Download The Ordeal of Reconstruction

The Ordeal of Reconstruction
I.
II.
The Problems of Peace
a. Jefferson Davis
i. Was arrested and jailed for two years
ii. He and his fellow “conspirators” were released because the odds
were that no Virginia jury would convict them
iii. All rebel leaders were pardoned by President Johnson in 1868.
However, civil action was not disallowed until 30 years later
b. Destruction in the South
i. Cities were destroyed (Charleston, Atlanta, Richmond)
ii. Economic life came to a halt
1. Banks and businesses closed
2. Factories weren’t operating or were destroyed
3. Railroad lines were destroyed
4. Agriculture collapsed (no one there to work the land and
the Yankees had stolen from farms). They didn’t recover
to 1860 production until 1870
5. Aristocracy lost mansions, investments, land, and slaves
($2 billion worth)
c. Southern Attitudes
i. Many remained defiant and upset
ii. Many believed that their view of secession was correct
Freedmen Define Freedom
a. Emancipation
i. Took effect unevenly in the Southern States
ii. As Union armies marched in and out of various localities, many
blacks found themselves emancipated and then reenslaved. Some
forcefully reenslaved blacks, while others fought the State
legislatures and the Supreme Court
iii. Some blacks wanted to remain loyal to their plantation master,
while others joined Union troops
iv. All slaves owners were eventually forced to recognize their slaves’
freedom. They would assemble their slaves in front of their house
and tell them that they were now free
b. Reaction To Emancipation
i. Many former slaves changed their names and wanted to be
addressed as “Mr” or “Mrs”
ii. Bought better clothes
iii. Searched for their long-lost spouses, parents, and children
(emancipation strengthened the black family)
iv. Moved to search for opportunity (some steamboat captains refused
to transport them)
c. Church
i. As slaves, blacks had worshipped along with whites. Now, they
formed their own churches pastured by their own ministers
III.
ii. Black churches grew quickly
1. Baptist Church: 1850 – 150,000 blacks; 1870 – 500,000
blacks
2. Methodist Episcopal Church: 1865 – 100,000 blacks; 1875
– 400,000 blacks
iii. Church was the basis of black community life and they gave rise to
aid societies that helped blacks protect their newly won freedom
d. Education
i. Denied to blacks under slavery
ii. Freemen built schools, but they couldn’t supply them with enough
qualified black teachers. They obtained serves from the
government and from the American Missionary Association, who
sent white women to teach
The Freedmen’s Bureau
a. Why Was the Freedmen’s Bureau Created?
i. Many blacks were unskilled, illiterate, and without property or
money
ii. They didn’t know how to survive, so Congress created this group
in 1865
b. What Was the Purpose of the Freedmen’s Bureau?
i. To be like a welfare agency. It was to provide:
1. Food
2. Clothing
3. Medical care
4. Education
ii. It also organized the African-American vote for the Republican
Party
iii. Ex-slave States were divided into districts that were managed by
assistant commissioners
iv. Union general Oliver Howard, who later founded Howard
University, led the bureau
c. Successes of the Freedmen’s Bureau
i. 200,000 blacks learned how to read. Many former slaves had a
passion for learning because:
1. They wanted to close the gap between themselves and
whites
2. They longed to read the Word of God
d. Failures of the Freedmen’s Bureau
i. Former slaves were supposed to be settled on 40 acre tracts of land
confiscated from the Confederates, but this usually didn’t happen
ii. Local administrators often collaborated with planters in expelling
blacks from towns and persuading them to sign labor contracts to
work for their former masters
e. End of the Freedmen’s Bureau
i. Many feared the end of white racial dominance
IV.
V.
ii. Because they organized the African-American vote for the
Republican Party, it increased animosity toward the Bureau in the
South
iii. White supremacist views (including president Andrew Johnson)
prevailed and the bureau was ended in 1872
President Andrew Johnson
a. Characteristics of Andrew Johnson
i. Born to poor parents in North Carolina
ii. Was orphaned in early age
iii. Never attended school (taught himself to read and his wife taught
him how to write and do math)
iv. Was an indentured servant (a tailor)
v. Was involved in politics in TN as early as 17
vi. Was hot-tempered, contentious, and stubborn
b. Andrew Johnson As Vice-President
i. Nominated as Lincoln’s Vice-President when he needed to attract
support from the War Democrats and pro-Southerners (Johnson
was a Democrat)
ii. Was afflicted with typhoid fever and was urged by his friends to
drink to cure it. He was drunk on inauguration day
c. Beliefs As A Politician
i. Was a champion of poor whites and was against planter aristocrats
(he himself owned a few slaves eventually)
ii. Elected to Congress and attracted much favorable attention from
the North when he advocated against his State seceding
iii. Was for States’ rights and the Constitution
d. Enemies of Johnson
i. North – He was a Southerner who didn’t understand the North
ii. South – A TN who had earned the distrust of the South
iii. Democrat – Was never accepted by the Republicans
iv. People – A president who had never been elected to the office
Presidential Reconstruction
a. 10% Plan (1863)
i. Lincoln wanted restoration to be easy and without malice
ii. Lincoln believed that the Southern States never legally seceded
from the Union. Therefore, restoration should be simple. His plan
called for:
1. A State could be reintegrated into the Union when 10% of
its voters in the presidential election of 1860 had taken an
oath of allegiance to the U.S. and pledged to abide by
emancipation
2. Creation of a new State government
3. Recognition
iii. Republicans in Congress turned down the plan. They feared the
restoration of the planter aristocracy and the possible
reenslavement of blacks
VI.
b. Wade-Davis Bill of 1864
i. Republicans wanted a harsher plan because they feared restoration
of the planter aristocracy to power and the possible re-enslavement
of blacks
ii. Required that 50% of a State’s voters take the oath of allegiance
iii. Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill (Refused to sign it after Congress
had adjourned – so it expires in 10 days)
iv. Congress refused to seat delegates from Louisiana after that State
had reorganized its government in accordance with Lincoln’s 10%
plan in 1864
c. Lincoln vs. Congress
i. Unlike Lincoln, many in Congress insisted that the South had left
the Union
ii. As a result, they forfeited all their rights and could only be
readmitted as “conquered provinces” as decided by Congress
d. Moderate Republicans vs. Radical Republicans
i. Moderate Republicans –
1. Agreed with Lincoln. However, they wanted the South
readmitted on Congress’ terms, not the president’s
ii. Radical Republicans –
1. Believed that the South should pay for what it did
2. Wanted Southern social structure uprooted, planters
punished, and emancipated blacks protected by the federal
government
3. Many secretly liked that Lincoln was assassinated and
Johnson, who shared their hatred for the planter aristocrats,
was now in power
e. Andrew Johnson’s Plan
i. Recognized several State governments based on Lincoln’s 10%
Plan
ii. He wanted:
1. Disfranchisement of certain leading Confederates, although
they could petition him for pardons (he pardoned many
people)
2. Special State conventions that would:
a. Repeal the ordinances of secession
b. Repudiate all Confederate debts
c. Ratify the slave-freeing 13th Amendment
(December 1865)
3. Any State complying would be swiftly admitted to the
Union
The Black Codes
a. Discriminatory Laws Against Blacks
i. Black Codes were passed in Southern States immediately after the
Civil War. Their intent was to:
1. Ensure a stable and subservient labor force:
VII.
VIII.
a. Harsh penalties were put on laborers who signed
contracts that committed them to work for the same
employer for 1 year, usually at low wages
i. Could be captured and dragged back to work
ii. Fined and then have to work to pay it off
2. Establish racial subservience:
a. Forbade blacks to serve on juries
b. Barred blacks from renting
c. Not allowed to vote
b. The Burden of Blacks
i. Blacks had trouble being economically independent because they
lacked capital and only had their labor to offer. Many became
sharecropper farmers
ii. On top of all this, they had the oppressive laws
c. All of this angered Northerners who had just fought for their freedom
Congressional Reconstruction
a. Confederates In Congress
i. When many of the Southern States were readmitted, voters
instinctively chose their experienced statesmen. Most had been in
the Confederacy (even ex-Confederate vice-president Alexander
Stephens – who was still under indictment for treason)
ii. The Republicans were not in the mood to embrace their former
enemies (mostly all were Democrats). Many wanted the political
advantage of passing laws quickly without them
iii. The Republicans also realized that now the former black slaves
would count as 5/5 instead of 3/5, giving the South more
representatives in Congress (12 more)
b. What Could Happen With the South Having More Power in Congress?
i. Re-enslave blacks (through the Black Codes)
ii. Lower tariffs
iii. Reroute the transcontinental railroad
iv. Repeal the Homestead Act
v. Repudiate the national debt
Johnson Clashes With Congress
a. December 1865
i. 13th Amendment is passed
ii. Johnson declares that the Union is restored
b. February 1866
i. The President vetoes a bill that would’ve extended the life of the
Freedman’s Bureau
c. March 1866
i. Civil Rights Bill was passed. It gave blacks U.S. citizenship
d. April 1866
i. Johnson vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode it
ii. Johnson would be known as “Sir Veto” and “Andy Veto”
e. June 1866
IX.
X.
i. Republicans feared that the Southerners might one day control
Congress and repeal the Civil Rights Bill, so they worked on
creating an amendment. Southern State would have to ratify the
amendment before their congressmen could be readmitted to
Congress
ii. The 14th amendment (1868) was passed:
1. Gave U.S. citizenship
2. Any State that denies eligible citizens the right to vote will
have a proportionate number of representatives taken away
from them
3. Anyone who had taken an oath to be a federal or State
official before the Civil War and then became a
Confederate is disqualified from holding federal and State
offices
4. Repudiated all Confederate debts
iii. Some wanted the amendment to have the right to vote
iv. Johnson urged the Southern States to reject the amendment, and all
but one did
Johnson Clashes With Congress Even More
a. Congressional Elections of 1866
i. Johnson wanted to secure more people who would favor his soft
Southern policies
ii. He went on a tour of various cities to express his views. During
the tour, he accused radicals in Congress of having planned largescale antiblack riots and murder in the South
iii. People hurled insults at him during the speeches and rumors of
drunkenness were revived
iv. This caused more Republicans to enter Congress – they had a 2/3
majority in both houses
Republican Principles and Programs
a. Radical Republicans
i. Senate –
1. Led by Charles Sumner – labored for black freedom and
racial equality
ii. House –
1. Led by Thaddeus Stevens – defended runaway slaves
without fee and hated rebellious white Southerners. He
was a leading member on the Joint Committee on
Reconstruction
iii. These people were opposed to swift restoration of the South and
wanted to apply federal power to bring about a drastic social and
economic transformation in the South
b. Moderate Republicans
i. Preferred policies that favored States’ rights
XI.
XII.
ii. Wanted the States to be restrained from taking away citizen’s
rights, rather than the federal government being involved in
individuals lives
Reconstruction by the Sword
a. Reconstruction Act of 1867
i. Divided the South into 5 military districts
ii. Each was commanded by a Union general and policed by Union
soldiers
iii. Disfranchised tens of thousands of former Confederates
iv. Passed over Johnson’s veto
b. Steps To Readmission
i. To be readmitted, States were required to ratify the 14th
Amendment (gave former slaves their rights as citizens)
ii. Had to guarantee in State constitutions full suffrage for former
adult male slaves. Moderates wanted the State governments to
assume responsibility for protecting blacks rights, but that proved
to be a bad idea
th
c. 15 Amendment
i. To make sure that the Southern States wouldn’t amend their
constitutions once they were readmitted, the 15th Amendment was
passed in 1870
ii. The Republicans were closely watching and still virtually
controlled the State governments in the South, so opposition to the
amendment was at a minimum
d. Ex parte Milligan (1866)
i. The Supreme Court case that ruled that military tribunals could not
try civilians, even during wartime, in areas where the civil courts
were open
ii. Peacetime military rule was against the Constitution
e. Southern States Are Readmitted
i. After passing the Civil War amendments and making new State
constitutions, all Southern States were readmitted with full rights
by 1870
ii. In 1877, the last federal troops were removed
No Women Voters
a. Women’s Rights
i. Women played a large role in the prewar abolitionist movement.
Woman’s Loyal League – 400,000 signatures on petitions asking
Congress to pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting slavery
ii. Many also served in the war
iii. They pointed out that both women and blacks lacked basic civil
rights
b. 14th Amendment & 15th Amendments Exclude Women
i. For the first time, the word male was inserted into the Constitution.
It was in reference to a citizen’s right to vote in the 14th
XIII.
Amendment (it was intended to give blacks the same rights as
women – citizenship, but not the right to vote)
ii. Stanton and Anthony campaigned against the amendment
iii. The 15th Amendment proposed to prohibit denial of the vote on the
basis of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”
iv. Stanton and Anthony wanted the word “sex” added to the list, but
it wasn’t added
c. It would take women 50 more years to get the right to vote
The Realities of Radical Reconstruction in the South
a. Blacks and the Right To Vote
i. The 14th Amendment was intended to give blacks the same rights
as women – citizenship, but not the right to vote. However, many
people soon wanted to give former slaves the right to vote
(although white Southerners were being denied the vote)
ii. Most Northern States, before ratification of the 15th Amendment in
1870, withheld the right to vote to their black minorities
b. Union League
i. Blacks began to organize politically
ii. Turned the League into a network of political clubs that educated
members in their civic duties and campaigned for Republican
candidates
iii. Mission expanded to include:
1. Building black churches and schools
2. Representing black grievances
3. Recruiting militias to protect black communities from
white retaliation
c. African American Women and Politics
i. Didn’t obtain the right to vote
ii. However, they faithfully attended the parades and tallies common
in black communities during the early years of Reconstruction and
helped assemble mass meetings in the newly constructed black
churches
iii. They even showed up at the constitutional conventions held
throughout the South
d. Blacks In Office
i. Black males sat down with whites to hammer out new State
constitutions (universal male suffrage)
ii. No black governors or majorities were elected in State legislatures
during the next election, but blacks did begin to be elected to office
iii. Between 1868 and 1876, there were 2 black Senators and 14
representatives
iv. Blacks also served in State governments and local governments
e. Reaction of Southerners To Blacks In Office
i. Were deeply offended. Labeled people as:
ii. Scalawags –
1. Derogatory name for Southerners working for or
supporting the federal government during Reconstruction
2. Some of these Southerners had opposed the war from the
beginning, while others helped Reconstruction for financial
gains
3. Became a target of the KKK
iii. Carpetbaggers –
1. Derogatory Southern name for Northerners who came to
the South to participate in Reconstruction governments
(supposedly for personal power and profit – many truly
wanted to help modernize the South)
2. Name came from the cloth bags of possessions many of
them used to travel South with
3. Response by some violent Southern whites led to
organization of the KKK
f. What Did The New Radical Governments Do?
i. Introduced much needed reforms:
1. Good public schools
2. Tax systems streamlined
3. Public works launched
ii. Most reforms were welcome and retained by the all-white
governments that later returned to power
g. Corruption In State Governments
i. Some people were in it for the money. Some legislatures or
governors purchased the following using the government’s money:
1. Hams
2. Perfumes
3. Suspenders
4. Clothes
5. Champagne
ii. Corruption took place in the North as well
iii. Political machines began to develop
XIV. The Ku Klux Klan
a. Creation of the KKK
i. Founded in TN in 1866 out of resentment of the success and ability
of black legislators and the changing of society
ii. The white dress was intended to be frightening. They also used
force to intimidate (flogging, mutilation, and murder – 25 were
killed and 200 injured in Louisiana in 1868)
iii. Many blacks started not voting because of them
b. Force Acts of 1870 and 1871
i. Outraged, Congress passed these acts that outlawed these practices,
but intimidation had already occurred
ii. Many continued their actions, but renamed their clubs deceiving
names, such as “dancing clubs,” “missionary societies,” and “rifle
clubs”
c. Failure To Enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments
i. Disenfranshisement of blacks began around the late 1800s
ii. It was achieved by intimidation, fraud, and trickery
1. Literacy tests – Administered by whites to the advantage of
illiterate whites
2. Grandfather clauses
3. Poll taxes
4. White primary
XV. Johnson Is Impeached
a. Tenure of Office Act of 1867
i. Passed over Johnson’s veto
ii. The law required the president to get the consent of the Senate
before he could remove his appointees once they had been
approved by the Senate. The intent was to keep in the cabinet the
Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, who was appointed by Lincoln
and for hard reconstruction of the South (was a radical Republican)
iii. Johnson removed Stanton on the grounds that Stanton had been
appointed by Lincoln and confirmed by the Senate under Lincoln’s
presidency, not his own
iv. In reality, Congress didn’t like Johnson’s easy reconstruction
policy for the South and resented all the vetoes
v. Articles of impeachment were drawn up against Johnson
b. Impeachment Proceedings
i. House – Impeached Johnson on:
1. High crimes and misdemeanors (relating to violations of
the Tenure of Office Act)
2. Disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach (relating
to his verbal attacks on Congress)
ii. Senate – Acquitted Johnson by 1 vote
XVI. Johnson Is Found Not-Guilty
a. Why Was Johnson Found Not Guilty?
i. Destabilization – People feared that if Johnson could be found
guilty, it could establish a dangerous precedent
ii. Checks and Balances – People felt that if convicted, it would be an
abuse of the principle of checks and balances
iii. President Pro Tempore of the Senate – Radical Republican Ben
Wade would be next in line for the presidency because there was
no vice-president. Many people didn’t like his policies
iv. No More Obstruction – Johnson promised that he would no longer
obstruct Republican policies in return for remaining in office
b. Results of Impeachment and Non-Conviction
i. Showed that the country was stable – there could’ve been an armed
uprising in less stable republics
ii. Avoided a precedent that would have weakened the executive
branch
iii. Johnson had a bad temper, bad judgment, and was stubborn, but he
was truly not guilty of anything
XVII. The Purchase of Alaska
a. Russian Plans For Alaska
i. The Russians were looking to sell Alaska because:
1. Russians were overextended in North America
2. They also thought that if they were in another war with
Britain, they might lose the area to them
3. The area was a growing economic liability – no resources
there
ii. They preferred to sell it to America because they wanted to
strengthen them against a possible enemy in Britain
b. Seward’s Folly
i. Secretary of State William Seward signed a treaty in 1867 with
Russia that transferred Alaska to the U.S. for $7.2 million
ii. He was criticized for purchasing this frozen wasteland
c. Why Did Congress and the Public Sanction the Purchase?
i. Russia had been friendly to the North during the Civil War
ii. The territory was rumored to have a lot of furs, fish, and gold (it
might pan out profitably in the future)
XVIII. The Heritage of Reconstruction
a. Results of Reconstruction
i. Lincoln, Johnson, and everyone else didn’t know what it’d be like
after the war ended. In retrospect, it’s amazing that it wasn’t
harsher
ii. Republicans – wanted to protect the freed slaves and to promote
the fortunes of the Republican party (reconstruction actually
conferred only fleeting benefits on blacks and virtually
extinguished the Republican party in the South for 100 years)
iii. Reconstruction ended up going badly in the South because:
1. Deep-rooted racism
2. American resistance to tampering with property rights
3. Rigid loyalty to the principle of self-government
4. Increasing indifference in the North to the plight of blacks
b. The Old South was in many ways more resurrected than reconstructed