Download Ch 6 Lesson 2 Notes

LESSON 2
Restoring the Union
Reconstruction
• A controversial period from 1865 to 1877 to
restore and reorganize the United States after
the Civil War.
• The war ended slavery and settled the issues of
nullification and secession, but pressing questions
remained.
oHow and when should Southern states be
accepted back into the Union?
oShould the South be punished for the war?
oWhat rights, if any, should be granted to former
slaves?
Presidential Reconstruction
Lincoln’s Plan
“With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness
in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive
on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s
wounds; to care for
him who shall have
borne the battle, and
for his widow, and his
orphan -- to do all
which may achieve
and cherish a just,
and a lasting peace,
among ourselves,
and with all nations.”
Presidential Reconstruction
Lincoln’s Plan
• Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
o Full pardons (amnesty) for all Southerners except
high-ranking Confederate officials
• Readmission to Union, only if…
o 10% of people who voted in 1860 pledge loyalty to
the United States
o Former Confederate states support emancipation
• Limited suffrage for former slaves
Congressional Reconstruction
A Difference of Opinion
• Radical Republicans, a small, but loud group of
Republicans, disagreed with Lincoln’s plan.
• They wanted to punish the South, so they
proposed that—
o 50% of Southerners take loyalty oath
o Former Confederate leaders be stripped of any
political power
o Former slaves be granted full civil rights
• Lincoln killed the proposed plan with a pocket
veto.
A Difference of Opinion
The President v. Congress
• The disagreement between Lincoln and
Radicals in his party caused a stalemate
between the president and Congress.
• Before their differences could be resolved,
Lincoln was assassinated.
• Lincoln’s vice president, Andrew Johnson,
became president and inherited the
stalemate.
• Johnson’s relations with Congress would grow
steadily worse.
Presidential Reconstruction
Johnson’s Plan
• Kept most of Lincoln’s ideas but also required states
to—
oDeclare secession illegal
oRatify the 13th Amendment
oThe 13th Amendment outlawed the
institution of slavery, thus bringing the
US closer to its goal of safeguarding
the unalienable rights of life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.
• Also demanded that wealthy planters and high-ranking
Confederates ask him personally for forgiveness
Presidential Reconstruction
Johnson’s Plan
• By December 1865, all former Confederate
states had met Johnson’s requirements for
readmission to the Union.
• Johnson considered Reconstruction complete.
• Southern states held elections and rebuilt their
state governments.
• Many former Confederates regained power.
Presidential Reconstruction
States Pass Harsh Black Codes
• Southern states passed black codes to help
restore order to the South.
• Similar to the old slave codes, these laws
applied only to African Americans and severely
restricted their freedom.
• South Carolina and Mississippi had some of the
harshest black codes of all the Southern states.
This engraving shows a black man convicted of “vagrancy”
being auctioned off to the highest bidder. How does this image
illustrate the impact of black codes on freedmen?
Presidential Reconstruction
Congress Reacts
• Republicans in Congress refused to seat former
Confederates when they returned to Washington,
DC.
• Reconstruction was far from complete …
• Radical Republicans were ready to challenge the
president.
Congressional Reconstruction
• Republicans in Congress took steps to protect
freedpeople and grant them civil rights.
oPassed a bill to extend the life of
Freedmen’s Bureau.
oPassed the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
• Johnson vetoed both measures; Congress overrode
the president’s veto.
• Congress then passed the 14th Amendment.
• The 14th Amendment said that all people
born in the US were citizens.
Congressional Reconstruction
• The Radical Republican’s plan for Reconstruction was mainly to
protect the rights of the newly freed slaves. They openly
supported the Freedmen’s Bureau.
• They believed that Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan was too
lenient on the South.
• Lincoln wanted Reconstruction to be simple and easy
to end the war quickly.
Congressional Reconstruction
Republicans Gain Control of Congress
• President Johnson toured the country in 1866
to support Democrats running for Congress.
• He also urged states not to ratify the 14th
Amendment.
• His actions helped Republicans win a
landslide victory in elections that year.
• Republicans now had a “veto-proof” majority
in Congress and would take full control of
Reconstruction.
Race Riots in Memphis and New Orleans
In both cities,
angry whites
attacked
freedmen. Nearly
100 blacks and
fewer than a
dozen whites
died in the
attacks.
How do you think this bloodshed would influence
Republicans in Congress?
Radical Reconstruction
Military Reconstruction
• Republicans in Congress restarted
Reconstruction.
• The South was divided into five military districts.
• Each district placed under martial law.
• Union troops were stationed in the South to
prevent violence and protect freedmen.
• Southern states faced strict requirements for
readmission.
Radical Reconstruction
Congress Impeaches President Johnson
What does it mean
to impeach a
president, or any
government
official?
What legal reason
did Congress give
for impeaching
Johnson?
What was the real
reason behind his
impeachment?
Even though Johnson was not removed from office, how did
impeachment affect him?
Radical Reconstruction
South Carolina’s 1868 Constitution
• States needed to revise their constitutions to be
readmitted to the Union.
• Most white South Carolinians opposed this new
constitution because it was written by freedmen,
Northerners, and Southerners who supported
freedmen.
• Women gained the right to own property after
marriage in this new constitution.
Republican Rule
• During Reconstruction,
African Americans held
the largest majority in
the Republicancontrolled state
legislature.
Given that some legislators in
South Carolina’s government at
this time were former slaves, what
can you imagine it must have been
like for them to serve in the state’s
government?
Realities of Sharecropping
• Planters needed to enter into sharecropping agreements with
their former slaves because they needed workers to plant and
harvest crops.
• Small farmers were angry and often hostile towards African
American sharecroppers. They believed the African Americans
created unfair competition.
• Sharecroppers were often in debt they could not repay. The
crop lien system perpetuated the endless cycle of debt.
Politics in the South
• The planter elite often refused to vote or take part
in the government, as they viewed it to be
corrupted by Scalawags and Carpetbagger who
had taken over.
• A scalawag was a Southerner who cooperated
with Republican politicians.
• A carpetbagger was a nickname Southerners
gave to Northern whites who moved to the South
with plans to help the freedmen. These people
often moved with all their belongings in a
carpetbag.