Download Reconstructing Georgia

Reconstructing Georgia
1865 - 1872
The
South was in ruins after
the Civil War. - Why?
The Southern States had to
meet requirements to reenter
the Union.
13th Amendment - Abolished
slavery
The Former Slaves had to
adjust to living as freeman.
Freedmen’s Bureau
Created in 1865 by the US Government
 Provided food, clothes and supplies to
poor whites and free blacks and helped
blacks function as free persons and
protected rights
 Main purpose was to provide education,
training, and social services for newly
freed slaves
 They set up thousands of primary
schools, industrial or vocational schools,
and teacher training centers for African
Americans in the South

Black Codes
The passage of Black Codes restricted
the civil rights of freemen in Georgia
 Put African Americans in prison if
they didn’t have a job
 Black codes limited the political and
civil rights of former slaves, as well as
their ability to control their own labor
and jobs
 Worked excessive hours, from sunrise
to sunset, six days per week
 Could not testify in court against a
white person

Reconstruction Amendments
 14th
Amendment – Granted
blacks citizenship and equal
protection under the law – was
passed in response to the black
codes which restricted the rights
of freedmen
 15th
Amendment – Granted black
males the right to vote
What is Reconstruction?
 The
unions attempt to: Rebuild
the South and restore them to
the Union
 All southerners except for high
ranking Confederate officials
were pardoned & took an oath of
allegiance
 When 10% of voters in each
state took the oath, the state
could form a government and
rejoin the Union
2 different views on Reconstruction
 Lincoln’s
plan was to rebuild the
South and restore the southern
states to the Union As soon as
possible.
 Congress wanted to punish the
South and monitor the treatment of
freedmen. Wanted to treat the
South like conquered provinces.
Presidential Reconstruction
Lincoln’s plan to reunite the south
 Would name an acting governor
for each state
 Southerners, except for
Confederate leaders would be
granted full citizenship rights
 A new state constitution must
include: declaring seccession null
and void, abolishing slavery, and
canceling all war debts
Presidential Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson’s plan
 Pardoned many Confederate leaders
 Allowed ex-Confederates to control
their state government, their land,
and black people
 furious with Johnson’s leadership, the
radical Republicans impeached him
(filing charges to remove from office),
however, he was saved from removal
Formal stages of Reconstruction



Presidential Reconstruction –
Abraham Lincoln & Andrew Johnson
attempted to quickly reunite the
country
Radical Reconstruction – Emphasized
civil rights & voting rights for the
Freedmen
Redemption – White supremacist
Southerners (redeemers) defeated
the republicans & took control of each
southern state. This marked the end
of Reconstruction
Henry McNeal Turner
 He
was one of the first African
Americans elected to the Georgia
state senate.
 He was expelled from office
because redeemers said that
while he had the right to vote he
did not have the right to hold
office.
Farming in the South
 Most
Freedmen were forced to
work as sharecroppers or
laborers, for jobs were not all
open to them.
 Sharecropper owned nothing but
their labor – rented land, tools,
farm animals, housing
 Tenant farmers owned farm
animals and equipment to use in
working other people’s lands –
rented the land
ClassWork
 Take
out your packet I gave you
Wednesday.
– Read and take notes from the KKK page
and the Changing in Farming page
– You have 10 minutes to complete this
activity
KU Klux Klan
Founded in 1866 in
Tennessee
 Originally used to
restore southern
Democrats to
power
 Attempted to
intimidate blacks
through
vigilantism

Reconstruction Revisited
 U.S.
Congress did not believe that
Georgia was “adequately
reconstructed” because of the KKK
 Georgia Act of 1869: Federal
Legislation returning Georgia to
military control because of KKK
terrorism against freedmen.
 Republicans were the political party
most associated with Reconstruction
in Georgia
End of Reconstruction
Republican Governor Rufus Bullock
resigned
 Radical Republicans lost interest in
helping southern blacks
 Congress granted amnesty
(forgiveness) to nearly all
Confederates, allowing them to hold
public office
 The Freedmen’s Bureau was abolished
 White conservative Democrats called
Redeemers took full control of
Georgia’s government
