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Transcript
The Reconstruction: 1865 - 1877 All the King’s Horses and All The King’s Men, Couldn’t Put Humpty Dumpty Back Together Again What major problems did the President and Congress face after the Civil War? • How and when should the states of the Confederacy be permitted to resume their role in the Union? • Should the “South” be punished or forgiven? (States, Generals, Soldiers) • What should be done with the former slaves? • Should everyone now be equal? • Is the Government strong enough to heal the Union and run the country effectively? Main Themes of Reconstruction: • Struggle for power within the U.S. Government – Who should be in charge of Reconstruction? The President or Congress • Integration of Freedmen in American Society • Southern Response to Northern Power • 1st major Act of Congress after the surrender of the Confederacy – 13th Amendment: • “Neither slavery or involuntary servitude . . . Shall exist within the United states • Slavery Abolished 1865 Congress Established the Freedmen’s Bureau – Help freed slaves and poor whites with food and medical care – Provide farmland that had previously been owned by slaveholders – Construct schools to educate freed slaves and poor whites • Mostly run by Northern White Women (Carpetbaggers) Carpetbaggers • Negative term to describe Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction – Outsiders that moved to capitalize on the war torn South – Often targets of violence – Hated invaders Presidential Reconstruction vs. Congressional Reconstruction • Lincoln’s Reconstruction Philosophy – Quickly and painlessly reincorporate the South – No punishment – Heal the nation – His plan conflicted with Radical Republicans Lincoln’s Plan • 10% of voters needed to take a loyalty oath to the United States • Federal Government would rule over State Governments • Military governors would oversee the conquered states Radical Republicans Reconstruction Philosophy • The Civil War had been fought over slavery – Punish the South – Grant Slaves Equal Rights – Take Land away from Rich Slave Owners – Make Republicans the National Party Thaddeus Stevens Charles Sumner Radical Republicans’ Plan • Wade-Davis Bill – Ban slavery – Disenfranchise (no vote) confederate military and political leaders – 50% of state’s citizens swear an oath of loyalty Lincoln vs. Congress • Lincoln Pocket Vetoes Wade-Davis Bill • Congress feels betrayed • Constitutional Authority in Question – Who Should Rule Reconstruction? Lincoln Assassinated April 14, 1865 Andrew Johnson Becomes President • Former slave owner from Tennessee • Southern Democrat Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan • States Must Ratify 13th Amendment • States hold new elections • Pardons ex-confederates • Gives Southern land back to the plantation owners Radicals Quickly turn on Johnson • Johnson’s plan goes against Radical Republicans’ • South back in power • The Nation is caught in a titanic battle between the President and Congress • Who will decide Reconstruction? Should These Men Be Pardoned? While he is Denied his Civil Rights? Radical Reconstruction: Radical Republicans wage war against Johnson and the South The South Responds to the 13th Amendment • As the former Confederate states re-enter the Union they institute a new type of slavery • Most Southerners could not accept the fact that the people they had subjugated, abused, and used for labor hundreds of years were now their equals Black Codes • Southern State governments established new laws to limit the freedoms of the freedmen • These laws essentially reinstituted slavery in the South Black Codes: A few Examples • Former slaves were – denied the right to own property – Forced to sign work contracts – Vagrancy Laws punished those who did not work – Denied the opportunity to testify in a court of law or serve on a jury against a white person – Non-working children could be auctioned to other farmers – Denied the right to Vote – Denied the right to own or carry a weapon Congress counters the Black Codes • Radical Republicans enraged by Black Codes • Radicals wanted to guarantee former slaves would have equal and civil rights • By doing this, they also believed the Republican party would become stronger in the South 14th Amendment is Passed in 1868 • All persons who are born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens • U.S. citizens cannot be denied equal protection under the law and due process regardless of race, gender, class, religion, ethnicity, or political views • Any state that denies these rights would lose Congressional representation Radical Reconstruction Begins • Southern states refused to ratify the 14th Amendment • Radical Republicans lay down the hammer • Reconstruction is “Forced” upon the South Radical Reconstruction • All reconstruction policies were placed on the Legislative Branch • The Republicans blazed a new path in American History The Reconstruction Act of 1867 1. The South divided into 5 military districts and put under Martial Law 2. Former Confederates barred from voting 3. Southern states adopt new Constitution 4. States enfranchise all males, including former slaves 5. Southern state ratify the 14th Amendment The 5 military districts of the South Radical Republicans go after Johnson • Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act – Prohibited the President from hiring or firing cabinet officials without the approval of the Senate – The Goal was to weaken the authority of the President Johnson Answers the Challenge • Johnson fires Sec. of War Edwin Stanton to challenge Tenure of Office Act • Stanton was a Radical Republican and in charge of the Military Districts in South • Republicans charge the President with Treason Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Johnson on Trial • House members vote to Impeach Johnson • The Senate puts Johnson on Trial • Johnson escapes removal from office by one vote • Johnson poses no serious threat the rest of his Presidency Constitutional Authority? • Huge event in American History • System of Checks and Balances is seriously Challenged • Had the President been removed, Congress could have the power to remove any president for political reasons • The Executive branch could have been seriously weakened Reconstruction: The South Strikes Back Sharecropping and the KKK How can the Southern economy survive without slavery? • Who will work the plantations? • Would freedmen go North, or stay in the South? • Planters had land and no workers • Workers could offer labor, but had no land The Freedmen continue to be Slaves to the Southern Economy • Sharecropping – A policy where Freedmen would farm the old master’s land, and be paid with crops and some profit • Share the crops • Owner could provide living quarters Abuses of the Sharecropper System • Sharecroppers were treated harshly • Fined for missing work • High rent for tools and housing • Sharecroppers could not leave until all debt was paid • New Slavery – slave labor for slave wages Sharecropper Family 1867 Central Texas Sharecropper’s House Children working instead of going to school Mother teaching children numbers and alphabet in home of sharecropper. Tenant Farming • Former slave rented land and farmed it for themselves – no sharing • Chose crop, when to work, get all of the harvest • Some economic independence • Needed $ to get started • Higher social status than sharecroppers Cycle of Debt • Poverty becomes rooted in the Southern economy • Very little industry • Freedmen had difficulty improving their lives • This year’s wages go to last year’s debt • 1880 – 1 black family in 20 owned land Grant Becomes President • 1868 Ulysses S. Grant is elected President • Republican • Union General of the Civil War • Hero to the North, Villain in the South • Congress and the President were allies, not enemies Another Reconstruction Success • 15th Amendment is passed • 1869 • Freedmen Vote – No citizen may be denied the right to vote by the United States or any other state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude 1870 Former Slaves Vote • With federal troops in the South and the 15th Am. In place, southern black men voted • Most voted republican • Over 600 African-Americans were elected in the South • Louisiana gained a black governor • 16 Af.-Ams. Went to Congress • Mississippi sent a former slave to the Senate The Klan is Born • Southern retaliation to Radical Reconstruction • 1866, Nathan Bedford Forest founds the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee • A Social Club, designed to honor and protect the Southern Gentlemen and Southern way of life America’s 1st Terrorist Organization • Members were exconfederates and former slave owners • Men stripped of their right to vote • Membership was secretive??? Goals of the Klan • Secret war against Radical Reconstruction • End the Republican rule in South • Put the former slaves back in their place • End Reconstruction “Southern Justice” Targets of the Klan • All Republican Voters – Carpetbaggers • Freedmen’s Bureau • Teachers – Unionists and Scalawags – Freedmen – especially those who were exerting their newly found freedom – U.S. Military – Republicans – As the Klan grew, it became extremely violent “Is this a Republican form of government?” “One Vote Less” Federal Government Takes on the Klan • Anti-Klan laws passed in 1870-1871 • Banned the use of terror, force, or bribery to prevent people from voting • KKK membership banned • Military protects voters and hunts down the Klan End of the Klan • By 1872, Klan almost wiped out • Many escape prosecution • Can’t kill an idea • As troops leave South, KKK comes back and black suffrage (voting) ends