Download Reconstruction and the New South

Reconstruction & the New South
Ch. 15
Brought to you by the…
The Politics of Reconstruction
Part 1
What was Reconstruction?
• Reconstruction – period during which the U.S.
began to rebuild after the Civil War (1865-77)
• Lincoln, Andrew Johnson (president who took
over after Lincoln’s assassination), and
Congress all had very different plans for
Reconstruction
What does field reporter
Brian Fantana think of
Reconstruction?
Lincoln’s Plan
• He favored a lenient Reconstruction policy
• 10% Plan
– Amnesty – blanket pardon, for all Confederates,
except ranking officers, as long as they swore
allegiance to the Union
– Once 10% of the states did this, the state could
form a new government and get representatives
into Congress
Republican Reaction to Lincoln
• Radical Republicans – new group who
wanted to destroy the political power of
former slaveholders in the South (led by
Thaddeus Stevens)
• Did not like Lincoln’s plan; Response?
– 1864 – Wade Davis Bill – proposed Congress, not
the President, would take care of Reconstruction
• Lincoln pocket vetoes the bill, upsetting the Radical
Republicans
Johnson’s Plan
• Andrew Johnson (D) – 17th president of the U.S.
• South saw him as a traitor; Radical Republicans
saw him as on of their own (both wrong)
• Presidential Reconstruction (May 1865) – South
could be readmitted to Union if…
– They would withdraw its succession
– Swear allegiance to the Union
– Annul (void) Confederate war debts
Congress’
Plan
Johnson and
Congress
got
• Dec. 1865 – Refused to admit new South’s
into
an
arguing
match
over
legislators because they were not different from the
Civil War period
the
bills
and
the
vetoing.
• Feb. 1866 – Freedmen’s Bureau – assisted poor
whites & former slaves in the South with food and
What
were
some
of
the
clothes & set up institutions
•things
Civil Rightsthey
Act of 1866
– Gavesaying
African Americans
were
to
citizenship and forbade the passing of black codes –
discriminating
laws
that
restricted
blacks’
lives
each
other?
• Johnson vetoed both; Congress overrode both
vetoes
Congressional Reconstruction
• 14th Amendment
– All persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are
citizens of the country
– All are entitled to equal protection under the law &
no state could deprive citizens the right to due
process of law
• Reconstruction Act of 1867
– Divided the 10 remaining Confederate states into 5
military districts; each headed by a Union general
– Johnson vetoed; Congress overrode veto
IMPEACHED!
• Congress was fed up with Johnson, so they tried
to find a way to impeach – formally charge for
misconduct in office – and remove Johnson from
office
• Tenure of Office Act – Congressional law stating
the president could not remove Cabinet
members without the consent of Senate
• Johnson felt it was unconstitutional, fired his
Secy of War and Congress impeached him
• Stayed in office by 1 vote
Grant’s in
What would
Grant say to
voters to
convince them to
vote for him?
• 1868 Election – Ulysses S. Grant (R) elected as
President
• Radical Republicans introduce 15th
Amendment – suffrage for all men, no matter
race or ethnicity
• Enforcement Act of 1870 – federal
government had the right to punish anyone
preventing blacks from voting
Reconstruction & the New South
Ch. 15
Brought to you by the…
Reconstructing Society
Part 2
Conditions of Postwar South
BAD
• Sherman destroyed ~$100 million work of
Confederate property alone in GA and SC
• Economy terrible; 1/5 men dead from war
GOOD
• Public works programs created to rebuild roads,
bridges, and RR’s
• Established orphanages and schools
– Downside: projects were expensive on taxpayers
Brick didn’t like
Politics in Postwar South
carpetbaggers
and
scalawags,
• Scalawags
– Democrats’ name for white
who joined the Rep. Party
so Southerners
he would say
– Seen as bad by Dems b/c they wanted to help the
meanadvancement
things, of blacks
like
this, to – Dems’ nickname for
• Carpetbaggers
Northerners
insult
them. who moved to the South after
the war
– Seen as bad by Dems b/c they felt they came to
exploit the South
– In reality, they were Freedmen’s Bureau agents,
teachers, and businesspeople trying to help
Politics in Postwar South
• At first, 90% of blacks in the South were
voting
• There were major differences between Dems
and Reps in the South
– Reps fought for civil rights for blacks
– Dems fought to oppress black people
– Reps tried to get Dems on their side by
appointing them to offices; betrayed blacks and
backfired
Former Slaves Face Challenges
When Ron
• What to do? Where to live? How to survive?
Burgundy faces
• Some families were reunited
•challenges,
Many becoming literate (in 1870,
80% is
of
this
African American adults were illiterate)
• Many founded own churches and volunteer
what
he
usually
groups
says…
– Many moved to Southern cities for jobs
– Ministers became influential community leaders
Former Slaves Face Challenges
• Many tried to get into politics, several
successfully gaining seats in Congress
– Most served in local and state governments
• Many black codes and segregation not
allowed
• African Americans focused more on the black
community rather than full integration
Changes in the South’s Economy
• 40 acres and a mule
– Sherman’s promise to give any former
slave 40 acres and military mules if they
helped fight Civil War
– Afterwards, the land was taken back by
Johnson
– African Americans upset; government
issues 1866 Homestead Act to give them
land, but land is unusable
Rural South’s Economy
• Planters had problems, too
– Could not find workers to put in as much labor as they had
before
– Weren’t making profit b/c they had to pay workers
– Whites didn’t want to work for them b/c they felt like
slaves
• Most former slaves took jobs working on RR’s, in mills,
or subsistence farming
• Cotton was no longer king
– Other countries increased their production  value of
Southern cotton plummets  South tries to increase
production  price plummets again  switch to other
crops
Rural South’s Economy
• Blacks and poor whites had a few choices for
farming:
• 1. Sharecropping: landowners divided up their land
and gave each worker a few acres along with seeds
and tools
– Had to give the owners half of their harvest
• 2. Tenant farming: paying rent for land and keeping
all the harvest
– Very few could do this b/c it would cost too much
money
Reconstruction & the New South
Ch. 15
Brought to you by the…
The Collapse of Reconstruction
Part 3
Opposition to Reconstruction
• Ku Klux Klan – founded as a social club for
Confederate veterans in Tennessee, 1866
– As it grew many chapters in the South, it turned into a
violent terrorist group
– MAIN GOAL: to restore white supremacy
• 1868-1871: Klan killed thousands of men, women,
and kids and burned schools, churches, and
properties (mostly blacks, but also whites who
supported equality for blacks)
• Klan assassinated a Republican (John Stephens) for
helping black people
• RESULT: Klan scared black people away from voting
and the Dems won in the South, overwhelmingly
Opposition to Reconstruction
• Economy
– Blacks were hurting economically because the Klan
was destroying their property & whites wouldn’t hire
them out of fear from Klan repercussion
• Congress’ Response
– Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871: federal
supervision of Southern elections (blacks were afraid
to vote)
• RESULT: Grant didn’t use power and S. Court found it
unconstitutional
• RESULT 2.0: Klan activity decreased, only because the Klan
was successful at restoring white supremacy in the South
Ron is a staunch Rep, so when he
found out the Dems took over, this
• Politics – Dems in; Reps out
was his response…
Scandals & Money Crises Hurt Reps
• Grant (R) was honest, but naïve
• His administration was crooked and being
corrupt (started in 1872), but he didn’t do
anything about it b/c he refused to believe it
to be true
– 1875 – Whiskey Ring
– 1876 – Secy of War accepted bribes
• Reps upset, many set up new party, the
Liberal Rep Party, splitting Rep Party up
Economic Turmoil
Ron
was
scared
to
• The Panic of 1873
death about the
panic. What did
he
say?
• Specie Resumption Act (1875) – made money
– HOW? Northern and Southern investors
borrowed too much money to pay for projects in
the South
– Defaulted on loans; many banks failed
– By 1875, 89 RR’s broke, 18,000 companies went
bust, and 3 million people unemployed
be backed up by gold; caused deflation
Dems “Redeem” the South
• Redemption – Dems’ return to power in the
South, due to the end of Reconstruction in 1877
• 1876 Presidential Election
– Rutherford B. Hayes (R) won, but by a vote in the
House
– Dems agreed to put him into power, but they had to
get something out of it…
• Withdrawal of troops in LA and SC
• Federal funds to build RRs from TX to the West Coast
• Wanted Hayes to appoint a conservative Southern cabinet
Home Rule of South
• Home rule – the ability to run state
governments without federal intervention
• EFFECT: Dems (the “Redeemers”) passed laws
restricting the rights of blacks, wiped out
social programs helping them, and
dismantled public schools
• North didn’t really care; indifferent
Legacy of Reconstruction
• Ended in 1877 when Hayes took office
GOOD
• 13th, 14th, 15th amendments
• Literacy and universities increased for African
Americans
BAD
• Ended without much real progress
• Radical Reps made mistakes by believing extending
civil rights to freed people would solve everything,
by not giving land to former slaves, and by not
seeing the deep-seated racism in the South towards
blacks
THE END!!!