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© Erin Kathryn 2015
• After the Civil War ended, the nation had to be
reunited.
• The period when the South rejoined the Union is
called Reconstruction.
• Americans did not agree on how to bring the South
back into the Union
• Some people wanted to punish the south, while
others, such as President Abraham Lincoln, wanted
to make it easy for southern states to rejoin.
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• On April 14, 1865, President
Lincoln was assassinated, or
killed, by John Wilkes Booth.
• Lincoln’s death shocked and
saddened many people.
• The Vice President, Andrew
Johnson became the President.
• Johnson put Lincoln’s plan for
Reconstruction into action.
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• Southern states quickly set up new
state governments.
• The federal government forced them to
abolish, or end, slavery.
• Most southern states passed harsh laws
called Black Codes.
• These laws limited former slaves to
travel, vote, and work in certain jobs.
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• Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau,
which gave food, clothing, medical care,
and legal advice to poor blacks and
whites.
• The Freedman’s Bureau set up hospitals,
schools, and jobs for many people.
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• In 1867, Congress began its own Reconstruction plan.
• Congress forced southern states to obey the laws.
• The states had to allow all men, including blacks, to
vote.
• Congress tried to remove President Johnson by voting
to impeach him.
• To impeach means to charge a government official with
a crime.
• Congress almost forced Johnson out of office, but
they did not succeed and he finished his presidency.
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• Southerners who helped the government during
Reconstruction were known as scalawags, which
was a slang word for an old worthless horse.
• Some Northerners traveled south during
Reconstruction in an effort to help rebuild
the south.
• These Northerners were known as
carpetbaggers because they often carried
suitcases made of carpet materials.
• Southerners did not like carpetbaggers.
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• During Reconstruction, three new
amendments to the Constitution were
created by Congress.
• These changes gave the national
government more power than the states.
• They also protected the rights of
African-Americans.
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• Declared that slavery would no
longer be allowed to exist in the
United States
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• Declared that the states could
not limit the rights of citizens
• “Due Process of the law”
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• Gave all men the right to vote, no
matter what their skin color was or if
they had been slaves
• Women were not allowed to vote until
1920
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• Over time, people grew frustrated and
disappointed with Reconstruction because they
felt that it had not successfully reunited the
nation.
• In 1877, President Rutherford B. Hayes ended
Reconstruction and ordered government
soldiers to leave the south.
• With no protection, African Americans were
unable to vote and lost their political power.
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• Southern states began passing Jim Crow laws.
• These laws kept African Americans separate
from other Americans and made segregation
legal.
• Segregation is the forced separation of races.
• Jim Crow laws segregated schools, hospitals,
and even cemeteries.
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• After Reconstruction, African
Americans had to continue their
struggle for freedom.
• For decades, Jim Crow laws prevent
African Americans from exercising
their rights.
© Erin Kathryn 2015