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RECONSTRUCTION
The period of American history that followed the Civil War is called
“Reconstruction”. It lasted from 1865 – 1877. During these years the
Confederate States were restored to the Union. Efforts were made to rebuild
the South and solve its enormous political, economic and social problems.
I. Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction
A. President Abraham Lincoln offered generous terms to the
South.
B. All southern white males, except high Confederate officials,
could regain full rights as U.S. citizens by taking a simple oath
pledging their loyalty to the Union.
C. When 10% of a Confederate State’s voters took the oath. The
state could form a new government and adopt a new
constitution. The constitution HAD to prohibit slavery.
D. Many Northerners believed that Lincoln’s plan was too mild
because it did not hold the South responsible for causing the
war.
E. Before Lincoln could put his plan into effect, he was
assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theater in
Washington, D.C.
II. President Andrew Johnson Takes over for Lincoln
A. Andrew Johnson proposed to carry out Lincoln’s ideas.
B. By the fall of 1865, new state government’s had been
organized throughout the South.
C. Steps were taken to help the former slaves.
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a) Congress proposed the 13th Amendment to the
Constitution. This Amendment called for the abolition
of slavery in all parts of the United States.
b) The 13th Amendment went into effect after being
approved by 2/3 of the Senate, 2/3 of the House of
Representatives and ¾ of the State legislatures.
c) Congress organized the Freedmen’s Bureau which
helped blacks find jobs, protected their rights, and
established hospitals and schools for them through out
the South.
D. Southern whites tried to limit the freedoms of ex-slaves
1. The newly formed white controlled state governments in
the South passed laws called the “Black Codes”.
d) One of these codes required blacks to sign contracts
forcing them to work at a job for a full year.
e) Another allowed white employers to whip black workers
f) Other codes limited freedom of speech and travel
g) Denied the right to vote
h) Allowed states to put unemployed black in jail
i) Prevented blacks from testifying against whites in court.
Thes The Black Codes tried to keep the African Americans in almost the same
position that they had been as slaves.
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AN E
T HE FIRST 2 YEARS AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, WHITES MURDERED
AN ESTIMATED 5,000 BLACKS.
E. Southern whites founded a secret organization called the Ku Klux Klan.
a. the Klan’s objective was to maintain white supremacy in the south
by using threats and violence to prevent blacks from voting.
b. Members of the Ku Klux Klan were angered at seeing former
slaves in position of power while they were often forbidden to hold public office.
c. they were called “midnight riders” they dressed in white sheets(to
symbolize the spirit of the dead Southern soldier) and carried torches, often burnt
crosses.
d. Blacks who refused to be intimidated by these people were often
tarred and feathered, beaten or lynched or they had their homes burnt.
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III. Congress takes control of Reconstruction.
A. the Northern Republicans in Congress were convinced that
President Johnson’s plan Reconstruction had failed.
1. new state governments in the South were using the
Black codes to deny basic rights to former slaves.
2. Nothing was done to halt the growing membership
and acts of terror of the Ku Klux Klan.
3. Newly elected Congressmen from the South
included many officials who had served in the
Confederate government during the Civil War
B. The most outspoken criticism of Johnson’s Plan came from a
group of Republicans known as the “Radicals”.
1. The “Radical Republicans” demanded a new
Reconstruction Policy.
a. they were determined to protect the rights of
blacks and loyal whites in the South.
b. The Radicals wanted to give blacks the right
to vote in order to establish Southern
governments that were loyal to the Union
and controlled by the Republican Party.
c. They wanted to punish the South for having
caused the Civil War.
2. The leaders of the Radical Republicans were
Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts and Representative Thaddeus
Stevens of Pennsylvania.
C. Many Republicans distrusted President Johnson, a former
Southern Democrat even though he had opposed secession and remained
loyal to the Union.
D. In 1866, congress passed the Civil Rights Act which
guaranteed various legal rights to the Negroes.
E. Congress proposed the 14th Amendment of the United States
Constitution and said that the Southern states had to ratify it to be
readmitted to the Union.
1. The 14th amendment made Negroes citizens of the
United States.
2. All federal and state laws would apply equally to
blacks and whites.
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3. Officials who had been part of the Confederate
government could not hold high political office again.
F. President Johnson and his Southern supporters opposed
congressional Reconstruction, saying it was unfair to the
South.
G. Congress responded by passing the Reconstruction Acts.
1. The Southern state governments organized under
Johnson’s Plan were done away with.
2. Ten (10) Southern states that had not yet approved the
14th Amendment and been readmitted to the Union
were divided into 5 military districts.
a. A major general commanded each area.
b. Federal Troops stationed in each district helped
enforce the Reconstruction Acts.
3.
The Reconstruction Acts listed the
requirements for a state’s readmission to the Union.
a. A new state constitution had to be written that
gave black men the right to vote.
b. All qualified voters, including blacks, would
elect a governor and state legislature.
c. The state had to ratify the 14th Amendment.
4. President Jonson vetoed the Reconstruction Acts, but
congress re-passed them with 2/3 of the Senate and 2/3
of the House approved the acts.
H. Congress attempted to remove President Johnson from
office after he violated the Tenure of Office Act.
1. The Tenure of Office Act said the president could not
dismiss a member of the Cabinet without the Senate’s
approval.
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2. Johnson, claiming the law was unconstitutional, fired
Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a friend of the
Radical Republican
3. The House of Representatives voted 126 to 47. to
“impeach” the president, that is, accuse him of
wrongdoing.
4. After his impeachment trial in the Senate, a vote of 35
to 19 fell one vote short of the 2/3 needed for removal
from office.
I. All Confederate states rejoined the Union by 1870
J. The 15th Amendment was approved, making it ILLEGAL to
deny men the right to vote because of their race.
IV.
Reconstruction governments were opposed by Southern whites.
A. Three groups in the south combined to give the Republican
Party control of all of the Southern state governments.
1. The blacks formed the largest group of Southern
Republicans.
2. “Carpetbaggers” were Northerners who went south
seeking economic and political opportunities.
a. Many bought cotton lands or opened
business.
b. Sixty carpetbaggers were elected to
Congress and none became governors.
3. “Scalawags” were Southern whites who had either
opposed secession or who now believed that it was
best to co-operate with the North.
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B.
Ulysses S. Grant, who served as president
from 1869 to 1877, supported congress’ tough Reconstruction
policies.
C. The Republican – controlled state governments achieved
numerous successes.
1. Tax-supported public school systems were set up.
2. Money was given to develop railroads and various
industries.
3. Blacks were given the opportunity to hold political
office.
4. Racial discrimination was outlawed.
D. Most Southern whites refused to support the Reconstruction
governments.
1. They complained that the 14th Amendment kept
many southern leaders form holding political
office.
2. A number of whites had their land and property
taken away because they could not pay taxes.
3. Many carpetbaggers and scalawags in the
Reconstruction governments accepted money in
exchange for political favors.
4. The majority of Southern whites could not accept
the idea of former slaves voting and holding office.
5. Many whites attacked blacks and their white
supporters.
E. Reconstruction came to an end when the Republican Party lost
its power in the southern states.
1. The southern Democrats defeated the Republicans
and took control of most state governments
between 1869-1876.
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a. The use of violence kept large numbers of
blacks away from the polls, thereby helping
the Democrats to victory.
b. Federal troops that were backing the
Republican- controlled governments were
gradually withdrawn because many
Northerners were losing interest in
Reconstruction.
2. The reconstruction Period came to a close when
President Rutherford B. Hayes ordered the last
federal troops out of the south in 1877.
V. The period of Reconstruction had both positive and negative effects
on the South.
A. Several major achievements were realized.
1. The states that had seceded were restored to the
Union and the rebuilding of the South was begun.
2. Public schools systems were established.
3. The 14th and 15th Amendments, though often
violated by Southern whites, eventually became
the basis of the civil rights movement which began
in the 1950’s and helped blacks in their struggle
for equality.
B. Reconstruction failed to solve the problems of the blacks and
the South as a whole.
1. The majority of former slaves could not afford
their own land, and continued to work for the
cotton planters.
2. The South was slow to expand its economy, and
long remained the poorest section of the country.
3. The whites held political power and the blacks
eventually lost all of the rights they had gained
under the Republicans.
a. Large numbers of blacks were prevented
from voting because they could not afford to
pay “poll taxes”.
b. Other blacks were kept from voting because
of “grandfather clauses” which said that
people whose ancestors could not vote on
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January 1, 1867 could not vote either; no
blacks had been able to vote on that date
4. The passage of “Jim Crow laws” kept the races
apart, or “segregated, “ in housing, transportation
facilities, public accommodations, and schools.
5. Because Reconstruction had been carried out by
the Republican Party, white Southerners
overwhelmingly voted for Democratic candidates,
thus creating the “Solid South”.
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