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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