schools for African Americans and helped
African Americans find employment.
Black Codes
Black codes were a series of laws passed by ex-Confederate states following the Civil War that restricted the rights of African
Americans living in the South. These codes included segregation in public spaces and restrictions on the rights of African
Americans. These included the rights to be free laborers, to own land and homes, and to testify in court. An African American
traveling without a permit, owning a firearm, or being seen out on the streets after sunset could be punished by law.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
This act granted African Americans citizenship and gave them the right to make contracts, sue, and own property. The citizenship
rights of African Americans were also protected under the 14th Amendment.
Reconstruction Acts of 1867
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 divided the former Confederate states into five military districts that were then placed under the
administration of a Union general and occupied by Union soldiers. Tennessee was the only southern state not included in the
military districts because it had already ratified the 14th amendment and had been re-admitted to the Union in January of 1866. Other
Reconstruction Acts included barring Confederate leaders from voting or holding office and making the Confederate states ratify the
14th Amendment before being readmitted to the Union.
Tenure of Office Act & Johnson's Impeachment
Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 to prevent President Johnson from interfering with new laws pass during Radical
Reconstruction. This act restricted the president's power in removing government officials, even from the Cabinet, without the
consent of the Senate. In early 1868, Johnson attempted to remove and replace Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton against the wishes
of Congress and was quickly impeached by the House of Representatives. In the Senate, he was one vote short of being convicted and
therefore narrowly escaped being removed from office.
Election of 1876 & Compromise of 1877
In the 1876 presidential election, Democrat Samuel Tilden ran against Republican Rutherford B. Hayes. Tilden won the majority of
the popular vote, but a dispute arose over who won electoral votes in several states, including some states from the South. Following
the election, Congress formed a committee in early 1877 to settle the dispute and eventually declared Hayes the winner. Supposedly,
an unwritten and informal agreement known as the Compromise of 1877 encouraged the committee to come to its decision. Under
this agreement, southern Democrats agreed to support Hayes' ascension to the presidency if the Republicans in government met
certain demands. These demands included the removal of federal troops from the former Confederate states, the appointment of at
least one southern Democrat to Hayes' new cabinet, legislation that would encourage industrialization in the South, and the
construction of a southern transcontinental railroad. Having agreed to meet these demands, Hayes became the 19th president of
the United States, and his presidency marked the official end of Reconstruction.
Augusta Institute
The Augusta Institute was founded in Augusta, Georgia, to educate African Americans. The school moved to Atlanta in 1879, and it
was renamed Morehouse College in 1913. Other schools for African Americans that were established during this time period include
Alcorn State University, Alabama State University (Lincoln Normal School), and Lincoln University (Lincoln Institute).
Grandfather Clause of 1895
This clause was added to the voting laws of some southern states to keep African Americans from voting while allowing poor and
illiterate whites to vote. This provision was included because many southern states required voters to pay poll taxes or pass literacy
tests. With the grandfather clause, however, any man could vote as long as their ancestors had also had the right to vote as of January
1, 1867. No African Americans had been allowed to vote before this date, so they were all easily denied voting rights. In this way,
poor or even illiterate whites could vote.
Jim Crow Laws
The Jim Crow laws established legal racial segregation in public places throughout the South and began to appear in the 1880s
after Reconstruction had officially ended. These laws included many provisions, such as forcing African Americans to sit on separate
areas on trains and to attend different schools than whites. Literacy tests were also set up as a pre-condition for the right to vote.
Since many African Americans were not proficient in reading or writing, these tests excluded them from voting.
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was an 1896 Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that "separate but equal" was constitutional. The
Court claimed that if accommodations really were equal, then they were not in violation of the equal protection clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment. This court ruling was used to justify Jim Crow laws and other acts of segregation.
WWW.STUDYISLAND.COM
“RECONSTRUCTION.” LESSONS 1 & 2. T. HARRIS, 8TH GRADE SOCIAL STUDIES
CALENDAR:
APRIL 18-25 SPRING BREAK
APRIL 10 NOTEBOOK CHECK
APRIL 10 QUIZ
MAY 7 (?) PROGRESS REPORTS
MAY ???? EOG TESTING
MAY 27 HOLIDAY
JUNE 12 LAST DAY/EARLY RELEASE
FUTURE TOPICS:
JULIUS CASEAR’S ASSASSINATION VS.
LINCOLN’S ASSASSINATION
ECONOMIC ACTIVITES
ECONOMY IN NC & US
CIVIS & GOVERNMENT
CULTURES IN NC & US
GEOGRAPHY REVIEW
NOTE:
STUDY NIGHTLY!
DO CURRENT EVENTS!
REMINDER:
IT IS YOUR JOB TO GET ANY MISSED NOTES AND MAKE UP ANY MISSED QUIZZES OR TEST.
AS WE GO INTO THE FINAL 9 WEEKS, LET’S END ON A POSIVITE NOTE!!