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Reconstruction
was the period in United States history that followed the American Civil War (1861-1865).
The word also refers to the process by which the Union restored relations with the
Confederate states after their defeat. Reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877. It was one of
the most controversial periods in the nation's history. Scholars still debate its successes and
failures.
The American South faced enormous problems in rebuilding itself after the Civil War. Such
cities as Atlanta, Georgia, and Richmond, Virginia, lay in ruins. Much of the South's railroad
system, as well as its few factories, had been destroyed. The North, on the other hand, had
suffered little damage during the war. Farms and industries in the North had prospered.
Political leaders of the North and South faced many difficult questions during Reconstruction.
For example, how should the 11 states that had seceded (withdrawn) from the Union be
readmitted? How, if at all, should the Confederate leaders be punished? What rights should
be granted to the approximately 4 million freed slaves? How should these rights be
protected? How should the war-torn South be rebuilt?
Some of the problems were solved during Reconstruction. The Confederate states eventually
met various requirements for readmission. All rejoined the Union by 1870. The U.S.
Congress passed laws and proposed constitutional amendments to protect the rights of the
former slaves and to give them the vote. Newly formed state governments in the South
began to rebuild the ruined regions.
Other problems remained, however. Most Southern whites refused to accept blacks as
equals. African Americans continued to be poor and powerless. The Reconstruction
governments also failed to win enough support from Southern whites to survive without aid
from the North. Most Southern whites considered these governments illegal. Some whites
used violence to prevent blacks from voting.
The North gradually lost interest in Reconstruction. In time, Southern whites regained control
of their state governments. They took away many of the rights that African Americans had
won during Reconstruction.
The debate over Reconstruction
Soon after the Civil War began in 1861, Northerners started to debate how the Confederate
states should be brought back into the Union. These states were Alabama, Arkansas,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
and Virginia. Some Northerners believed these states should be treated as territories. Others
insisted that, because secession was illegal, the South still belonged to the Union. Still others
declared that the Southern leaders—but not the states—should be punished.
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Lincoln's plan. In December 1863, President Abraham Lincoln announced his plan for
Reconstruction. It offered a pardon to every Southerner who took an oath to support the
Union. Lincoln proposed that if 10 percent of a state's voters took the oath, the state could
form a new government and adopt a new constitution. The 10 percent would be based on the
number of people who had voted in the 1860 presidential election. The state's new
constitution had to prohibit slavery.
Early congressional reaction. Many Northerners considered Lincoln's plan too mild. In
1864, Congress proposed that Reconstruction wait until half the voters in a state had taken
an oath of loyalty. A national debate then developed over whether Congress or the president
should establish Reconstruction policy.
Picture
Wade-Davis Bill
In January 1865, Congress proposed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States. This amendment called for the abolition of slavery throughout the nation. In March,
Congress created the Freedmen's Bureau to protect the interests of Southern blacks. Most
blacks had no homes or money. They also lacked education because Southern laws had
barred them from receiving instruction. The bureau supervised labor contracts between
former slaves and their employers. It also set up hospitals and schools for African Americans
in the South. See Freedmen's Bureau.
Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, as the war was drawing to
a close. Vice President Andrew Johnson, a former Democratic U.S. senator from Tennessee,
succeeded Lincoln as president. The Republicans had added Johnson to their ticket in 1864
to attract Democratic support.
The start of Reconstruction
Johnson's plan. In May 1865, Johnson announced his own Reconstruction plan. It offered
pardons to all Southern whites except the main Confederate leaders and wealthy
Confederate supporters. The defeated Southern states were to hold conventions and form
new state governments. These governments had to abolish slavery and vow loyalty to the
nation to qualify for readmission to the Union. Johnson's plan did not offer African Americans
a role in the process of Reconstruction. The Southern states were to determine that role
themselves. During the summer and fall of 1865, new state governments were organized
throughout the South under Johnson's plan.
Most Northerners hoped the nation could be reunified quickly. They expected the South to
renew its loyalty to the Union. They also insisted that the basic rights of the former slaves be
protected. The 13th Amendment was ratified in December 1865.
The black codes. The status of the blacks soon became the most crucial issue of
Reconstruction. The state governments established under Johnson's plan passed a series of
laws called the black codes. One of these codes permitted employers to whip black workers.
Other codes allowed states to jail unemployed blacks and hire out their children. See Black
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codes.
Violence against blacks. The former slaves also suffered from attacks by whites. In 1865
and 1866, whites murdered about 5,000 Southern blacks. During race riots in 1866, white
mobs killed 46 blacks in Memphis and 34 in New Orleans.
In 1865 or 1866, a secret white organization called the Ku Klux Klan was founded in
Tennessee. It grew rapidly and spread terror across the South. Klan members tried to keep
African Americans from voting or exercising other rights. They threatened, beat, and even
murdered blacks and their white sympathizers. See Ku Klux Klan.
The struggle over Reconstruction
Congress was in recess during the summer and fall of 1865, when Johnson's plan took
effect. When Congress reassembled in December, many newly elected Southern
congressmen came to Washington, D.C., to take their seats.
Many of the Southern newcomers had been Confederate officials. Few of the others had
remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War. The election of such lawmakers, plus the
passage of the black codes, helped convince Republicans in Congress that Johnson's plan
had failed. Congress, which had a Republican majority, refused to seat any of the
Southerners who had been elected from Confederate states. Congress wanted to control
Reconstruction. It started to develop its own policies for the South.
The Radicals and the Moderates. When the Civil War ended, the Republican Party
included two main groups. They were the Radicals and the Moderates.
The Radicals in Congress demanded a new Reconstruction policy. Their leaders were
Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts and Representative Thaddeus Stevens of
Pennsylvania. The Radicals felt the federal government should take strong action to protect
the rights of blacks and loyal whites in the South. They also thought that giving African
Americans the vote was the only way to establish Southern governments that were loyal to
the Union and controlled by Republicans. Some of the Radicals wanted to confiscate the big
Southern plantations. They proposed to divide the plantations into small farms and give them
to the former slaves. See Stevens, Thaddeus; Sumner, Charles.
The Moderates made up the largest group of Republicans. They controlled the party. They
agreed with Johnson that the states should decide whether to give African Americans the
vote. But the Moderates also agreed with the Radicals that the rights of African Americans
needed greater protection. They supported the Radicals in demanding that Congress, rather
than Johnson, should determine Reconstruction policy.
The Civil Rights Act. Early in 1866, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. The act
guaranteed various legal rights of the former slaves. Johnson vetoed the bill because he
opposed federal protection of the rights of blacks. Congress then repassed the Civil Rights
Act. It was the first major law in U.S. history to be approved over a president's veto.
The 14th Amendment. In June 1866, Congress proposed the 14th Amendment to the
Constitution. The amendment gave citizenship to African Americans. It also guaranteed that
all federal and state laws would apply equally to blacks and whites. In addition, the
amendment barred former federal and state officeholders who had supported the
Confederacy from holding high political office again.
None of the defeated Southern states had yet been readmitted into the Union. Congress
declared that none could rejoin until it ratified the 14th Amendment. Johnson urged the states
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to reject the amendment. All the former Confederate states except Tennessee did so.
Tennessee then became the first of the 11 defeated Southern states to be readmitted into
the Union. The 14th Amendment was finally ratified by the required number of states in 1868.
The Reconstruction Acts. The stubbornness of Johnson and his Southern supporters
helped move the Moderates toward the Radical position. Early in 1867, Congress passed a
series of laws called the Reconstruction Acts. These laws abolished the Southern state
governments formed under Johnson's plan. They divided all the states that had seceded
from the Union—except Tennessee—into five military districts. A major general commanded
each area. Federal troops stationed in each district helped enforce the Reconstruction Acts.
The Reconstruction Acts also outlined the process of readmission for the 10 Southern states
that still had not rejoined the Union. Election boards in each state would register as voters all
adult black males and all qualified adult white males. The voters would elect a convention.
The convention would adopt a new state constitution. This constitution had to give black men
the right to vote. The voters then would elect a governor and state legislature. Finally, the
state had to ratify the 14th Amendment.
Picture
Registering to vote during
Reconstruction
Johnson vetoed the Reconstruction Acts. But the Republican-controlled Congress easily
repassed them over his vetoes.
The impeachment of Johnson. Congress passed another measure in 1867 that challenged
Johnson's authority. The Tenure of Office Act prohibited the president from firing Cabinet
members and certain other officials without the Senate's approval. Johnson believed that the
measure was unconstitutional. In February 1868, he violated the Tenure of Office Act by
dismissing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a supporter of the Radicals. Partly as a
result, the Radicals demanded that Johnson be removed from office.
On Feb. 24, 1868, the House of Representatives voted 126 to 47 to impeach the president.
About three weeks later, his impeachment trial began in the Senate. On May 16, the Senate
voted 35 to 19 to remove Johnson from office. This tally was one vote short of the two-thirds
majority required for removal. Johnson remained president. See Johnson, Andrew
(Johnson's administration (1865-1869)).
In 1869, Congress proposed the 15th Amendment to the Constitution. This amendment
made it illegal to deny citizens the right to vote because of their race. It was ratified by the
states in 1870. .
The Reconstruction governments
New state governments were established under the Reconstruction Acts. Many Southern
whites protested by refusing to vote in the elections that set up these governments. The
Republicans, who had little strength in the South before the Civil War, won control of every
new state government.
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By 1870, all the former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union. Alabama,
Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina had met the requirements
of the Reconstruction Acts by 1868. Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, and Texas took longer to
ratify the 14th Amendment. They were not readmitted until they had ratified the 15th
Amendment.
The Republicans in the South consisted of three chief groups—blacks; former Northerners,
who became known as carpetbaggers; and Southern whites. The Southern whites were
called scalawags by their opponents.
Blacks formed the largest group of Southern Republicans. Thousands of African Americans
voted in the elections to form the new Reconstruction governments. These voters helped the
Republicans win power throughout the South. Opponents charged that blacks dominated the
new state governments. But no state elected a black governor. Only 17 African Americans
won election to Congress during Reconstruction. South Carolina, where blacks made up
more than half the population, was the only Southern state with a black majority in its
legislature.
The carpetbaggers were largely former Union soldiers who had been attracted by economic
opportunities in the South. Many carpetbaggers bought cotton land or opened businesses in
the cities. More than 60 carpetbaggers won election to Congress. Nine carpetbaggers served
as governors. Others included missionaries and teachers who wanted to help African
Americans. Southern whites made up the term carpetbagger to suggest these Northerners
could fit all their possessions in a carpetbag (suitcase) when they came south. See
Carpetbaggers.
Most scalawags lived in the hilly areas of the South. They resented the plantation owners
who had long dominated Southern politics. Many of them had opposed the Confederacy
during the war. See Scalawags.
New state programs and policies. The Reconstruction governments established the first
public, tax-supported school systems in most states of the South. Only one Southern state,
North Carolina, had such a system before the war. Many historians consider the school
programs to be the most significant achievement of the new state governments. The states
took over the schools established by the Freedmen's Bureau and built many more. Blacks,
both young and old, flocked to these schools. At first, many whites refused to attend. Most of
the Southern states then attracted white students by segregating the schools by race, even
though many laws prohibited this action.
Economic problems troubled the Southern state governments. Agriculture, the basis of the
South's economy before the war, recovered slowly. And few Southerners had enough money
to launch new industries. The state governments attempted to fight the South's economic
backwardness. For example, they offered aid to railroads and various industries. State
officials also worked to attract investment money from the North.
The Reconstruction governments opened the political process to Southern blacks. The new
governments did more than ban racial discrimination. They also guaranteed African
Americans the right to vote and to hold political office. In addition, the governments held
elections for offices previously filled by appointment.
White resistance. Most Southern whites refused to support the Reconstruction
governments. Many of these Southerners considered the governments illegal. They believed
the new governments were unlawful because the 14th Amendment prevented many former
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Southern leaders from holding political office. Some of the governments also took away
voting rights from former Confederates. Some whites had land and other property taken from
them because they were unable to pay taxes. Corruption in the new governments also
angered many whites. A number of Southern legislators accepted bribes from railroad
officials. Southern whites were also concerned about rapidly rising taxes and public
expenses. But much of the increased state spending was needed to pay for the new schools
and other public facilities.
The basic reason for white opposition to the Reconstruction governments was that most
Southern whites could not accept the idea of former slaves voting and holding office. Many
whites stayed away from elections. Others turned to violence. United States Army regiments
tried to stop the attacks against blacks and their white sympathizers. But these troops had
little success in preventing the Ku Klux Klan and similar groups from terrorizing blacks and
keeping them from voting.
The end of Reconstruction
The Republicans lose power. Southern Democrats began to regain control of the South in
1869. Democrats defeated the Republicans in Tennessee and Virginia. Reconstruction—and
Republican control—ended in North Carolina in 1870 and in Georgia in 1871.
President Ulysses S. Grant tried to stop the use of violence to keep blacks from voting. But
the difficulty blacks had in voting played a large part in the Democratic victories. Also during
the early 1870's, many Northerners lost interest in Reconstruction, partly because they were
distracted by other issues. These issues included a militant movement pressing for women's
right to vote. There was also widespread suffering and labor violence resulting from an
economic depression that began in 1873. United States troops aiding the Reconstruction
governments were gradually withdrawn. Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas came under the
control of the Democratic Party in 1874. Mississippi did so in 1876.
The 1876 presidential election led to the end of Reconstruction. In this election, Rutherford
B. Hayes, the Republican candidate, opposed Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The outcome
depended on disputed returns from the three states that still had Reconstruction
governments—Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. A compromise resulted in Hayes's
election as president. The compromise included agreement to withdraw the remaining
federal troops. Hayes carried out the agreement after he took office in 1877. See Hayes,
Rutherford B. (The election dispute) (The end of Reconstruction).
Effects of Reconstruction
During Reconstruction, the Union was restored. The rebuilding of the South started. The
public school systems that were established in the South had lasting importance for the
region.
However, Reconstruction failed to solve the economic problems of either the blacks or the
South as a whole. Few African Americans acquired land and thus lacked the economic
independence that it provided. Many of them turned to sharecropping. They rented small
plots from white plantation owners and paid with a portion of their crop. This system gave
blacks more independence. But it was an inefficient method of production that weakened the
South's agricultural economy. State governments helped develop the South's natural
resources and expand its railroad network. But the South long remained the poorest, most
backward section of the country.
In politics, Reconstruction made most Southern whites firm supporters of the Democratic
Party. It created what became known as the "Solid South." For more than 40 years after
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Reconstruction, no Republican presidential candidate received a majority of the votes in any
Southern state.
Reconstruction also failed to bring racial harmony to the South. Whites refused to share
political power with blacks. Blacks set up their own churches and other institutions rather
than attempt to join white society. After Reconstruction ended, the African Americans
gradually lost many of the rights they had gained. By the early 1900's, every Southern state
had passed laws limiting voting rights. These laws gave the vote only to males who could
pass certain educational tests or pay special taxes called poll taxes. Such laws prevented
most blacks from voting. See Grandfather clause; Poll tax.
The Southern states continued to violate the rights of African Americans for many years after
the end of Reconstruction. Yet, perhaps the most lasting effect of the period resulted from
the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution. These amendments established a
national system of legal protection of equality before the law. The guarantees of these
amendments were often broken through the years. But they remained part of the United
States Constitution. And, starting in the mid-1900's, the 14th and 15th amendments became
the legal basis of the civil rights movement, the struggle of African Americans for equality.
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How to cite this article:
To cite this article, World Book recommends the following format:
"Reconstruction." World Book Advanced.World Book, 2013. Web. 28 Aug.
2013
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