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Transcript
HIS 112 Chapter 16 The Agony of Reconstruction Reconstruction Political process by which the 11 rebel states were restored to a normal constitutional relationship with the 25 loyal states and their national government It was the UNION that was to be reconstructed during the 12 years following the Civil War There was also a physical reconstruction that needed to take place Cities had been burned Bridges were gone Railroad tracks were missing River-borne commerce had dwindled Commercial ties with Europe and the North had been snapped Fields lay fallow Proposals for Reconstruction On 8 December 1863, Abraham Lincoln submitted his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction or his 10% Solution As soon as 10% of voters in any Confederate state took an oath of allegiance to the Union, the people of that state could organize a government & elect representatives The plan excluded Confederate government officials Military or civil officials who had resigned from Congress or U.S. Commissions in 1861 Efforts to do this took place in states occupied by Union soldiers By 1864 Louisiana and Arkansas had complied After the war, Tennessee and parts of Virginia quickly tried to set up Unionist governments Congress, however, would not recognize these governments, and the military remained in these states Congressional Objections to Lincoln’s Plan Congress didn’t like the expansion of presidential powers during the war Congress felt there should be a Congressional Reconstruction Plan Radical Republicans said Lincoln’s plan made no provisions for freed men Radical Republicans came up with a plan of their own called the WadeDavis Bill in July of 1864 Said 50% of all white male citizens had to swear an oath of loyalty to the Union before reconstruction could begin Radical Republicans said Reconstruction would be designed by Congress, not by the President Lincoln said he had no objections to a Congressional Plan or to giving blacks who fought in the Civil War the right to vote But Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865 Andrew Johnson Succeeded Lincoln as president Had been Lincoln’s Vice President Was from Tennessee and an antiConfederate Because Johnson had not been elected President, he felt that he had to prove himself Johnson took over in May, 1865 when Congress was not in session and would not re-convene until December, 1865 He wanted to have Reconstruction completed by the time Congress got back So Johnson came up with his own plan Wanted to re-unite the country as soon as possible Formed new governments in the South by using his power to pardon Began pardoning in May, 1865 Johnson eventually pardoned 13,000 Confederate leaders making it possible for them to hold office and to get their confiscated property back, minus slaves This was a switch for Johnson because he had always thought the South should be punished and have their land confiscated Some think Johnson gave in to his vanity; he liked being sought after by former leaders When Congress re-convened in December, 1865, the members were told that reconstruction was completed after only a few months 13,000 had sworn allegiance and governments had been set up Objections to Johnson’s Plan The North was dissatisfied with Johnson’s program Felt the election of prominent Confederates to political office was an act of Defiance by the South Practices in the South had not changed • Newly created Black Codes were identical to Slave Codes See handout Black Codes convinced northerners that the South was intent upon keeping blacks in a subservient position Congress was so outraged by Johnson that it refused to seat newlyelected Southern Representatives Congressional Reconstruction Plan At this time Congress was diverse but basically conservative Made up of: Democrats Conservative Republicans Moderate Republicans Radical Republicans – a minority within their own party However, the Radical Republicans were the only ones with a plan Wanted to democratize the South Establish public education for all Ensure the rights of the freed men • Favored black suffrage • Supported land confiscation and redistribution Radical Republicans were also willing to exclude the South from the Union for several years, if necessary, to achieve their goals There was a problem Congressional elections were coming up in 1866 Congress knew it needed to come up with its own Reconstruction Plan fast So Republicans formed a coalition to come up with an alternative to Johnson’s plan Ironically, Johnson and the Democrats pushed Congress towards the Radical Republicans’ ideas by refusing to cooperate with conservative or moderate Republicans Conservatives joined with the Radicals and the result was the 14th Amendment It was to protect blacks’ rights See p. 462 for 3 Civil Rights Amendments The 13th Amendment freed the slaves 14th Amendment Section 1: declared Confederate debt null and void and guaranteed the war debt of the U.S. Section 2: prohibited political power for prominent Confederates Section 3: gave citizenship to freed men and all the rights of a citizen; made sure blacks had due process of law Section 4: dealt with representation; the 14th Amendment did not require states to give blacks the right to vote, but said that states which barred blacks from voting would have their Congressional representation reduced proportionally The 14th Amendment ignored female citizens This led women’s rights activists to begin fighting for their own right to vote Johnson urged states to reject this amendment All southern states except Tennessee did so The Congressional elections of 1866 was a decisive victory for Republicans This showed that the people liked their 14th Amendment Freedmen’s Bureau Created by Congress before there was a Reconstruction plan Administered by the army Provided relief for freed men and some whites in the form of: Food, clothing shelter Attempted to find jobs Set up hospitals & schools Eased transition from slavery to free The Meaning of Freedom to Freedmen Education They hungered for education and filled schools Freedmen’s Bureau founded over 4,000 schools Also founded black colleges For many blacks, education led to election to public office Family Life Many black families were reunited Blacks frequently tried to minimize all contact with whites Black neighborhoods and black churches were founded by their choice Share Cropping System In return for the use of another’s land and “furnishings”, the farmer paid the landowner a share of his crops Resulted in blacks being cheated and kept in debt South continued to grow cotton even though the soil was poor and the market had shrunk Reconstruction 14th Amendment passed in June of 1866 Reconstruction Act passed in 1867 Governments formed under Andrew Johnson’s plan dissolved The South was partitioned into 5 military provinces Map, p. 463 Constitutional conventions were held Had to abolish slavery Give the vote to adult black males Ratify the 13th &14th Amendments If Congress approved of their work, they would be re-admitted to the Union and to Congress Tennessee was immediately readmitted 1868 – 6 more states were readmitted: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina Their delegations to Congress included black representatives Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia did not wish to give blacks the right to vote, so the military remained there until 1870 Next, Congress wanted to remove some power from the Executive Branch because the President’s power had grown during the Civil War Congressional Actions towards the Presidency Congress took partial control of the army away from Andrew Johnson Congress tried to enforce the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 It forbade the President from removing any appointed official who had been confirmed by the Senate without first getting Senate approval This was done to keep Johnson from dismissing Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, a Radical Republican ally Stanton’s support would help enforce the Congressional Reconstruction Acts -- the ones Johnson opposed Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Johnson tried to defy the Tenure of Office Act when Congress was out of session August of 1867, Johnson suspended Stanton from office February of 1868, Johnson dismissed Edwin Stanton, the only Radical Republican in his cabinet He did this without Senate approval Many said that the Tenure of Office Act did not apply to Johnson because he had inherited Lincoln’s Cabinet But the House of Representatives drew up articles of impeachment (Charges) They were passed and a prosecutor was appointed (House Managers) The Senate would act as jury The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presided There were 9 articles of impeachment that dealt with the dismissal of Stanton There were 2 articles which dealt with Johnson’s disrespect of Congress Removal of Johnson would need a 2/3 majority vote of the Senate That meant 36 Senators had to vote for conviction 18 votes were needed for acquittal The vote was 35 – 19 Johnson remained in office by 1 vote. Johnson was impeached but not removed 1868 was an election year, so they let Johnson serve out the rest of his time He then returned to Tennessee and was elected to the Senate 5 years later Andrew Johnson was exonerated in 1920s Precedent A precedent had been set You couldn’t impeach someone just on political grounds (you disagree or don’t like him) A law must have been broken Ulysses S. Grant was elected president first in 1868 and then again in 1872 Charts, pp. 470 & 474 Grant’s election was followed by the passage of the 3rd Civil Rights Amendment, the 15th Amendment 15th Amendment forbade states from denying the vote to any person on the basis of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude” Results of 3 Civil Rights Amendments Black voters Blacks represented districts and states like Blanche K. Bruce of Mississippi and Hiram Revels also of Mississippi -- both were U.S. Senators; p. 469, picture A less savory result was the rise of Ku Klux Klan – KKK; p. 472 KKK was founded by a former slave trader and Confederate general, Nathan Bedford Forrest Members would intimidate blacks trying to keep them from voting Blacks were at first threatened, then beaten, and too often murdered (lynched) Congress outlawed and suppressed the KKK, but it has never totally gone away President Grant would use force to support Reconstruction and the 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments but only when absolutely needed As the 1870s proceeded, there was less and less support for Reconstruction Other issues were more interesting Example: the scandals and corruption in the Grant Administration During Grant’s first term in office there was scandal surrounding the White House but none connected with Grant himself Grant had appointed relatives and inlaws to offices who used their offices to make money for themselves Later grant accepted money from those who expected favors Election of 1876 Republican: Rutherford B. Hayes 3 time governor of Ohio Moderate on Southern policies Favored home rule in the South For civil and political rights for all Democrat: Samuel J. Tilden Governor of New York A millionaire A lawyer A reformer Against fraud and waste Fiscal conservative Tilden won the popular vote by a small margin and the returns from Florida and Louisiana were challenged P. 475 It was a contested election, and in a contested election the House of Representatives decides the outcome, as per the Constitution In the Compromise of 1877, Congress decided the outcome and gave it to Hayes after a deal was struck between Republican leaders and southern Democrats Troops would be withdrawn from the South Some talk of support for southern railroads & internal improvements Help for blacks was not discussed Lynchings of blacks increased 1889 – 1899 An average of 187 blacks were lynched each year for alleged offenses against whites Segregation laws were passed around the turn of the century ( Jim Crow Laws) 1890 – 1910 -- Disenfranchisement of blacks began with literacy tests and other legalized obstacles to voting Example: “How many bubbles are in a bar of Ivory soap?” Poll taxes The North and the Federal government did little to help Cases, p. 480