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Reconstruction
AND ITS EFFECTS
Reconstruction
 1st major task is to rebuild the country. A very
difficult task.
 Before his death, Lincoln had already began making
plans.
Reconstruction Plans : Lincoln
 Lincoln wanted to be
lenient.
 10% Plan:
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The president would be in
charge of Reconstruction
Government would
pardon all Confederates,
except high-ranking
officials
10% of state’s voters must
swear allegiance before
they could rejoin the
Union
 After 10% swears
allegiance:
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Write a new constitution
Elect a new governor
Elect senators and
representatives to send to
D.C.
Reconstruction Plan: Radical Republicans
 Radical Republicans wanted to punish the South.
 The Wade-Davis Bill:
Congress would be in charge of Reconstruction
 Former CSA states must declare their secession illegal
 A majority of a state’s voters must swear allegiance to rejoin the
Union (If not the state would be considered conquered territory)
 All ex-Confederates would be prevented from voting or holding
office
 African Americans would be given full citizenship
 Former CSA states would be placed under military rule.

President Andrew Johnson
 After Lincoln’s
assassination, Andrew
Johnson takes the
presidency.
 He represented Tennessee
but stayed in the Union
after secession.
 Lincoln chose him as a
running mate because he
knew the war was coming
to an end and wanted the
Democrat vote.
Reconstruction Plan: Presidential
 Congress had adjourned
in March, so while
Congress was away
Johnson began
implementing his own
plan.
 This is all without
Congressional approval.
 Presidential
Reconstruction
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CSA states must declare
their secession illegal
At least 20% must swear
allegiance to the Union
Ratify the 13th
Amendment
Only high-ranking officials
must apply for pardon
Reconstruction Plan
 Under this plan all the states come back except for Texas.
 When Congress reconvened and saw all the representatives
from the former Confederate states, they were furious!
 The Republicans did not recognize the states and told them
to go home.
Congressional Takeover
 Johnson worked to
readmit states and
pardon most
Southerners.
 Congress began passing
legislation to prevent this
and to address issues
regarding freed slaves
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Freedman’s Bureau
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Freedman’s Bureau
 Help freed slaves adjust
to new ways of life
 Supply food, clothing,
and shelter
 Supervise labor relations
between blacks and
white employers

Ex- failure to pay an exslave results in the bureau
taking you to court
 Create educational
opportunities.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
 Gave African Americans
citizenship and forbade
states from passing black
codes.
 Ex – Vagrancy Law says
that if any adult male was
unemployed he could be
arrested and fined for
being a vagrant. If he could
not pay, then he would be
hired out to a white
employer until he was able
to pay the fine.
14th Amendment
 Congress passed the 14th Amendment which recognized
people born within the United States as citizens.
 Congress also said that if the southern states agree to
ratify the Amendment then they can rejoin the Union as
legitimate states.
 However Johnson denounced it saying it was
illegitimate. He said it was only passed by northerners.
 Johnson convinced all states to denounce the
Amendment. To him they were already legitimate states.
The only state to ratify the Amendment was Tennessee,
Johnsons own state.
Congressional Takeover
 1866 – The Radical Republicans gained enough seats
to give them complete control of Reconstruction.
They could overrun presidential vetoes.

Divided the former CSA states into 5 military districts,
governed by a Union general
To Rejoin the Union
 All males, white and black, had to register and vote.
 However, if you held office under the Confederacy you could
not vote.
 Once that is complete you could have elections and
create your own state government.
 Then these governments had to ratify the 14th
Amendment.
 Then they could be a legitimate state and have
representation in Washington.
Johnson’s Impeachment
 President Johnson and
the Radical Republican
Congress did not get
along. Congress wanted
to limit the power of the
Presidency.
 Congress, who was led by
Thaddeus Stevens and
Charles Sumner, passed
the Tenure of Office Act
in 1867.
Johnson’s Impeachment
 The Tenure of Office Act
prohibited the President
from removing federal
officials without the
approval of the Senate.
(So the President can
appoint federal positions
but not fire them)
 Johnson believed this
was unconstitutional and
therefore tested it out by
firing Secretary of War
Edwin Stanton.
Johnson’s Impeachment
 February 24, 1868 - the
House of Representatives
voted for impeachment
on the grounds of
Johnson violating federal
law.

The House brings charges
against someone –
impeach. To be removed
they must be tried by the
Senate and voted out by a
2/3 majority.
Johnson’s Impeachment
 March – May 1868 –
Johnson was tried before
the Senate.
 When the vote came in
Johnson needed a 2/3 vote
to convict, but was saved by
1 vote. Those who voted in
favor of Johnson believed
the Act was
unconstitutional.
 Johnson remained in
office, but lost political
power.
Election of 1868
 Democrats chose Horatio Seymour
 Republicans chose war hero Ulysses S. Grant
 The African American vote helped secure Grant’s victory.
New Opportunities for African Americans
 Began participating in all
levels of government
 1867 – 16 seats in the
South were held by
African Americans
 1st African American
Senator was Hiram
Revels
 In the South about 90%
of the qualified African
American voters voted.
New Opportunities for African Americans
 Few former slaves had enough money to buy land
and if they could many whites would refuse to sell
property to them.
 40 acres and a Mule is what General Sherman
promised freed slaves that followed his army.

40 acres / family and the use of an army mule.
 Eventually President Johnson gave the land back to
the original land owners.
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Pro – Former slaves deserved the land because they worked on
it. Believed they really needed land for them to truly be free.
Con – viewed it as wrong to seize citizens private property
New Opportunities for African Americans
 1866 Southern Homestead Act – 44 million acres
were distributed in the South for freed slaves and
loyal whites. Yet the land was swampy and
unsuitable for farming.
Opposition to Reconstruction
 Many white
Southerners opposed
losing their political
voice and resorted to
violence to prevent
African Americans
from exercising their
political rights.
Ku Klux Klan
 3 main goals:
Restore white
supremacy and
economic power
2. Throw Republicans out
of power
3. Prevent African
Americans from voting
or holding office.
1.
Why do they wrap themselves in
white hoods and sheets?
Ku Klux Klan
Ways of Terror
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Wear their white sheets
and hoods roaming the
countryside on horses.
Various forms of
harassment, beatings, and
hangings.
Typically if you were
visited 3 times they would
hang you.
http://www.history.com/topics/k
u-klux-klan/videos/the-kkk
Who was Targeted
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Blacks in politics
Blacks sending their kids to
school
Blacks discriminating whites
Whites who sympathized
with blacks
Whites who educated blacks
Whites who encouraged
blacks to participate in
politics.
 Ways of keeping economic power:
1. Sharecropping – where landowners divided their
land and gave each worker a few acres with seed and
tools to use. At harvest time the worker gave a share
of his crop.
2. Tenant Farming – “Croppers” who bought their own
tools could rent the land from landowners. Then they
could keep all their harvest. Problem – rarely earn
enough to pay for past debt and future supplies.
 Between 1880 and 1900,
the number of tenants
increased from 53,000 to
93,000.
 By 1890, one in three
white farmers and three
of four black farmers
were either tenants or
sharecroppers.
Corruption in Grant’s Administration
 When making political
appointments, Grant selected
friends and acquaintances.
Many turned out to be
dishonest.
 Credit Mobilier scandal –
involving a construction
company, working for the
Union Pacific Railroad,
skimming money through the
government contract. Grant’s
vice president was found to
be part of the scandal.
 Whisky Ring – govt. officials
accepted bribes from whiskey
distillers to be excluded from
paying taxes.
Anger begins to Erode
 1872 – Amnesty Act
 Restored to almost all southern males the right to vote and hold
office
 Why: 7 years since the war and anger starts to cool
down
 Most blacks and carpetbaggers were voted out of
office
 Newly elected state governments were run by
democratic whites.
The Election of 1876
 Republican: Rutherford
B. Hayes
 Democrat: Samuel J.
Tilden
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Tilden won the popular
vote
Hayes was declared the
winner of the Electoral
College, but many votes
were disputed.
The Election of 1876
 Democrats agreed to accept
Hayes if Republicans
agreed to a compromise:
 The Compromise of 1877:
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Remove Federal troops from
the South
Federal money to build
railroads in the South
Hayes must appoint a
Southerner to his cabinet
 The Compromise brought
an end to Reconstruction
Home Rule
 Democrats were allowed
to run state governments
without federal
intervention.
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Poll tax, literacy tests, grandfather
clause
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Passed laws restricting the
rights of African
Americans- some
Supreme Court decisions
limited the 14th and 15th
amendments
Ended social programs
Cut taxes
Closed public schools
The Legacy of Reconstruction
 13th Amendment – Outlawed slavery
 14th Amendment – people born in the U.S. were
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automatic citizens
15th Amendment – No one can be kept from voting
because of race, color, or previous conditions of
servitude.
Increased education
Segregation
Laws protecting African Americans were not enforced
Increased bitterness
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Overall Reconstruction is not considered a success