Download Bell Work 11/21

Bell Work 11/21
You are a member of Congress at the end of
the Civil War… How do you think the U.S.
should approach Reconstruction?
Reconstruction
(1865-1877)
Unit 4: Civil War and Reconstruction
What was Reconstruction?
Period between 1865-1877 when former Confederate states
were controlled by the federal government before being allowed
to rejoin the Union
Purpose: rebuild the South,
put the nation back together
End of the Civil War: April 9, 1865
-War left South
devastated
Southern Problems:
● Southern cities in ruin
● Loss of property,
wealth
● Few opportunities for
freed slaves
*read only*
Southern livestock killed: 40%
Southern farm machinery destroyed: 50%
Drop in South’s total property wealth: 66%
Total national wealth held by the South before the war: 30%
Total national wealth held by the South after the war: 12%
Plans for Reconstruction
President Lincoln’s Plan (The 10% Plan)
● Forgive all southerners who pledged loyalty to the Union
(except high ranking Confederate leaders)
● Southern states could rejoin the Union when 10% of the
state’s voters had taken loyalty oath
● Help former slaves (freedman)
Congress’s Plan (Wade-Davis Bill)
● Mostly radical Republicans ( tougher
requirements for South)
● Lincoln’s Plan = too easy on the South
● South’s responsibility to rebuild/pay for war
● Wade-Davis Bill: required majority of a
Southern state’s white male citizens to
pledge loyalty before rejoining the
Union
● Lincoln used pocket veto