* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Reconstruction - Cloudfront.net
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution wikipedia , lookup
United States presidential election, 1860 wikipedia , lookup
Commemoration of the American Civil War on postage stamps wikipedia , lookup
Border states (American Civil War) wikipedia , lookup
Mississippi in the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Union (American Civil War) wikipedia , lookup
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution wikipedia , lookup
Tennessee in the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Issues of the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War wikipedia , lookup
Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution wikipedia , lookup
Carpetbagger wikipedia , lookup
Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction Era wikipedia , lookup
Radical Republican wikipedia , lookup
Reconstruction: The Dawn Without a Noon 1865 - 1877 What was Reconstruction? • The attempt to achieve national reunification and reconciliation and to improve the status of former slaves (freedmen). • Hard to do both. “Politics is the art of the possible.” • North prevailed during war. South prevailed after war. The Problems of Peace • Even before the fighting was over the debate began over how to reconstruct the shattered Union • What were the main questions facing the decision makers regarding southern reconstruction? Main Questions 1. How would the South be rebuilt economically & socially? 2. How would the freed blacks be treated? 4. Who would control & direct the process: South, President, or Congress? 3. How would the former Confederate states be readmitted to the Union? The Fate of the Confederate Leaders • Many of the Confederate leaders were imprisoned at the end of the war • Jefferson Davis was captured & imprisoned for 2 years • All eventually pardoned in 1868 by President Johnson • Even Jeff Davis was given his citizenship back – posthumously, over 100 years later Gone With the Wind • Southern economy was utterly destroyed • Plantations choked with weeds • Cities burned to the ground • Factories & transportation ruined • Slave-labor system was gone & with it over $2 billion in capital The South Destroyed Southern Pride • Many southerners refused to believe they were beaten & held strongly to the belief that their cause had been just • Southerners also refused to recognize the federal government in Washington as their own • The Stars & Bars would be incorporated into many southern state flags The Freedmen’s Fate • Freedom for Southern blacks at the end of the Civil War came haltingly & unevenly in different parts of the conquered Confederacy • Lincoln worked to create th the 13 Amendment (ratified after his death in 1865) –Abolished slavery everywhere in the US • Southern planters & slave owners used violence as well as legal means to keep blacks from being liberated • Some blacks resisted liberation out of loyalty to their masters • Others rose in violence & looting against the defeated plantation owners Day of Jubilee • Upon receiving emancipation many former slaves celebrated their liberation by… –changing their names –going in search of lost loved ones –getting married –just getting up & moving “because they could” "When freedom come, I didn’t know what dat was at fust. I rec’lec’s Uncle Charley Burns what drive de buggy for Marster Charles, come runnin’ out in de yard an’ holler ‘everbody free, everbody free’, an’ pretty soon some sojers come an’ de Capt’in reads a proclamation to all de folks,--white folks an’ us black folks, too. An’ law me, dat’s one time Marster Charles can’t open his mouth, ‘cause de Capt’in tell him to shut up, dat he would do de talkin’. Sarah Ford -- on the Patton Plantation near West Columbia, Texas Exodusters • While most former slaves stayed in the South, some began to move north • A popular destination was the new state of Kansas –This exodus ended when steamboat captains conspired to refuse to carry blacks across the Mississippi River Church & Education • Black churches, such as the African Methodist Episcopal Church became the focus of the black community • The church provided social services & most importantly became centers for education as former slaves sought the right to read which had long been denied to them Ethiopia Baptist Church built in 1865 Learning to read… The Freedmen’s Bureau • March 3, 1865: Congress created the Freedmen’s Bureau • Bureau headed by General Oliver O. Howard • Purpose: help ex-slaves survive • Provided food, clothing, medical care, & education to the former slaves • Promised the freed slaves “40 acres and a mule” Freedmen’s Bureau School • Bureau did not come through on most of its promises, but it was successful in teaching over 200,000 former slaves to read • In many cases, the Bureau acted in cahoots with local planters to keep blacks tied to the old plantations • Southern whites saw the Bureau as Federal interference in state affairs with the purpose of overturning the racial order • President Johnson agreed with these white supremacist views & tried to kill the agency • Bureau expired in 1872 Presidential Reconstruction 1864 -1866 Lincoln’s 10 Percent Plan • December 1863: Lincoln announced his plans for reconstruction • He believed that the Southern states had never really left the Union, therefore process of reconstruction should be fairly quick & easy • He would grant a pardon to nearly all supporters of the Confederacy if they took an oath of allegiance to the Union • All must pledge to accept emancipation • Only certain high ranking officials would not be pardoned • When 10% of the voters in the 1860 presidential election took the oaths, the state could petition for reentry to the Union Wade-Davis Bill • Congressional Republicans rejected Lincoln’s 10% Plan fearing planter aristocracy regaining power • 1864: Congress passed Wade-Davis Bill –called for 50% of voters to take loyalty oaths & to exclude all who had aided the Confederacy –New state constitutions would also have to guarantee equal rights to all blacks & all citizens • Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill The “Iron Clad” Oath • Congress responded by refusing to seat Louisiana delegates after the state had met the 10% requirements • The controversy surrounding the Wade-Davis Bill revealed the deep differences between the Congress & the president State Suicide Theory • Many radicals in Congress believed that the southern states had committed political suicide by seceding & therefore forfeited all their rights • These Republican congressmen saw the South as a conquered territory subject to Congress • When Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865 & Andrew Johnson became president, radicals believed Andrew Johnson would share their desire to punish the planter aristocracy President Andrew Johnson • States’ rights Democrat from Tennessee • Hated the aristocratic plantation class of the South but cared nothing for the slaves • Known as a champion of the poor mountain whites Damn the negroes! I am fighting these traitorous aristocrats, their masters! President Andrew Johnson Presidential Reconstruction under Johnson • Congress was not in session when the war ended so Johnson began carrying out his own plans for reconstruction • Issued a general amnesty for all except the leadership class, who were disenfranchised –Allowed many of planter aristocrats to control areas of the South again Proclamation of Amnesty • Appointed Governors & ordered constitutional conventions held –The conventions were to ratify the 13th Amendment & repudiate the secession • Wanted the slaves to continue to work for their former masters & to take no interest in politics • Blacks began forming their own churches & schools & petitioned for equal rights • The 200,000 blacks who fought for the union wanted the rights they had fought for Southern Backlash • Black Codes –New all white legislatures passed codes designed to regulate & suppress the former slaves –Main purpose was to ensure a stable labor supply –Blacks were required to show proof of employment –Also could not vote, serve on a jury, or testify against a white person • Attempted to restore pre-emancipation system of race relations Work Gangs in the South • Sharecropping: –new laws forced many blacks into economic servitude as tenant farmers to their former masters Northern Reaction • The ease of Reconstruction & the plights of former slaves under the Black Codes led northerners to question who had really won the war Radical Reconstruction 1867 - 1877 • Radicals complained that the new governments were controlled by exrebels • December 1865: Refused to seat any recently elected southerners Ex-Confederate VP Alexander Stephens (Now a Georgia Senator!) • Republicans concerned that newly reconstructed states would return to the Union with even more political power –Blacks (who could not vote) no longer to be counted as 3/5ths of a person • December 6, 1865: Johnson announced that reconstruction was over & that all states had ratified a new constitution under his guidelines The Clash with Johnson • February 1866: Congress passed a bill to extend the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau • Johnson vetoed the bill, leading to outrage in Congress Civil Rights Act of 1866 • Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (over Johnson’s veto) –Made all people born in the United States (except Indians) citizens with all rights except the right to vote th 14 Amendment • Congress then created the 14th Amendment making citizenship for all a part of the Constitution • Purpose: make Civil Rights Act an amendment for protection against South • Also barred former Confederate officeholders from holding state & national office • Ratification of the 14th amendment became mandatory for holding seats in Congress • 10 of the 11 former Confederate states refused to ratify the 14th Amendment –Tennessee would ratify & be the first to be readmitted to the Union The 1866 Election • 1866 congressional elections were crucial to both sides • Whoever had a majority would control the direction of Reconstruction • If Republicans controlled 2/3rd of the seats they could override any presidential veto • Real root of controversy between the president and congress was Johnson’s “10percent” state governments & their Black Codes “Swing ‘Round the Circle” • Johnson, determined to gain a majority favorable to his policies, went on a disastrous speaking tour Johnson’s “Swing around the Circle” • Had the opposite effect & ultimately guaranteed the rd Republicans the 2/3 majority Radical Republican Principles & Programs • Radical Republicans insisted on a more radical form of reconstruction & reform of southern society by force • Thaddeus Stevens (House) & Charles Sumner (Senate) endorsed suffrage for all blacks & punishment for secession Republican Moderates • More moderate elements of the Republican party had the majority & would reign in some of their more radical brethren • Wanted to create a Republican alliance of nonsecessionist whites & freed blacks in the South • Both moderates & radicals agreed that the freed slaves must be given the right to vote – even it meant using force Military Reconstruction 1867 – 1877 Reconstruction Act of 1867 • South divided into 5 military districts each commanded by a Union general & occupied by Union troops Military Reconstruction • States had to ratify the th 14 Amendment • State constitutions had to guarantee all adult males the right to vote • New state governments would now have both black & white members • Once all these conditions were met the states were readmitted to the Union • While the use of troops and military tribunals was clearly unconstitutional (see ex parte Milligan), the South began the process of creating constitutions guaranteeing Black suffrage Blacks vote for the first time • Did not want the federal government to be responsible for protecting black rights • Resulted in century of institutional discrimination against blacks • As the states came back into the Union, the “bluebellied” Yankee troops were removed & the states were “redeemed” • “Bourbon” whites were restored to power • By 1877, all of the South had been “redeemed” & the troops removed • South would remain solidly Democratic for the next hundred years The Impeachment of Johnson • Congress, by now thoroughly annoyed with the “drunken tailor” in the White House, decided to try & impeach the president • This would have elevated the Radical president pro-tempore of the Senate, Ben Wade, to the presidency • Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in 1867 –Barred the president from removing from office any Senate-approved official –Attempt to provoke Johnson to break the law • Johnson then dismissed the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, an ally & spy of the radicals • House voted to impeach Johnson on the charge of violating the Tenure of Office Act • He was tried by the House prosecutors before the Senate & acquitted by 1 vote by the Senate –Could have set a bad precedent & weakened executive branch Seward’s Folly • Although reduced to caretaker status following the impeachment, Johnson was to have his greatest success during the impeachment crisis • 1867: Secretary of State Seward accomplished an enduring success in foreign relations for the Johnson administration when he purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million th 15 Amendment • 1869: Congress passed an amendment guaranteeing the right to vote to all regardless of “race, color or previous condition of servitude” • Purposes: –ensure guarantees of suffrage if southerners took control of Congress in future –Strengthen Republican control of South & votes in North No Women Voters • The question over Black suffrage now reopened the issue of female suffrage • Many leading feminists, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony, who had been active in the abolition movement, had agreed to put their agendas on hold • With the end of the war & the ratification of the 13th Amendment, they were now ready to again call for female suffrage • But the 15th Amendment, as written, failed to call for voting guarantees based on gender • 1870: Congress approved the 15th Amendment prohibiting any state from limiting voting because of race • Results: –South ignored both 14th & 15th Amendments Election of 1868 • Republican Ulysses S. Grant won the election of 1868, vowing to continue with Military Reconstruction Realities of Reconstruction • By 1870, all southern states had met the requirements for re-admission to the Union • Thousands of blacks joined the Union League to be educated on the civic duties inherent in their new political rights • 14 African-Americans sat in the House of Representatives & Mississippi had 2 black Senators • African-American women were involved in politics as well, except of course they still could not vote The Reconstruction Governments • Radical Reconstruction state governments passed much desirable legislation & badly needed reforms • Most of these reforms where kept by the “redeemers” at the end of Reconstruction –Adequate public schools –Improved tax systems –Public works projects –Property rights improved • Also, Black Codes were repealed & civil rights laws were passed • Despite this, these “radical” governments were known for corruption & scandal • Truth was that political corruption during Reconstruction was present in both North & South • “Carpetbaggers” –Northern whites who went south after the war to seek their fortunes • “Scalawags” –Native born southerners who joined the Republican party & aided Reconstruction –Corruption & plundering of South exaggerated • Many former slaves, too poor to buy land, worked in the farming systems that replaced the plantations • Sharecropping = renting land for a share of the crop Sharecropping • Cotton was grown under the crop-lien system people borrowed money on a future cotton crop Tenancy & the Crop Lien System Furnishing Merchant Loan tools and seed up to 60% interest to tenant farmer to plant spring crop. Farmer also secures food, clothing, and other necessities on credit from merchant until the harvest. Merchant holds “lien” {mortgage} on part of tenant’s future crops as repayment of debt. Tenant Farmer Plants crop, harvests in autumn. Turns over up to ½ of crop to land owner as payment of rent. Tenant gives remainder of crop to merchant in payment of debt. Landowner Rents land to tenant in exchange for ¼ to ½ of tenant farmer’s future crop. Invisible Empire of the South • Southern whites fought against Reconstruction & sought to restore white supremacy through groups like the Ku Klux Klan • KKK founded in 1866 in Tennessee • Members wore white sheets & used beatings, scare tactics, as well as murder to “keep blacks in their place” – subservient to whites Racial Terrorism … • The “knights” were successful in preventing both blacks & white "carpetbaggers" from voting . "Some white folks came to the farm and tells me I's got to vote 'publican, 'cause dey say dem 'publicans done free us. So I goes to de place and de man say, 'what you vote, 'publican or democrat?' I say, 'publican, and jes' 'bout dat time some shootin' start and I hears somebody say dey gwine run every nigger-lovin 'publican out de country." --Anthony Christopher, a former slave The Force Acts • 1870 & 1871: federal government passed the Force Acts outlawing the use of terror to intimidate • KKK succeeded in decimating Republican organization Post-Reconstruction Civil Rights • Civil Rights Act of 1875 –Made discrimination illegal in public accommodations –Found unconstitutional in 1883 Jim Crow (1890s) • Most civil rights gains were eradicated by states that created the so-called Jim Crow laws to limit the rights of blacks • Lynching as intimidation –1890s: ~200 per year • Wholesale disenfranchisement of Blacks began in 1890, with the use of literacy tests, poll taxes, grandfather clauses, & gerrymandering “Separate But Equal” • Plessy v Ferguson (1896) –Supreme Court ruling established legal segregation in the South under the guise of “separate but equal” facilities The End of Reconstruction • In the 1876 election, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes & Democrat Samuel Tilden ended in a tie when electoral votes were disputed 1876 Presidential Tickets • Compromise of 1877 –Ended the electoral dispute & made the Republican Hayes president –In return, the Democrats got the remaining Union troops out of the South • Reconstruction formally ended in 1877 when Hayes orders all Union troops to barracks in the South The Dawn Without Noon • Not until the 1950’s & 60’s would leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. help blacks regain voting rights in the South