Download Reconstruction - Clinton Public Schools

Reconstruction
Rebuilding the South

Reconstruction
 Reconstruction: The plan to restore the
Confederate states back to the Union after
the Civil War.
Problems in the South After the Civil War
 Freedmen: Newly freed slaves
 Freedmen’s Bureau: Designed to
help former slaves with food,
shelter, education, and healthcare
Problems in the South After the Civil War
 Freedmen were homeless, uneducated, and
free for the first time.
 Many freedmen were searching for spouses
or children they lost during slavery.
 Freedmen feared being enslaved again.
 They were looking forward to new
freedoms.
Problems in the South After the Civil War
 White people (many of them) refused to accept
these freedmen as equals.
 White Mississippians feared punishment for their
part in the Civil War.
 Confederates lost their land to the United States
(800,000 acres)
 Many former Confederates feared that their
suffrage would be taken from them.
Problems in the South After the Civil War
 Suffrage: voting rights
 Disfranchise: To take away the
right to vote
Presidential Reconstruction
 Abraham Lincoln’s plan was never carried out. He
was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14,
1865.
Presidential Reconstruction
 Andrew Johnson became
president when Lincoln is
assassinated.
Presidential Reconstruction
 In 1865, Mississippians elect
Benjamin Humphreys, a former
Confederate general, as governor.
Presidential Reconstruction
 The new Black Codes
 Prohibited interracial marriages
 Prohibited firearms and other weapons
 Could not assemble in groups
 Limited land ownership
Congressional Reconstruction
 Congress takes over and passes the Reconstruction
Act.
 Reconstruction Act: This carved the South
into 5 military districts and set up new,
strict requirements for readmission to the
Union.
Congressional Reconstruction
 General Edward Ord was the man put in
charge of the military district where
Mississippi was located. His first task will be
to register ALL eligible voters.
Congressional Reconstruction
 When all eligible voters were
registered, black people formed the
majority in 32 counties, and whites
formed the majority in 29 counties
Rise of the Republican Party
 Members of the Republican Party consisted of:
 White Mississippians who supported Congress
 Scalawags: Native whites who supported the
Republican Party
 Carpetbaggers: Supporters of the Republican Party
who came to the South from the North.
 Freedmen
Rise of the Republican Party
 This new constitution officially ratifies 3
amendments:
 13th: Abolished slavery
 14th: Made freedmen full citizens
 15th: Universal Male Suffrage: the right of
all males to vote
Rise of the Republican Party
 New Constitution:
 Free Education to All
 No discrimination in public transportation
 Eliminated property qualification for holding office
 Former Confederates had to take an oath
acknowledging that all people are created equal.
Rise of the Republican Party
 This constitution had to be voted on but failed.
 Many whites refused to vote for it, and
organizations like the KKK used violence and
intimidation to prevent black citizens and some
white citizens from voting.
Rise of the Republican Party
 In 1869, Ulysses S. Grant became president of the
United States.
Rise of the Republican Party
 President Grant takes out the requirement to take
an oath acknowledging that all men are created
equal, and he then resubmits it to the people.
 This time it is accepted.
 Our new constitution is ratified, and Mississippi is
finally readmitted to the Union on February 23,
1870.
Rise of the Republican Party
 African Americans will enjoy
freedoms like never before with the
ratification of this constitution and
with the continued presence of
troops in Mississippi.
Rise of the Republican Party
 Hiram Revels, from Mississippi, was the first black
man elected to the United States Senate.
Rise of the Republican Party
 Public education will be revived in Mississippi.
The End of Reconstruction
 Redeemers: White Mississippians who
wanted to return control of the state
government back to native whites.
 They were committed to restricting black
political power and overturning Republican
rule.
The End of Reconstruction
 Ku Klux Klan: A racist, militant
organization that terrorized blacks
and tried to restore control to native
whites.
The End of Reconstruction
 Presidential election of 1876:
 Republican Rutherford B. Hayes wins this
election!!! This will end Reconstruction in the
South