Download Reconstruction

Name
Reconstruction
By Cathy Pearl
Caption: President
Johnson's impeachment
trial in the Senate April
1868
The South needed a lot
of help rebuilding after the
war. President Lincoln had
already been thinking
about how to help the
South. He wanted to make
it easy for the people there to be a part of the Union again. He wasn't
the only one who had ideas on how to help the South. The plans to
rebuild the South were called Reconstruction.
Congress thought that Lincoln's plan was too easy on the South.
They were not happy with it. Lincoln never got a chance to fight for
his plan. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth before the war
was officially over.
After he died, Andrew Johnson took his place. Republicans in
Congress were happy. They thought that he would agree with a strict
plan. They were wrong. His plan was as easy on the people in the
South as Lincoln's was.
Johnson pardoned any Southerner who said he would follow
Union laws. Each state had to rewrite its Constitution. The states had
to cancel the vote to leave the Union. They also had to get rid of
slavery. The states had to approve the Thirteenth Amendment. Then,
they could hold new elections.
There were people who held offices in the South during the war.
Johnson's plan let them hold offices in the Union again. The vice
president of the Confederates became a senator from Georgia. This
made Republicans in Congress very angry. When Congress met in
1865, the Republicans would not let representatives from the South
take their seats.
The fight between Congress and the president reached its peak in
1866. Those who did not agree with the president were called
Radical Republicans. They came up with the Fourteenth Amendment.
Johnson was against it. He did not want states to vote for it.
There were elections for Congress in 1866. Johnson called on
people not to vote for Republicans. Many people did not agree with
him. During that time, blacks were attacked in New Orleans. More
people thought that blacks needed more protection.
The election did not go well for Johnson. Republicans won a lot
of seats in Congress. Johnson tried to veto many ideas from this
Congress. He did, but each time Congress had enough votes to
override it. Johnson had no power.
In 1867, Congress passed the first Reconstruction Act. It threw
out any Southern governments that would not pass the Fourteenth
Amendment. This was all of them except Tennessee. The states had
to write new constitutions and agree to the new amendment before
they could rejoin the Union.
The South was split into five parts. Each part would be under
military control. Also, blacks had to be allowed to vote in all
Southern elections.
It was Johnson's job to make sure that people followed the new
laws. But Congress was afraid that he wouldn't. They decided to
impeach him.
In the end, Johnson was not removed from office. Some
Republicans did not think that a president could be impeached for
not agreeing with Congress. So they did not vote to remove him.
Reconstruction continued until 1877. During that time, the South
tried to rebuild. Seven thousand miles of railroad tracks were laid
and schools were started for both blacks and whites.
Blacks soon realized they had a long fight ahead of them. New
amendments to the Constitution were added to protect them and give
them rights. But these new amendments did not always help them
get everything they wanted, including being treated equally.
6. What did Johnson urge states not to vote for?
Name
Reconstruction
Questions
1. Which state did NOT have their government thrown out for
not agreeing to the Fourteenth Amendment?
A. Tennessee
B. Kentucky
C. Georgia
2. Why did President Lincoln not get to fight for his
Reconstruction plan?
A. He changed the plan.
B. He resigned from office
C. He was assassinated.
3. Congress thought that Johnson's plan was:
A. Too hard on the South
B. Too easy on the South
4. Why did Congress try to impeach Johnson?
5. Why didn't some Republicans vote to impeach Johnson?
A. They did not like the Fourteenth Amendment either.
B. They did not think a president should be impeached for
disagreeing with Congress.
C. They agreed with what he did.
Was Congress right to try to impeach Johnson? Explain your answer.
Name
Do you think the South should have gotten off easy after the Civil
War? Why or why not?