Download Honors US History Lecture 15

Honors U.S. History
Mr. Irwin
1/4/16
Name:
Week 15
Period:
Lecture #15 – RECONSTRUCTION
1865 - 1877
The Purpose of Reconstruction
Between 1865 – 1877, the federal government of the United States embarked on
Reconstruction, which was an effort to accomplish the two goals below:

Repair and rebuild the infrastructure of the South (physically as well as
economically), which had been destroyed during the Civil War.

Reunite the (former) Confederate states with the rest of the Union (note that I am
not using the term readmit here). Read on, to understand my choice of words
on this particular point.
The issue of Reconstruction was hugely controversial at the time, as students should
have learned as the result of this week’s reading and note-taking assignment.
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan
(As part of this week’s learning objectives, students are expected to know why Lincoln’s
plan is called the Ten Per Cent Plan).
As early as 1863, President Lincoln had begun working on a plan to reconstruct &
reunify the Confederate states with the rest of the Union. During that year, Lincoln
proposed a “Ten Percent Plan” for Reconstruction. Key elements of his plan were:

The overall approach to Reconstruction would be geared towards forgiveness
and healing.

A pardon would be issued to any Confederate who would take an oath of loyalty
to the United States, and accept the federal policy on slavery (which was that
slavery would be abolished).

Pardons would be denied to Confederate military & government officials.

Pardons would be denied to southerners who had killed African American war
prisoners.

Once ten percent of voters in a state had sworn allegiance the Union, that state
would then hold a convention, for the purpose of creating a new state constitution
(which would have to conform to the Constitution of the United States).

Upon achieving 10% allegiance to the U.S., states would then be allowed to hold
elections for the purpose of choosing new U.S. Representatives and new U.S.
Senators. The states would then be allowed to resume full political participation
in the Union.
* It should be noted that the Ten Percent Plan would not “readmit” southern states
into the Union, since it was Lincoln’s view that the Southern secession had not been a
constitutional act (and therefore, the Confederate states had not actually left the Union,
as they believed they had).
Division within the Republican Party
Lincoln was a Republican, and during the time of his administration, the Republicans
had a majority in Congress.
Many Republicans in Congress became unhappy that Lincoln seemed to be taking
control of Reconstruction (even though they were members of the same political party),
because according to the U.S. Constitution, it is the legislative branch of government
(Congress) that makes the laws (and as you should be aware by now, the President is a
member of the executive branch of government (the branch that oversees carrying out
laws, not making them).
Another reason why some Republicans were unhappy with Lincoln and his Ten Percent
Plan was that they thought it was too lenient towards the (former) Confederacy.
Republicans who felt that Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction was too lenient, became
known as Radical Republicans. The Radical Republicans believed that the Civil War
had been fought over the moral issue of slavery, and that now that the war was over,
Reconstruction should focus on restructuring of the American society, in order to
guarantee former slaves true equality.
Congress Attempts to Pass its Own Plan For Reconstruction
Being the lawmakers, Congress attempted to pass it’s own plan for Reconstruction, the
Wade – Davis Act. Among the provisions of the act:

Ex-Confederate men would be required to take an oath of past and future loyalty
to the United States.

Ex-Confederate men would be required to swear that they had never willingly
used arms against the United States.
President Lincoln let this bill die by using what is called a pocket veto. If the
president does not want a bill to be enacted into law, he can send Congress a written
rejection of the bill, which is called a veto. Another method that the president can use to
try to “kill” a congressional bill, is to simply not sign it. This approach is considered
to be an indirect method of vetoing a bill. The name “pocket veto” comes from the
image that the president has placed a bill in his pocket, but hasn’t signed it.
A Third Plan For Reconstruction
As previously learned, On April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated. As the
result, Vice President, Andrew Johnson moved up to take over as president (per the
U.S. Constitution). The now President Johnson was a Southerner, and a former slave
owner (it should be pointed out that once the Civil War broke out, Andrew Johnson
became the only Southerner to remain in the U.S. Congress after secession).
With all the controversy over opposing plans for Reconstruction, and the philosophical
debates regarding executive branch authority vs. legislative authority, President
Johnson came up with his own plan for Reconstruction (which was largely based on
Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan), titled “Presidential Reconstruction.”
Key elements of Johnson’s Presidential Reconstruction were:

Southerners who would swear allegiance to the Union would be pardoned.

Each former Confederate state would hold a new constitutional convention in
order to write new state constitutions (but without Lincoln’s ten percent qualifier).

Each former Confederate state would be required to accept the abolishment of
slavery.

After accepting the abolishment of slavery, the former Confederate state could
elect new government officials, and then take their proper place, as part of the
Union, once again.
Although similar to Lincoln’s plan for reconstruction, Johnson’s plan was considered
much more lenient to the former Confederacy.
The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 - 1868
Congressional elections took place in 1866, and there was much debate over the issue
of whether or not there should be equal rights for the former slaves. There was also
debate over the amount of leniency, or level of severity that any version of
Reconstruction should be based upon.
Key elements of this Congressional Act were as follows:

The South would be placed under military rule.

Five Southern districts would be created. Each district would be governed by a
Northern general.

Southern states would be ordered to hold new elections and to draft new
constitutions for their respective states.

All qualified men, including former slaves, were to be eligible to vote in elections.

Supporters of the Confederacy would be temporarily barred from voting.

Southern states would be required to guarantee equal rights to all citizens.

All former Confederate states would be required to ratify the Fourteenth
Amendment.
A Power Struggle Between President Johnson & Congress
When students compare President Johnson’s Presidential Reconstruction with
Congress’ Reconstruction Act of 1867, it should be noticed that the Congressional plan
for Reconstruction is much more strict on the Southern states. A power struggle
between the Republican controlled Congress and President Johnson ensued over
whether the President, or Congress had authority in the matter of Reconstruction. This
power struggle spilled over into other matters.
The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
This power struggle became volatile when President Johnson attempted to fire
Secretary of War, Edward Stanton (who had previously been appointed by President
Lincoln). Stanton was friends with several of the Radical Republicans (who sought a
stricter set of rules over the South). As Secretary of War, Stanton would preside over
military rule of the South. President Johnson did not want Stanton to have such control
over Reconstruction, so he attempted to fire Mr. Stanton. Congress claimed that in
regards to this firing, the President required Congressional approval, which he clearly
did not have. Congress cited the just passed Tenure of Office Act as its basis for
claiming the President could not fire Mr. Stanton without its approval.
The House of Representatives claimed that Stanton’s firing was unconstitutional, and
Congress moved to impeach President Johnson. On February 24, 1868, Congress
voted 128 to 47 to impeach President Johnson. This made Johnson the first President
in the history of the U.S. to be impeached. When the impeachment proceedings were
completed, it was down to a congressional voted on whether or not the president should
be convicted of an unconstitutional act, and (possibly) removed from office. A 2/3
Senate vote would be required to convict the President. When the votes were counted,
Congress had one less vote than the 2/3 majority required for conviction. As the result,
although impeached, Andrew Johnson was acquitted (found not guilty), and he served
out the remaining months of his term.
In the final analysis, the Reconstruction that was actually implemented was based upon
four separate Acts of Congress that were passed between March of 1867 & March of
1868 (as detailed above).
- End of Lecture -