Download Reconstruction-After the War

Reconstruction
After the War
• Mississippi faced many challenges after the Civil War
• The state’s cities were severely damaged and many
buildings and stores had been burned
• Our previous wealth before the war no longer existed
• Many men returned back home unable to work due to
injury or others just did not return
Freedmen
• 400,000 freedmen faced greater hardships
• They were homeless, uneducated, and free
for the first time
– Many wandered town to town looking for jobs
– Searched for family members lost due to slavery
• New relationships between whites and
blacks had to be developed
– Blacks feared that old masters would try to reenslave them
– Whites found it difficult to accept blacks as free
and equal
• Freedmen looked forward to practicing their right to
vote and hold a political office
• Whites wondered how they would be treated as
well… Would they be punished for their war
efforts???? Would they be allowed to vote in new
governments?????
• The right to own land, vote, and get an education
was a freedmen’s way to independence
• Congress created the agency the Freedmen’s Bureau
which helped former slaves with food, shelter,
education, health care, and find jobs
Free Land??????
• Blacks felt that the land that was seized or
confiscated during the war would be sold or leased
to them
• However, President Johnson ordered for all
confiscated land to be returned to its former owners
Presidential Reconstruction
• Abraham Lincoln created a plan to rebuild the South
and restore the Union before the war was over
• Known as Reconstruction, had two simple steps:
– 1. All southerners, except high ranking Confederates,
would be pardoned after taking an oath of loyalty
– 2. When 10% of voters took oath, the state would be
permitted to form a legal government and rejoin the
Union.
• Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865 at Ford’s
Theater
Johnson and Reconstruction
• Much like Lincoln, though Johnson expanded the group of
southerners who were not covered by the general pardon
• Johnson required that states write new state constitutions
that abolished slavery.
• Republicans were disappointed with both plan… they
wanted stronger requirements
• Due to pressure from Congress, Johnson added three more
requirements
– 1. repeal secession ordinances
– 2. Repudiate their war debt
– 3. Ratify the 13th Amendment
• Reconstruction began in MS in June 1865
• William Sharkey who opposed secession became
temporary governor
Constitutional Convention of 1865
• Mississippi was the first state to hold a constitutional
convention to write a new constitution
• They made few changes to state government
• Most delegates were apart of MS prewar ruling class
• Though the president urged Mississippians to give
suffrage to educated blacks and those who owned
property, they delegates ignored his request.
• They made it clear that they did not want any black
participation in MS’s government
Black Codes
• When new legislature met, legislators passed four acts that
became known as Black Codes
– Placed harsh economic and social restrictions on blacks
– Became clear that the Codes were designed to give the state
control over blacks
• First act: Civil Rights Act of 1865, provided two benefitsLegalized marriages and Gave blacks the right to sue in state
courts, however it:
– Prohibited interracial marriages
– Prevented blacks from testifying in court cases with whites
– Limited black land ownership
• Could not carry firearms and any other
weapons
• Blacks could be arrested for assembling with
permission
– If they could not pay fine, they were hired out to
anyone who would pay fine for them
• When MS did not ratify the 13th Amendment
it troubled the freedmen and angered many
northern whites
• As a result of these black codes, Congress
refused to seat MS’s Congressional delegates.
• Congress then passed laws designed to
weaken the Black Codes and guarantee
blacks rights
• 14th Amendment- made blacks full
citizens of the United States and in the
individual states
– Could not prohibit any person the right of
life, liberty, or property