Download Civil War and Reconstruction

Late Civil War and Reconstruction
1863-1877
1863 – The Turning Point
• As Lee began to march toward Gettysburg,
PA with the assistance of J.E.B. Stuart
another Union Army was in the South itself
• General Grant and General William T.
Sherman begin a siege of Vicksburg (MS) –
the key control point of the Mississippi River
– on May 22, 1863
Vicksburg, Mississippi
• 77,000 Union and 33,000
Confederates took part
▫ 10,100 Union casualties
▫ 9,100 Confederate
casualties
• Southern General
Pemberton was finally
forced to surrender
Vicksburg on July 4,1863
• By July 8, the entire length
of the River was under the
control of the Union
• Southern commanders
continued to retreat across the
South
•
THE SIEGE OF VICKSBURG—APPROACH
OF McPHERSON'S SAPS TO THE REBEL
WORKS.—FROM A SKETCH BY MR.
THEODORE R. DAVIS
A New Northern Commander
• In October 1863, Ulysses S.
Grant is appointed overall
commander of the Union
Army of the Ohio,
Cumberland and the
Tennessee Rivers
• William T. Sherman is given
the command of the Army of
the Tennessee
▫ They continue to have success
pushing confederate forces
further south
• In March 1864, Grant is
appointed head of all of the
Union forces
Grant’s Drive - Virginia
• 100,000 men begin an attack of the Confederate Army
• Battle of the Wilderness (VA) – May 5-6, 1864 –
Inconclusive but many died on both sides because of fires
ignited by the gunfire
• Battle of Spotsylvania (VA) – May 8-12, 1864 – Again,
inconclusive but the plan became clear – Grant would wear
down Lee and force his surrender
• Battle of Cold Harbor (VA) – June 3, 1864 – Grant
continues to attack Lee despite heavy losses – to this point
he has lost 60,000 men in this campaign (equal to Lee’s
entire army) but even though this is a victory for Lee, it will
be his last major victory against the Union army – Grant’s
strategy is working
Gen. William T. Sherman’s Drive Atlanta
• 110,000 man army
faces Gen. Johnston
• May 13-15, 1864
▫ Johnston is defeated but
manages to preserve the
smaller Confederate army with
a skillful retreat
• Jefferson Davis loses
his patience with
Johnston and
replaces him with
Gen. John B. Hood
Sherman’s Drive - Atlanta
• July 22, 1864
▫ Hood’s first attack on
Sherman of three major
battles
▫ All three battles inconclusive
(2nd was 6 days later)
• Gen. William T.
Sherman begins a
siege of Atlanta
during the month of
August 1864
Siege of Atlanta
• Sherman noted that if the railroad lines supplying
Atlanta were cut, then Hood would have to abandon
the city
• His military focus was then to cut off supplies
Fall of Atlanta
• Confederates
abandoned the
city on Sept 1,
1864
• Union soldiers
marched in the
next day so
Atlanta fell Sept
2, 1864
• Damage was
extensive
• Retreating
Confederates
may have
destroyed the
city to prevent
Union from
gaining supplies
Burning of
Atlanta
Election of 1864
• South was hoping that northern
weariness with the war would
lead to Lincoln’s defeat
• Lincoln ran on the ticket of the
National Union Party
(essentially the Republican
Party and loyal or “War”
Democrats).
▫ Andrew Johnson a loyal
Democrat from Tennessee was
his VP candidate
• John C. Fremont was nominated
by the Radical Republican Party
▫ Said he’d step aside if Lincoln
not re-nominated
▫ Shows division in Rep. Party
• Democratic Party nominated a
reluctant George B. McClellan –
platform called the war a failure
and called for peace even if it
meant giving the South their
freedom
▫ George Pendleton (OH) was his
VP candidate
• Lincoln thought he would be
defeated but in Sept 1864, word
came that Sherman had taken
Atlanta and the north was
rejuvenated – along with the
other victories
▫ The Fall of Atlanta cemented
his 212 to 21 win
Sherman’s March to the Sea
• Nov 16, 1864 – the March to
the Sea begins from Atlanta
▫ Confederate Army tries to
stop him by destroying
supply lines
▫ Failed and this effectively
destroyed the Confederate
army under Hood
• 3 days before Christmas,
Sherman marched into
Savannah unchallenged
March to
the Sea
• Along the way, Sherman
ordered his men to
destroy as much as
possible
▫ Crops
▫ Warehouses
▫ Railroads
• 3 days before
Christmas, Sherman
marched into Savannah
unchallenged
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Sherman’s Message to Lincoln
• Sherman telegraphed to President Lincoln, "I beg to
present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah,
with one hundred and fifty guns and plenty of
ammunition, also about twenty-five thousand bales of
cotton."
• On December 26, the president replied in a letter:
▫ “Many, many thanks for your Christmas gift – the capture
of Savannah. When you were leaving Atlanta for the
Atlantic coast, I was anxious, if not fearful; but feeling that
you were the better judge, and remembering that 'nothing
risked, nothing gained' I did not interfere. Now, the
undertaking being a success, the honour is all yours; for I
believe none of us went farther than to acquiesce…”
Sherman’s Destruction
March Northward
• After reaching Savannah,
Sherman planned to turn
North and meet up with
Grant in VA before meeting
Lee
• March northward is as
destructive as the march to
the sea
• Feb 4, 1865 – Lee is named
commander-in-chief of the
entire Confederate Army –
took up the challenge even
though the hopelessness of
the cause was becoming
obvious
• Feb 17 – Columbia, SC is
burned
• Feb 18, Charlestown is
occupied
• Feb 22, Wilmington, NC the
last open southern port falls
• March 4, Lincoln
inaugurated for his 2nd term
• April 3 – Lee abandons
Richmond
Further Destruction
Ruins of Charleston, SC
Following more than a
year of bombardment,
Charleston fell to the
Union.
Ruins of Columbia, SC
Eighty four of Columbia's 124
developed city blocks were
destroyed.
Further
Destruction
• Destruction on
Broad St. in
Charleston, SC
Further Destruction
Ruins of Fort Sumter, Charleston, SC
Though it never surrendered, Fort Sumter was destroyed during the siege of Charleston.
In July 1863, Union forces began attacking to deny the port to Confederate blockade
runners. By the time Charleston fell in February 1865, Sumter more closely resembled a
rock pile than a fort. These photos give some idea of the ineffectiveness of masonry
defenses against rifled weapons.
The Final Campaign
• April 3 – Lee abandons
Richmond
▫ Images show ruins of the
Confederate capitol.
The Final Campaign
• April 9 – forced to surrender by
Grant at the McLean house at
Appomattox, VA
▫ The Confederate soldiers were
allowed to keep their horses and
mules to work their farms.
▫ Four days later, the actual
surrender took place as
26,000 Confederates laid
down their weapons and were
paroled.
Lincoln’s Assassination
• Lincoln knew the war was over
but had not yet received
confirmation that the
surrender of arms had taken
place when he took his wife to
the theatre on Good Friday,
April 14, 1865.
• They were to see the play Our
American Cousin
▫ They arrived late at the
theatre and sat in a private
box
Lincoln’s Assassination
• A prominent actor, John Wilkes
Booth snuck into the theatre and
fired a shot into the back of
Lincoln’s head
▫ He had previously tried to arrange
a kidnapping of the president
Lincoln’s Assassination
• Booth was pursued into MD and
VA and was cornered 13 days later
• He died of a gunshot wound
through the neck & spinal cord
• Several of his co-conspirators were
also caught, tried, & convicted.
Some were executed, some jailed
• Plan was not only to assassinate
Lincoln but V.P. Johnson, Sec of
State Seward and U.S. Grant
 Seward was severely attacked but
survived
 Grant was heading to NJ
 Johnson was not attacked
Lincoln’s Assassination
Cost of War
• North lost almost 365,000 men; South lost 260,000
(1 out of 4 Southern men had died)
▫ Families left destitute by loss of breadwinner
• Another 277,000 Northerners and 195,000
Southerners were wounded (estimated)
• Southern economy had collapsed – wealth gone
• Southern cities and railroads were in ruins
▫ Salt had often been sown in farm fields ruining it
• Farm values fell by 50-90%
• Northern economy began to boom – 2nd Industrial
Revolution
Political Reconstruction of the Former Confederacy
Political Reconstruction
• Four Stages
▫ Presidential Reconstruction under Lincoln (to
April 14, 1865)
▫ Presidential Reconstruction under Johnson
1865-1866
▫ Congressional Reconstruction 1866-1868
▫ Period after 1868 when southern opposition
gradually negated the Congressional measures
Lincoln’s Reconstruction
• Reconstruction had begun well before the
end of the fighting – as areas
• To assist recently freed slaves, in 1865,
Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau to
provide food, clothing and education
• Unions forces had begun to control large
areas of the south beginning in 1863
▫ Lincoln wanted these areas back in the Union as
quickly as possible
Lincoln’s 10 Percent Plan
• Southerners (with the exception of high ranking Confederate
officials) could take an oath promising future loyalty to the
union and acceptance of the end of slavery
▫ When the number of those who had taken the oath within any
one state reached 10% of the number who had been registered to
vote in 1860, a loyal state government could be formed.
• TN, AR, and LA met the requirements before the war ended
but Congress refused to recognize those governments as it was
dominated by Radical Republicans (such as Thaddeus
Stevens)
▫ It did not adequately punish the South, restructure
Southern society and boost the political prospects of the
Republican Party.
▫ Radicals responded with the Wade-Davis Bill
Wade-Davis Bill
• Radical Republican attempt to control
Reconstruction
▫ Congress (not the President) would administer the
Reconstruction program
▫ A majority of the population* must swear an oath of
allegiance (not 10%) (*based on 1860 census)
▫ High confederate officials and military leaders were
disenfranchised
▫ Slavery is abolished
▫ Confederate debt must be repudiated
• Lincoln gave this bill a pocket-veto
• Compromise may have been possible until Lincoln’s
assassination ended that possibility
Johnson’s Plan
• Based largely on Lincoln’s policies
▫ General amnesty for all Southerners except
Confederate leaders and those whose wealth exceeded
$20,000
▫ Recognized governments in VA, TN, AR, and LA as
constituted under Lincoln’s plan
▫ Remaining States could re-enter the Union when they:
 Repudiated their war debts
 Abolished slavery
 Disavowed their ordinances of secession
 Ratified the 13th Amendment
States Readmitted to the Union
• Governments
were
recognized
prior to
readmission
• Until
readmission,
military
districts were
established to
coordinate
Reconstruction
(after Radicals
took control)
13th Amendment
• Many southern states
reluctant on certain
points – ratifying the
13th Amendment
(which officially
abolished slavery) or
repudiating
Confederate debts
• Despite their
objections, there were
enough votes to ratify
the 13th Amendment in
December 1865
• The House of Representatives as it
voted for the 13th Amendment in
January of 1865
▫ It was later approved by the
Senate, sent to the states and
ratified by ¾ of the states on
December 18, 1865
13th Amendment & Black Codes
• Southern states were also
encouraged to extend the vote
for former slaves (but it was
not in the 13th Amendment)
▫ None did(of course, no
northern state did either)
• Instead imposed “Black
Codes” which placed various
restrictions on the freedom of
former slaves.
▫ Meant to continue to provide
unpaid labor to wealthy
▫ Vagrancy; restrictions on
travel; own land; make
contracts
▫ Children could be taken from
families that were deemed
“unsuitable” and
“apprenticed” to work
Battle for Control of Reconstruction
• By December 4, 1865 when
Congress resumed, all the states
except Texas had met these
requirements and were ready to be
readmitted but Congress refused to
seat the representatives of those
states and proposed its own plan
• Congress argued that states that
had seceded had reverted to
territorial status and were now
under complete Congressional
jurisdiction
• A Committee of Fifteen, made
up of members of both houses
and dominated by Radical
Republican Thaddeus Stevens,
met to formulate its own
reconstruction policy
 Freedman’s Bureau – the
wartime agency was extended
(Feb 1866). Vetoed by
Johnson but later overridden
 Civil Rights Act – April 1866 –
forbade states from
discriminating against blacks
and guaranteed them equal
protection of the laws. Passed
over Johnson’s veto.
14th Amendment
• Congress was afraid the Civil Rights Act would be
declared unconstitutional by the courts so they created a
Constitutional Amendment to guarantee legality:
▫ All persons born or naturalized in the US were citizens
▫ Southern states must grant blacks the right to vote of
lose a portion of their Congressional representation
▫ Former confederates could not hold office until
pardoned by Congress
▫ Confederate war debt was repudiated
▫ Measure was to be enforced by Congress and not the
President or the Courts
Congressional Elections of 1866
• Essentially gave the people a choice between
President and Congressional reconstruction policies
• In most districts, the people had a choice of a
Radical Republican or a Copperhead Democrat
(“Peace Democrats” who opposed Union war
policies – kind of a “let the South go” attitude)
forcing many moderate Republicans to choose a
Radical Republican
• President Johnson did not provide full and active
support to the candidates he supported lending
strength to the radicals
Congressional Elections of 1866
• Other factors influencing the election:
▫ A race riot in New Orleans (July 1866) convinced
many northerners that former slaves must be
protected
▫ Black Codes in the south reducing blacks to a
status suspiciously resembling slavery
 For example: “vagrants” could be fined $50 and if unable
to pay, apprenticed for 6 months of labor
▫ Southern states continued to elect former
Confederates to office
• Radical Republicans were swept to victory and took
this as a mandate for their plan
Radical Congressional Reconstruction
• Adopted In March 1867 (after the elections)
▫ Said no lawful governments existed in any of the
southern states except TN
▫ The remainder of the South was divided into 5
military districts
▫ Decreed that no state could return to civilian rule
until its voters, both black and white, framed a
constitution that guaranteed black suffrage and
was acceptable to both Congress and the people.
▫ States must also accept the 14th Amendment
14th Amendment denies Supreme Court
Authority
• Part of the reason for the 14th Amendment was to prevent the
Reconstruction policies already passed by Congress from
being overturned.
• Felt necessary because:
▫ Ex Parte Milligan – 1866 – ruled that military trials were
illegal in areas where civil courts were functioning
▫ Ex Parte McCardle – 1868 – accepted jurisdiction in the
case of a Mississippi editor who had been convicted by a
military tribunal
• Passed an Act March 7, 1868 that denied the Supreme Court
jurisdiction over the Reconstruction acts (14th Amendment
ratified later that year)
• Ultimately, it didn’t matter because the Supreme Court was
now headed by Samuel P. Chase who decline to overturn any
reconstruction policies
Denial of Presidential Authority
• Two acts of March 2, 1867 removed the administration of
the Reconstruction acts from the president:
▫ Army Appropriations Act – decreed that military
orders could only be issued by the general of the army
▫ Tenure of Office Act – prohibited President from
removing any federal officials from office without
Senate consent
• These acts gave control of the military districts to Edwin
Stanton (Secretary of War) a Radical Republican and
prevented Johnson from dismissing him (**remember,
Johnson was a loyal Democrat from TN who ran with
Lincoln on the Republican ticket in 1864**)
Impeachment of Johnson
• Johnson felt the challenges to his authority were
unconstitutional and wanted to challenge them (while Radical
Republicans were looking for something to impeach him on) and
on February 21, 1868 they both got their wish – Johnson
dismissed Stanton (without congressional approval, of course)
• Three days later the House voted to impeach Johnson for
violating the Tenure of Office Act and for other “high crimes and
misdemeanors”
• He was tried before the Senate but was not convicted – his
conviction (and therefore removal from office) failed by just one
vote
• Johnson was vindicated but his power was so weakened that he
accomplished nothing in his remaining months on office
Election of 1868
• With no true party support, Johnson would NOT be renominated
• The National Union Republican Party (Radical Republicans)
nominated Ulysses S Grant for president
▫ Platform lauded congressional reconstruction and promised
payment of the national debt in gold
• The Democratic Party nominated NY Governor Horatio
Seymour
▫ Called for a “New Departure” and endorsed the “Ohio Idea” –
called for repayment of national debt in greenbacks (paper
money), a move that appealed to debtor elements (eastern workers
and western farmers) suffering a postwar deflation since 1867
• Grant was victorious 218 to 80 but his popular margin was
only 300,000 votes. Opponents noted that this was not a
mandate for radical policy because there were 700,000
blacks voting for Grant which was why he won the election.
Failure of Congressional Reconstruction
• Johnson had followed Congressional Policy
(unwillingly) and by spring 1868 all state but
Texas and Virginia had created constitutions.
▫ Mississippi’s was rejected but the voters but the other 7
had governments, ratified the 14th Amendment and had
been readmitted into the Union so when Grant took
office, only those 3 remained under military rule.
▫ Radicals in congress then decided that those states
should not be readmitted until the 15th Amendment had
been ratified (forbade the states to deny the vote to any
citizen because of “race, color, or previous condition of
servitude”) – All 3 did by 1870
Failure of Congressional Reconstruction
• Between 1870 and 1877 the southern opposition
to Reconstruction grew and 2 factions sought to
control the southern states
▫ Democrats seeking to re-establish white supremacy
▫ Radical Republicans determined to secure equal rights
for blacks
 Included Blacks, carpetbaggers (who came south to
lead the freedmen) and southern scalawags (whites
who had deserted to the Republican camp)
 Backed by radicals in congress who were ready to
pass laws for the support of reconstruction
Failure of Congressional Reconstruction
• Democrats eventually successful because
▫ Reconstruction measures were very costly – taxes
increased from 4-fold to 14-fold
▫ Many carpetbaggers and scalawags were corrupt
▫ Traditions of white rule and local rule in the south
were too strong to be easily broken
▫ A rising conservative class (landowners and
businessmen) were becoming powerful enough to
attack radical policies – wanted to keep blacks as a
cheap labor supply
Southern Opposition
• In some states (TN and NC) Democrats regained control of state
governments by legal means
• In others (where federal troops remained to enforce racial equality),
extralegal devices were used
▫ Ku Klux Klan and Knights of the White Camellia to intimidate
blacks and keep Republicans from voting
▫ This let Democrats regain control of the legislatures
• Radicals tried to suppress these societies by passing the Force Act
(1870) and the Ku Klux Klan Act (1871) which gave the president the
power to
▫ Suspend the writ of habeas corpus
▫ Supervise congressional elections
▫ Employ troops to assure blacks civil and political rights
• Their enforcement led to the suppression of these societies by the
end of 1872
End of Reconstruction
• By the election of 1872, the Republicans had divided
into two factions over reconstruction policies with
one faction advocating the end of reconstruction in
the South
• Radicals re-elected Grant but by a very slim majority
so they realized that had to change their program
• In 1872, the vote was restored to almost all former
confederates with the Amnesty Act
• As a result, democrats gradually regained control of
the southern states
Election of 1876
• Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden (NY)
• Republicans nominated Rutherford Hayes (OH)
• Only South Carolina and Louisiana remained in radical
hands
▫ In both, there were two governments – one Radical
Republican and one Democrat
• Tilden won 184 electoral votes to Hayes’ 165 but needed
185 to win
• BUT votes were disputed for SC and LA and FL where
Republican election boards refused to accept Democratic
majorities
▫ – 20 votes were in dispute – two sets from each state – one
going each way
Election of 1876 – Dispute Resolved
• A special election commission was created of 15
members (5 House, 5 Senate and 5 Supreme court –
also 7 Rep, 7 Dem, and 1 nonpartisan)
▫ At the last minute, the nonpartisan judge was
appointed to the Senate (by Democrats hoping to sway
his vote but he resigned from the Commission)
▫ A Republican judge was appointed in his place (had to
have another judge and all were Republican)
▫ By a vote of 8 to 7, all 20 disputed votes were given to
Hayes
▫ Corruption? Tilden did have a popular majority of
250,000 but many blacks in the South who likely
would have voted for Hayes were kept from the polls
Compromise of 1877
• Democrats began a filibuster of the
Commissions vote (Senate would have to
approve it)
• Compromise agreed on that would end filibuster
& elect Hayes
▫ Hayes would become president
▫ He would withdraw all federal troops from the
remaining “unredeemed states” (did by April 1777)
▫ Democratic governments in those states would be
recognized as the official governments