Download Reconstruction (1865-1876)

Key Questions
1. How do we
bring the South
back into the
Union?
2. How do we
rebuild the
South after its
destruction
during the war?
4. What branch
of government
should control
the process of
Reconstruction?
3. How do we
integrate and
protect newlyemancipated
black freedmen?
Constitution
Before and After
• Analyze documents provided.
What Would You Do?
Imagine you are a parent, and your teenage daughter doesn’t like the rules you have
in place at home (such as a curfew, behavior expectations, chores, homework
expectations, etc.), even though you make the rules in her best interests. As a
parent, you love your child and don’t want to see her hurt in anyway. You also want
to make sure she is the best she can be at all times and grows up to be a successful
adult. Your daughter gets incredibly upset over your rules and standards, and you
spend several months in very ugly fights. There is a lot of screaming and yelling
back and forth, and the tension becomes unbearable. You try various strategies to
compromise with her and to make her understand your position, but ultimately, she
refuses to obey. Finally, she becomes so angry she storms out of the house and
runs away. By the next week, she has moved out of your house entirely, completely
against your orders. You tried to keep her from removing her things from her room,
since you bought everything and it is under your roof, but she pushes past you with
her items and gets away. You feel that as your child, this is illegal and she has no
right to be on her own. It is too dangerous for her, and it’s ripping your family apart.
You feel that divided, your family is much weaker. Your entire family spends the next
months worried sick, stressed out, and tense because of her leaving. Then, one day,
she shows up on your doorstep because she is flat broke and hungry with no place
to live. Hesitantly, she asks if she can move back in the house. What would your
decision be?
Turn and Talk
• Would you let her move back in? Why or
why not?
• If you choose to let her move back in,
consider whether or not there would be
conditions she would need to meet.
• Why might you have particular conditions
and standards, and what would they be?
Charleston, S.C.
Richmond, VA
Richmond, VA
President Lincoln’s Plan
 10% Plan
*
*
*
*
*
Proclamation of Amnesty and
Reconstruction (December 8, 1863)
When 10% of the voters of a state took an
oath of loyalty to the Union, the state
could form a new government
And adopt a new constitution that banned
slavery
Lincoln believed that punishing the South
would serve no purpose and would only
delay healing the torn nation
Supported the 13th Amendment and
Freedmen’s Bureau
President Lincoln’s Plan
1864  “Lincoln Governments”
formed in LA, TN, AR
*
*
“loyal assemblies”
They were weak and
dependent on the
Northern army for
their survival.
th
13
Amendment
 Ratified in December, 1865.
 Neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude, except as punishment for
crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall exist within the
United States or any place subject to
their jurisdiction.
 Congress shall have power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
Freedmen’s Bureau (1865)
Carpetbaggers
– Northerners
moving to
South in
search of
better
opportunities
Scalawags/
Scallywag –
Southerners
who supported
the Northern
Republicans.

Many former northern abolitionists risked
their lives to help southern freedmen.

Called “carpetbaggers” by white southern
Democrats.

March 1865- Lincoln and Congress set up
the Freedmen’s Bureau

The bureau helped African Americans
adjust to freedom

It provided food, clothing, and medical
services

Also helped freed people acquire land or
find work for fair wages

Also set up schools and gave aid to new
African American institutions of higher
learning

Including Atlanta University, Howard
University, and Fisk University
Freedmen’s Bureau Seen
Through
Southern
Eyes
Plenty to
eat and
nothing to
do.
Freedmen’s Bureau School
President Johnson’s Plan (10%+)
Wanted to be strict with the States
That had rebelled, but ended up making
It relatively easy for them,
consequently allowing for segregation
of the races.
 Offered amnesty upon simple oath
to all except
Confederate civil and military
officers and those with property
over $20,000 (they could apply
directly to Johnson)
 Formerly Confederate states must
ratify the 13th Amendment.
 Former Confederate officials may
hold office and vote.
Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
 Required 50% of the number of
1860 voters to take an “iron
clad” oath of allegiance
(swearing they had never
voluntarily aided the rebellion).
Senator
Benjamin
Wade
(R-OH)
 New state constitutions had to
abolish slavery
 The bill would also ban former
Confederates from holding
public office
 Enacted specific safeguards of
freedmen’s liberties.
Congressman
Henry
W. Davis
(R-MD)
Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
 “Iron-Clad” Oath.
 “State Suicide” Theory [MA Senator
Charles Sumner]
 “Conquered Provinces” Position
[PA Congressman Thaddeus Stevens]
President
Lincoln
Pocket
Veto
Wade-Davis
Bill
Radical Republican Plan
Radical republicans, often abolitionists, represented a large
part of Congress. These Congressmen wanted to be strict
with the States that had rebelled.
 Military districts would govern southern states.
 Formerly Confederate states must disband their state
governments.
 Formerly Confederate states must write new state
constitutions.
 Formerly Confederate states must ratify the 14th
Amendment
 Formerly Confederate states must allow African
Americans to vote.
14th Amendment
 Ratified in July, 1868.
*
Provide a constitutional guarantee of the
rights and security of freed people.
Reconstruction Acts of 1867
 Military Reconstruction Act
*
Civil authorities in the territories were subject to military
supervision under the rule of a military governor.
*
Restart Reconstruction in 10 Southern states which must
ratify the 14th Amendment.
*
Divide the 10 “unreconstructed states” into 5 military
districts.
Reconstruction Acts of 1867
 Command of the Army Act
*
The President must issue all
Reconstruction orders through
the commander of the military.
 Tenure of Office Act
*
The President could not remove
any officials [esp. Cabinet members]
without the Senate’s consent, if the
position originally required Senate
approval.
 Designed to protect radical
members of Lincoln’s government.
 A question of the
constitutionality of this law.
Edwin Stanton
Matching Activity
• Match the items to the proper columns
Jeff Davis Under Arrest
10% Plan
Wade-Davis Bill
Johnson Plan
Reconstruction
Act
President Lincoln
(1863)
Republicans in
Congress (1864)
President Johnson
(1865)
Radical
Republicans (1867)
10% of voters must
swear an oath of
loyalty to Union
Majority (at least
50%) of white men
must swear ironclad oath of loyalty.
State governments
must ratify the 13th
Amendment
Must disband state
governments
(military govts.)
State governments
must abolish
slavery
Must write new
Constitutions
State governments
must abolish
slavery
Pocket
Veto
Former
Confederates
cannot vote or hold
office
Former
Must write new
Confederates may constitutions
vote and hold office
Must ratify 14th
Amendment
Laws that limited the
freedoms of African
Americans. Can’t own
guns, can’t vote
(grandfather clause),
can’t own rent/own
land, etc.
Must ratify 15th
Amendments –
African Americans
may vote.
Carpetbaggers
Scalawags
Ku Klux Klan
Slavery is Dead?
Growing Northern Alarm!
 Many Southern state
constitutions fell short of
minimum requirements.
 Johnson granted 13,500 special
pardons.
 Revival of southern defiance.
BLACK CODES
Black Codes

Purpose: laws that restricted the freedoms of AfricanAmericans.

Guarantee stable labor
supply now that blacks
were emancipated.

Restore pre-emancipation
system of race relations.

Forced many blacks to become sharecroppers [tenant
farmers].

Landowners provided land, tools, supplies, while
sharecroppers provided labor.

At harvest, most of crop went to landowner while
sharecroppers got very little of what was left to sell.

Sharecroppers hoped to make enough from their portion
of the crop to one day own their own farms, however,
many lived in a cycle of poverty (debt). They would buy
essentials (food, clothing, etc.) on credit and by the time
they sold their crop they would only have enough to pay
back what they borrowed…MAYBE. Especially, if there
was a bad harvest or if prices for crop fell (surplus).
Congress Breaks with the
President
 Congress bars Southern
Congressional delegates.
 Joint Committee on
Reconstruction created.
 February, 1866  President
vetoed the Freedmen’s
Bureau bill.
 March, 1866  Johnson
vetoed the 1866 Civil Rights Act.
 Congress passed both bills over
Johnson’s vetoes  1st in
U. S. history!!
Johnson the Martyr / Samson
If my blood is to be shed
because I vindicate the
Union and the preservation
of this government in its
original purity and character,
let it be shed; let an altar to
the Union be erected, and
then, if it is necessary, take
me and lay me upon it, and
the blood that now warms
and animates my existence
shall be poured out as a fit
libation to the Union.
(February 1866)
The 1866 Bi-Election
Johnson went on a "Swing around the circle" tour, giving speeches in Midwest cities to
rally public support for his lenient policy towards the South the Republicans remind
voters of the Union's sacrifices during the Civil War
 It becomes a vote for control of Reconstruction: President or Congress?
 The Radical Republicans win a 3 to 1 majority in both houses and gain control of all
Northern states
 They now have a "bulletproof" Congress and will be able to override all vetoes
if Southern states had ratified the 14th Amendment, they would have been welcomed with
open arms; however, they didn't, so Congress began military Reconstruction.

Johnson’s “Swing around
the Circle”
Congress vs. Johnson
 Command of the Army Act
• the Constitution says that the
President must enforce the law, but he
might not do so with great vigor
• says that the President must issue all
Reconstruction orders through the
commander of the military
• Johnson is displeased, and his feud
with Congress intensifies

Tenure of Office Act
• President can't remove officials
without Senate approval if the position
originally required Senate approval
• Johnson decides to test Congress, and
removes Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton.
• Johnson says that the law doesn't
apply because he hadn't appointed
Stanton - Lincoln had
Johnson receives a summons for impeachment
• He also argued that the Act was
unconstitutional
President Johnson’s
Impeachment
 Johnson removed Stanton in February, 1868.
 Johnson replaced generals in the field who were
more sympathetic to Radical Reconstruction.
 The House impeached him on February 24
before even
drawing up the
charges by a
vote of 126 – 47!
The Senate Trial

11 week trial.

Johnson acquitted
35 to 19 (one short of required 2/3s vote).

Some Republicans thought Johnson was getting
treated unfairly, even though he was unpopular.

Some did not trust Benjamin Wade, who would
assume the duties of the Presidency if Johnson
were convicted. Conservative and moderate
Republicans did not support his radical views.
Election of 1868
“Let Us Have Peace”
• This was the slogan of Grant during his
campaign for Presidency.
• He supported the Congressional (Radical)
Reconstruction Acts.
• As a war hero, he appealed to many Northern
voters.
• Shortly after Grant was nominated, Congress
readmitted 7 southern states to the Union –
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Louisana,
North Carolina, and South Carolina.
• These 7 states approved the 14th Amendment
and allowed African-American men to vote.
1868 Presidential Election
“The Party of Lincoln”
• Grant wins
• Violence was used to deter blacks from
casting their votes at the polls.
• Despite this, Grant gets a great amount of
votes from the black population.
• After Grant’s victory, Congress passes the
15th Amendment (1869) to restrict both
Northerners and Southerners from
preventing blacks to vote in future
elections.
th
15
Amendment
 Ratified in 1870.
 The right of citizens of the United States
to vote shall not be denied or abridged by
the United States or by any state on
account of race, color, or previous condition
of servitude.
 The Congress shall have power to enforce
this article by appropriate legislation.
 Women’s rights groups were furious that
they were not granted the vote!
Strong Republican Presence
• After Grant’s victory, the Republican
presence in Congress was stronger than
ever, especially because they had the
black vote.
• As a result, they controlled Southern
governments.
• Carpetbaggers (political agenda) and
Scalawags (traitors)
African-American Leaders
• 600 African Americans
elected to state legislatures
• 16 elected to Congress
Hiram Revels – was
son of formers
slaves, but born free
(NC). He went to
college in Illinois and
became a Methodist
minister and chaplain
in the Union army.
He is the 1st black
man to serve in the
U.S. Senate. He
took the seat of
held by Confederate
President Jefferson
Davis (MS).
Blanche Bruce – escaped
from slavery and began
a school for African
Americans before the
Civil War. Bruce was
the first African
American elected to a
full 6-year term to the
U.S. Senate.
Southern Resistance to Reconstruction
• Disliked blacks in political offices
• Claimed that Reconstruction governments
were corrupt, illegal, and unjust.
• Disliked having federal troops stationed in
their states.
• Rise of the Ku Klux Klan (1866) and
violence erupts in South targeting blacks
and white Reconstruction supporters.
Amnesty Act of 1872
• Many northerners and supporters of the union
felt very aggressively towards the exconfederate states up to this point. However,
the north was willing to put the past behind
them when promoting the Amnesty Act. It
removed the last of the restrictions on exconfederates, besides top leaders.
• This was later viewed as a political mistake by
Republicans a few years later because
Democrats started to retake control of the state
government.
Election of 1872
Republicans Lose Power
•
•
The Black Friday Scandal, also known as the Gold Panic and the
Fisk/Gould scandal, was an attempt by two aggressive Wall Street
speculators, Jay Gould and his partner James Fisk, to corner the gold
market on the New York Gold Exchange. Due to the manipulations of Fisk
and Gould price of gold plummeted on the New York Gold Exchange on
September 24, 1869. Many people were financially ruined and the infamous
day was referred to as Black Friday.
The Whiskey Ring Scandal in 1875 erupted soon after the beginning of
Grant's second presidential term in office. It concerned a conspiracy of
distillers to bribe government officials and to defraud the government of the
excise taxes on liquor. The Whiskey Ring conspiracy was public knowledge
but it was considered impenetrable because of the strong political
connections of the men involved. U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin
H. Bristow resolved to break the conspiracy and in May, 1875 he succeeded
in his goal and charges were brought against the conspirators. Allegations
and rumors spread that the illegally held liquor tax money was to be used in
the Republican Party’s campaign for the re-election of President Grant.
Grant was not implicated in the scandal but his reputation was damaged.
Election of 1876
COMPROMISE OF 1877
(Great Betrayal)
• Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) was
elected the 19th president in 1876 after a
dispute over electoral votes
• Compromise = Democrats agreed to
accept Hayes’s victory if all federal troops
were removed from the south
Compromise of 1877
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hayes wins
Military out of South
End of Reconstruction
Hayes will appoint 1 Democratic candidate
Land grants to South
Federal funds to South
Democrats will respect African American
rights
• Democrats elect a Supreme Court seat.
REDEEMERS
• They were Democrats who regained
control of state governments in the South
• They established laws that successfully
discriminated against African-Americans
JIM CROW LAWS
• Segregation = forced separation of whites and blacks in public
places
• Jim Crow laws enforced segregation
• Poll tax = a special tax that people had to pay so they could vote
and many blacks could not afford it
• Grandfather clause = men whose fathers and grandfathers who
could vote before 1867 did not have to pay the tax or take a literacy
test – every white man could escape voting restrictions
SHARECROPPING SYSTEM
• Limited opportunities for blacks to own
farms and property
• Most sharecroppers lived in a cycle of debt
= buy goods on credit and then fail to
make much money selling their crops
PLESSY V. FERGUSON
• 1896 – major Supreme Court case
• Supreme Court ruled that segregation was allowed
(constitutional) if “separate-but-equal” facilities were
provided for blacks
• Segregation became widespread across the country in
schools, libraries, parks, restaurants, etc.
• Black facilities were blatantly inferior and unequal