Download Chapter 11 Section 1 - Reconstruction Begins

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Words to Know
Reconstruction
the time period after the Civil War when the United
States began to rebuild the South
black codes
a series of southern laws to limit the freedom of
African Americans
civil rights
rights belonging to all citizens
An., the Civil Waç the United States had many
problems. President Lincoln was dead. The South was
in ruins. In 1865, Congress passed the Thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution, outlawing slavery.
President Lincoln had approved it. However, now that
the war was over, many people wondered if freed
African Americans would gain all their rights.
Lincoln's Plan
Before Lincoln died, he had a plan for
Reconstruction. Reconstruction is the time period
after the Civil War when the United States began to
rebuild the South. Lincoln wanted to make it easy for
southern states to rejoin the Union. Here is his plan.
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L. Southerners had to promise to end slavery.
2. Southerners had to take a loyalty oath before
they could be forgiven.
3. Southern
states could set up a new government
after 10 percent of the voters took the loyalty oath.
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4. Property (but not slaves) would be returned to
former Confederates who took the loyalty oath.
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Under his plan, Lincoln had also suggested that the
southern states would give freed African Americans
the right to vote.
Under Lincoln's plan, when could southern states
set up a new government?
Johnsonns Plan
After Abraham Lincoln's death, Vice President
Andrew Johnson became the new President.
Rebuilding the South became his job.
Johnson was a Democrat from the state of
Tennessee. He had remained loyal to the Union during
the Civil War. However, he had also owned slaves at
one time. Johnson's plan for the South was much like
Lincoln's, but it did not make southern states give
African Americans the right to vote. The states were
allowed to decide that for themselves. Johnson's plan
also required each southern state to ratify the
Thirteenth Amendment, which ended slavery.
What did Johnson's plan require of southern states?
President Andrew
Johnson
Radical Republicans D¡sagree
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A large group of U.S. congressmen did not like
Johnson's plan. This group was called the Radical
Republicans. The Radical Republicans wanted stronger
action to punish former Confederate leaders in the
South. The Radical Republicans also wanted more
rights for African Americans. They wanted to make the
South give African Americans the right to vote.
While Congress was away from Washington, D.C.,
Johnson's plan went into effect. Soon, former
Confederate leaders formed new state governments
in the South.
What did the Radical Republicans want?
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The South Under Johnson's Plan
While Johnson's plan was in effect, white southern
lawmakers wrote laws called black codes. These laws
took away many rights of freed African Americans.
They could not vote or serve on juries. The black codes
made it difficult for African Americans to 89 to school.
They were a lot like the old slave laws.
In some states, black codes kept freed slaves out of
good jobs. In South Carolina, the black codes said
African Americans had to pay between $10 and $100
for a license to hold any job other than servant or
farmer. Most African Americans could not afford to
pay for the licenses.
Members of the Ku KIux
KIan openly threatened
and harmed African
Americans.
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African Americans did not feel safe in the South.
Some white Southerners formed secret groups to
frighten African Americans. One group was called the
Ku Klux Klan, or KKK. Members of this group wore
hoods to hide their faces. They beat or hanged African
Americans and burned their homes and churches.
What happened to African Americans under
Johnson's plan to rebuild the South?
The Civil Rights Act
The Radical Republicans blamed President Johnson
for the passage of black codes and other strict laws. In
March 7866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act.
Civil rights are rights that all citizens should have.
The Civil Rights Act said that African Americans
should have the same legal rights as white Americans.
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President Andrew Johnson refused to sign the act
into law. Instead he chose to veto it. However,
Congress was able to pass the Civil Rights Act over
the President's veto.
What rights did the Civil Rights Act of 1866 give
African Americans?
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The Fourteenth Amendment
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Next, Congress wrote the Fourteenth Amendment
to the Constitution. This is what the Fourteenth '
Amendment said.
L. All people born in the United States are citizens.
2. State governments cannot take away the rights of
any citizens.
3. States that prevent any male citizens, inòluding
African Americans, from voting will lose
representatives in Congress.
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4. Former Confederate leaders cannot hold office.
PreSident Johnson was against the Fourteenth
Amendment. However, it was signed by most states.
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did the Fourteenth Amendment protect the
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Section
I Review
lr'How did President Lincoln feel about allowing
the South to rejoin the Union after the war?
2.What did the Fourteenth Amendment say about
state representatives in the U.S. Congress?
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3. GriticalThinking Why do you think President
Andrew Johnson refused to sign the Civil Rights
Act into law?
4. Write About Gitizenship Write a letter to the
editor of a northern newspaper about conditions
in the South under the Johnson plan. Explain
what you think should be done about it.
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Rebuilding a Divided Nation
. 1865-1877
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