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Reconstruction
Reconstruction
Robert E. Lee’s surrender to
Ulysses S. Grant at
Appomattox Courthouse in
Virginia – 1865 brought an
end to the Civil War.
Reconstruction was the federal government’s plan
to rebuild and re-establish the states of the former
Confederacy. In short, Reconstruction was the
period when the federal government tried to rebuild
the South and restore the Union after the Civil War.
"Reconstruction of the South." In this idealized portrait of the free soil and free labor America of
the north, Federal generals lead the way toward peace. George Thomas beats swords into plows
while Philip Sheridan holds a scythe ready for the harvest. Other generals work a bellows, turn a
cannon into water piping to run a mill, and offer jobs to skilled laborers. The freedmen run to
educator George Peabody and the white children at his feet who proclaim "Come here and learn
to be a citizen." The South would be reconstructed in the mold of this modern America; the
patriarchal, agricultural South was to be no more. 1867 lithograph by John Smith of Philadelphia.
Reconstruction
The Civil War and
Reconstruction resulted in:
1) Southern white resentment
(irritation) toward both
Northerners and Southern
African-Americans.
2) Reconstruction ultimately
led to the political, economic,
and social control of the South
by whites.
3) Unfortunately, the
economic and political gains of
former slaves were
temporary.
"We Accept the Situation." A Reconstruction
political cartoon which depicts the freedman
going to cast his vote while the
disenfranchised former Confederate glumly
looks on. Many southern whites bitterly
resented the transfer of political power to
their former slaves. Thomas Nast cartoon.
Lincoln’s Plan
A Thomas Nast cartoon regarding
Reconstruction. Here, Columbia is
replacing the seceded states in the
Union. She has laid down her sword and
shield and now proclaims "Let us have
peace." She advances under the banner
"Equal Rights, With Malice Towards None
And Charity To All." This was the symbolic
picture of the U.S. now that the war was
over and Reconstruction begun.
Lincoln believed that since
secession was illegal,
Confederate governments in the
Southern states were illegitimate
(not legal governments) and the
states had never really left the
Union.
As a result, Lincoln believed that
Reconstruction in the Southern
states was a matter of quickly
restoring legitimate state
governments that were loyal to
the Union.
Lincoln’s Plan
Lincoln also believed that once the war was over, the federal
government should not punish the South. Instead, it should
reunify the nation as quickly as possible. In his second inaugural
address President Lincoln outlined how he believed the United
States government should act during Reconstruction.
President Abraham Lincoln entering
Richmond on April 4, 1865, one day after
Federal troops had captured the city. Touring
the still smoldering ruins of the Confederate
capital, Lincoln first visited the Richmond
home of Jefferson Davis and sat at his desk.
Then, with an escort of only ten sailors, he
walked the streets of Richmond, where he
was soon surrounded by a crowd of former
slaves shouting "Glory to God! Glory! Glory!
Glory!" Some reached out to touch Lincoln to
make sure he was real. Engraving by J. C.
Buttre.
Lincoln’s Plan
Lincoln said, “With malice towards none, with charity
for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the
right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up
the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the
battle and for his widow and his orphan – to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves
and with all nations.”
Lincoln’s Assassination
Just a few days
after Lee’s
surrender at
Appomattox,
JohnWilkes Booth
assassinated
Abraham Lincoln
at Ford’s Theatre
in Washington,
D.C.
The executions of Lewis Paine, George Atzerodt, David Herold, and Mary Surratt
for their roles in the conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. A military tribunal
was set up to try eight people accused of being Booth's accomplices. All eight
were found guilty of having participated in the plot to varying degrees. Three were
given life sentences in prison and a fourth was sentenced to six years.
The other four (including
Mrs. Surratt, who was
probably innocent) were
sentenced to die by
hanging. Their sentence
was carried out on July
7, 1865. The others
convicted (with the
exception of one who
had died in prison) were
pardoned by President
Andrew Johnson in
1869. Accused
conspirator John Surratt
was extradited from
Egypt in 1866, but was
acquitted.
Andrew Johnson Succeeds Lincoln
Vice President Andrew
Johnson succeeded Lincoln
as president.
Johnson Clashed with the
Radical Republicans were
members of the Republican
party, who wanted to punish
the former Confederate states
for causing the Civil War.
Radical Republicans believed congress had the constitutional
right to control Reconstruction.
They gained control of congress and passed policy that
included the military occupation of the South, and insistence
on civil rights for African Americans
Military Reconstruction
The Military Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the
former Confederate states into five military districts. The
occupation forces were to guarantee that Federal
Reconstruction policies were followed.
A southern legislature during the
"Carpetbagger" days. An engraving
from a drawing by A. Bertall.
This legislation also turned out the
sitting state governments which
had very closely resembled the
southern state governments of
1861. New elections were
scheduled and new state
constitutions were to be drawn up,
incorporating the 13th and 14th
amendments to the U.S.
Constitution and giving freedmen
the vote, before the states could be
readmitted to the Union.
Military Reconstruction
The Radical
Republicans
refused to allow
the Confederate
states to reenter
the Union until
they had
undergone a
period of military
occupation.
In other words, the former Confederate states under the rule of
a general in the U.S. Army, and American military troops
remained stationed in the South.
Civil Rights for African Americans
The Radical Republicans, who
controlled Congress, repeatedly
clashed with President Johnson
over the issue of civil rights for
freedmen (freed slaves). Johnson,
who had succeeded Lincoln as
president, was a native of Tennessee,
racially prejudiced, and unwilling to
extend citizenship rights to former
slaves.
The Provost Guard in New Orleans rounding up vagrant former slaves, 1864.
What alarmed many Radical Republicans about the state governments created
under Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plans was their treatment of newly
freed African Americans. Such persons' freedom was sharply curtailed in states
like Louisiana by codes and vagrancy laws that were designed to keep
freedmen under tight control, working primarily as unskilled laborers.
Johnson’s
Impeachment
The Radical Republicans
became so frustrated with
Johnson’s efforts to prevent
their program on behalf of
freedmen that the House of
Representatives impeached
him. However, the United
States Senate failed by one
vote to remove President
Johnson from office.
Impeachment
Impeachment - bringing an official to trial for misconduct Under
the Constitution – the act of Impeachment means bringing formal
charges it is not a conviction
Impeachment is one of the checks the Legislative branch has over
the executive branch.
Only the House or Representatives brings formal charges
(impeaches)
Only the Senate can remove the President because it sits as the
jury at the President’s impeachment.
If two-thirds of the senators vote to convict the president, then he
is removed from office.
Radical Republicans fail to remove Andrew Johnson from office by
a single vote.
Impeachment Results
 Weakens Johnson’s Presidency
 Enables Radical Republicans to pass most
of their Reconstruction into law
 Included the 13th, 14th and 15th
Amendments to the US Constitution
Note – The 13th
Amendment was passed
before Lincoln was
assassinated, but is
included as part of the
Radical Republican
Agenda
Civil War Amendments
To carry out their program to help
African-Americans the Radical
Republicans added three
amendments to the United States
Constitution. These three
amendments, known as the “Civil
War Amendments”, were a
major political result of the Civil
War and Reconstruction.
Thirteenth Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment permanently
abolished (ended) African-American slavery in
the United States.
House of Representatives on January 31,
1865, voted for the Thirteenth Amendment
to the Constitution, which abolished
slavery.
Ratified by three-fourths of the states on
December 18, 1865, removing any
lingering doubt about the legality of
emancipation.
President Andrew Johnson, who had
succeeded Lincoln as president,
reluctantly agreed to include ratification of
this amendment as a requirement for
readmission of the former Confederate
states to the Union as part of his
reconstruction plan.
Fourteenth Amendment
A New York City African-American parade in
support of the 15th Amendment, April 1870.
The Fourteenth
Amendment granted
American
citizenship to all
African-Americans
and said no state
could “deny…any
person within its
jurisdiction the equal
protection of the
laws.”
In other words, the Fourteenth Amendment prohibited the
states from denying any American equal rights under the law.
Fifteenth Amendment
The Fifteenth
Amendment gave
African-American
males the right to
vote by
guaranteeing voting
rights regardless of
“race, color, or
previous condition
of servitude”
(slavery).
Civil Rights for African Americans
Second, the Radical Republicans
also believed in aggressively
guaranteeing voting and other
civil rights to African-Americans.
A primary school for freedmen at
Vicksburg, Mississippi. An
important part of Radical
Reconstruction was the passage
of the Freedmen's Bureau Bill.
Established on March 3, 1865,
this Bureau played an important
role in helping the former slaves
adjust to their new lives.
Civil War/Reconstruction
Social and Economic Results
First, the Southern states were left devastated
during the Civil War.
Farms, railroads, and factories had been
destroyed throughout the South
Confederate money was worthless
Cities of Richmond and Atlanta lay in ruins.
Civil War/Reconstruction
Social and Economic Results
Labor force in the
South changed.
Many land
owners died
during the war
and slavery
ended South
would remain the
poorest section
for decades.
This 1884 scene on a Mississippi cotton plantation reflected
southern agricultural practices and a society that had
changed little since before the war.
Civil War/Reconstruction
Social and Economic Results
Second
Because manufacturing necessary to support the
Northern war machine, the North and
Midwest had developed strong industrial
economies
Growth in industry contributed
to the industrialization of
the entire nation, except the
South By the 20th century, the
US becomes a global economic power
Civil War/Reconstruction
Social and Economic Results
Third,
First Transcontinental Railroad
completed at Promontory, Utah.
(Transcontinental – across the
continent)
Linked the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
Encouraged the westward movement
of settlers into the states between
the Mississippi River and
Atlantic Ocean
A Union Pacific Railroad
advertisement for the grand
opening of the first
transcontinental railroad, May
10, 1869. The railroad barons'
race to complete a
transcontinental rail passage
was interrupted by the Civil War,
but resumed almost immediately
after Appomattox.
Important Figures During Reconstruction
Both Robert E Lee and Ulysses S. Grant urged reconciliation
between the North and South
Grant
 Grant Urged Radical
Republicans not to be harsh
with former Confederates
 Grant elected President in
1868 and served during most of
the Reconstruction Period
 He supported civil and voting
rights for the freedmen and
opposed payback for the
defeated South
Lee
 Encouraged South to
reconcile with the North.
 President of Washington
College (Now Washington
& Lee University)
 Emphasized the importance
of education
Important Figures During
Reconstruction
Frederick
Became leading spokesperson for
Douglass
African Americans
Argued for full equality and adoption
of the 14th and 15th amendments.
Encouraged federal government
actions to protect rights of freedmen
in the South
Served as ambassador to Haiti
Held other jobs in the federal civil
service (Civil Service jobs are
Government jobs)
Electoral College
A map of the votes in the
1876 election. The election
was extremely close, resting
on the contested election
returns from four states.
Under the Constitution, the
electoral college is the group of
people who cast the official votes
that elect the President and Vice
President.
A candidate must win a majority
of electoral votes to win.
A state’s number of electoral
votes equals its total
representation in Congress, which
is its number of members in the
House of Representatives plus
two for its U.S. senators.
Electoral votes are the official
votes for President.
Election of 1876
The Reconstruction
period ended following
the extremely close
presidential election of
1876. In return for
support in the electoral
vote from Southern
Democrats, the
Republicans agreed to end
the military occupation of
the South.
Rutherford B. Hayes
Compromise of 1877
Because the election was contested, a group of Southern
Congressmen made a deal with Republican leaders
Known as the Compromise of 1877, Southern Democrats
agreed to accept Rutherford B. Hayes as elected
(Republican) President in return to
end of Reconstruction in the South
This political deal returned former
Confederates who controlled the
Democratic party to power in the
Southern states.
This forms the “Solid South” which will
from then on vote for Democratic candidates in their
elections.
Jim Crow Era
The end of Reconstruction opened the
door to the “Jim Crow Era,” the
period in which Southern states
required racial segregation
(separation) of blacks and whites in
public schools, transportation, and
other public facilities.
This sharecropper plowing his field in 1901
would have been disenfranchised by poll
taxes and "grandfather clauses," and rigidly
segregated by "Jim Crow" laws in schools,
hotels, hospitals, and other public facilities.
Jim Crow Era
During the era of Jim Crow, AfricanAmericans in the South lost most of
the political gains they had made
during Reconstruction, including the
right to vote and sit on juries. In
short, Reconstruction’s end marked
the beginning of a long period in
which African-Americans in the
South were denied the full rights of
American citizenship.
Established in 1866 as a social club in Pulaski, Tennessee, the Klan soon took
on a more sinister role as the terror arm of the Democratic party in the South.
Made up of white men from all classes of southern society, its members
disguised themselves, in robes and hoods, intimidating and killing African
Americans and white members of the Republican party. The Klan's goal was to
reestablish white supremacy by overthrowing the Reconstruction governments.