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Reconstruction
of the South
The Civil War 1861-1865

War between the North (Union) and South
(Confederacy)

The South wanted:


To preserve their way of life including slavery

Leave the Union (United States) and form their
own country
The North wanted:

Higher tariffs or taxes

To end slavery

To preserve the Union (keep the country whole)
The Civil War 1861-1865

The Southern states won early battles

Later the tide of the war turned to favor the North:


The Battle of Gettysburg (Pennsylvania)

The Union stopped General Lee’s advancement to
the North

He and his troops went back to Virginia
The Battle of Vicksburg (Virginia)


General Grant won the Battle of Vicksburg, cutting the
South in two.
General Lee surrendered to General Grant at
Appomattox Court House in Virginia on April9, 1865.
Reconstruction

Reconstruction means to build
something again.

After the war, the South needed to be rebuilt.

There were two plans for Reconstruction:

President Lincoln’s plan

Congress’ plan
Lincoln’s Plan


President Lincoln’s plan:

Ended slavery throughout the country by passing
the 13th amendment to the Constitution

Allowed Southern states to reenter the Union if

They formed new state governments

They promised to treat former slaves fairly
President Lincoln was assassinated before
Reconstruction began so President Johnson had
to enact his plan.
Reconstruction under
Congress

Congress passed the first Reconstruction Acts in 1867.

They divided the South into military zones.

They required that Southern states rewrite their state
constitutions to allow African American men the right to vote.

They prevented former
Confederate leaders and
military officers from
holding public office.
Problems with Johnson’s
plan

Under this plan, Southern states were free to pass
laws called Black Codes.

Black codes


Denied African American men the right to vote

Limited jobs

Denied the right to own land or guns

The result was that life for African Americans was much
the same as it was under slavery.
Black codes angered Congress and they came up
with their own plan for Reconstruction.
Reconstruction Under
Congress


The Freedmen’s Bureau was formed

Helped the 4 million slaves freed by the war

Built hospitals and schools for blacks
Resistance to Reconstruction

Southern whites resented the new state
governments

They had a hard time paying new taxes as they
tried to rebuild their businesses and farms

They resented new rights given to African
Americans

Some formed the Ku Klux Klan that burned African
American schools and homes and attacked blacks for
trying to vote.
Freedmen’s Bureau
Reconstruction Under
Congress

Carpetbaggers:


Northerners who went down South to start
businesses
Scalawags:

Southerners who supported Reconstruction
Reconstruction Under
Congress

In order to be readmitted to the Union, Southern
states had to accept two new amendments.

The 14th Amendment:


Gave citizenship to African Americans

Stated that they could not be denied equal rights
under the law.
The 15th Amendment:

Granted the right to vote to all male citizens
Reconstruction Ends

By 1870, all former Confederate states met the
requirements of Reconstruction.

After Reconstruction, white Southern Democrats
quickly regained power in state governments.

New laws were passed that again restricted the
rights of former slaves.

Tried to prevent African Americans from voting

Moved voting booths without notice

Imposed poll taxes many blacks could not pay

Grandfather clause that said they could only vote if
their father or grandfather had voted before 1867.
Reconstruction Ends

Jim Crow Laws were also passed.

Enforces segregation or separation of blacks and
whites

Blacks could not sit with whites on trains or stay in
certain hotels.

They could not eat in certain restaurants or attend
certain theaters, schools or parks.
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws, cont.
Reconstruction Ends

Many former slaves were forced to return to
plantations because they could not find jobs.

Sharecropping became a way of life for blacks
and poor whites.

They rented land from landowners

Paid their rent with crops

Used the money from the rest of their crops to pay
for clothes and food

Usually didn’t make enough money
After War and
Reconstruction

Slavery was over.

The federal government had established its power over the
states.

The 14th and 15th amendments provided for equal rights
although it would be a very long time before these rights were
recognized.