Download African Americans

"You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I
will. War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it;
and those who brought war into our country
deserve all the curses and maledictions a people
can pour out. I know I had no hand in making
this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices
to-day than any of you to secure peace."
Reconstruction
PUTTING THE SOUTH
BACK TOGETHER
after the
CIVIL WAR
Reconstruction
• Most Former Slaves were quick and diligent
in throwing off the “Shackles of slavery”
• Many were freed as the Union Army
advanced nearer to their town / community.
• Most Refused to listen to their Master once
Union Army was near.
• Most White former slave holders were
surprised by the exuberance shown by former
slaves to rid themselves of remnants of their
old life!
• 13th Amendment = Outlawed slavery in the USA.
(1865)
Major Changes for Blacks
• Freedom- To move wherever you wanted!
– To reunite families separated by slavery for years.
– To form new groups aimed at promoting their
interests.
• Education-90% of adult freed people were
illiterate
– Slave codes prohibited education of black children
– Most Black children were taught by white teachers
– 1865-1870-Over 30 colleges established for African
Americans.
• Many wanted to participate in all that they had
previously been denied.
Freedmen’s School
Northern Politicians
• They needed to figure
out how to protect
African Americans in the
South.
• At the same time, many
wanted to punish former
Confederates loyal to the
South during the Civil
War.
• Two Plans for
Reconstruction would
develop.
Lincoln’s Plan for
Reconstruction
1.) Pardons-Let former Confederates swear allegiance
to the Union and accept the end of slavery-not
punished!
Exclusions- Confederate Officers and Government Officials.
2.) 10% rule- Once 10% of people who had voted in 1860
took oath, state could select reps for Const.
Convention.
3.) 13th Amendment-Once delegates formally endorsed
the end of slavery, they are readmitted to the Union.
Freedmen’s Bureau- Created by Congress in March of 1865 to
provide aid (Money) to freed people and help them make the
adjustment from slavery to freedom. 250,000 former slaves went
to school!
Many politicians opposed Lincoln’s plan- Not Restrictive
Responses to Lincoln’s
Plan
Wade/Davis Bill of 1864
• Made it almost impossible for
Southern states to rejoin the
Union.
• Military Governors in
southern states.
• Majority of whites swear
allegiance, a constitutional
convention could be called.
• Each state's constitution was
to be required
to would
abolishbe
In order to qualify for the franchise,
a person
repudiate
secession,
required to take an oath that heslavery,
had never
voluntarily
given
and disqualify Confederate
aid to the Confederacy
officials from voting or
holding office.
Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth
• 17th President of the
New
USA.
President • Had been a Southerner.
• Raised in North
Carolina.
• Former Democrat!
• Senator from TN.
• Had been a tailor, and at
one time was illiterate.
• With help from his wife
he became a politician.
• Hepardons
was sympathetic
to
In 1865 alone he granted 13,000
to former
Confederates!
the plight of southerners!
Johnson’s Plan
1.) Delegates to each state Convention were
expected to write a Constitution that
voided secession, eliminated slavery and
ratified the 13th Amendment.
2.) Stop payment of all State’s War debts!
3.) They could elect new state office holders
and members of Congress once they had
accomplished that!
MOST SOUTHERN STATES TRIED TO FIND
WAYS AROUND JOHNSON’S PLAN!
The Black Codes
• They were laws in the South created to restrict the
liberties of African Americans.
• Many towns imposed curfews, enacted labor
restrictions, and passed Vagrancy Laws.
• Example: Any black not gainfully employed would
be arrested and sent to labor gang to pay off debt!
• Many Whites used Black Codes as a way to “keep
blacks in their place.”
• Almost another form of slavery!
Johnson and Congress
• Neither could agree on
best way to move
forward and protect
Blacks in South.
March 1866-Civil Rights Act
– Proposed Equal Rights
under the law for all
Blacks.
– President Johnson vetoed
it!
– Congress over rode his
veto and passed the law.
– It was fairly meaningless
because there was no
guideline for enforcement.
14th Amendment
• Everyone who was
born or naturalized
here was a citizen of
the United States.
• No state could restrict
the right to life, liberty
and property without
due process of the law.
• Also gives Congress
sole power to pardon
Confederate soldiers,
not President!
Military Reconstruction Act
1867
• South is divided into 5 Military
Districts.
• States in these districts would
be ruled by former Northern
Generals.
• Each state must guarantee
Equal Rights for all citizens and
permit African Americans to
vote.
• Also must ratify the 14th
Amendment.
Tenure of Office Act
• If the President wanted to
dismiss or fire a cabinet
member previously
confirmed by the Senate,
the Senate also had to
approve of the firing!
• Johnson tried to fire
Secretary of War &
Congress said it was
Unconstitutional.
• They voted to impeach him
and hold a formal trial in
the Senate!
•Spring 1868-Johnson is
formally charged with
crimes.
•Trial took place on the
floor of the Senate.
•The Attorney General was
Johnson’s lead attorney.
•Requires 2/3 majority for
conviction.
•Final tally fell one vote
short of conviction.
15th Amendment
• March 1870-Ratified
– No State could restrict the
right to vote because of race,
color or previous condition of
servitude.
• It was partly inspired by
election of 1868.
• No restrictions on voting
rights other than citizenship
and registration procedures!
Carpetbaggers
• In order to push
Reconstruction forward in
the South, Republicans
needed to be in office there!
• Carpetbaggers were
Northern Republicans
who moved to the South
after the Civil War.
• Term refers to the type of
Most Southerners thought they
suitcase many of them
were there to take advantage of
carried.
the situation!
Scalawags
• These were Southern
people who had
switched their loyalty to
the North!
• Term actually means
rascal.
• They were interested in
the economic benefits
that Reconstruction could
provide for them!
There were some scalawags who had served Confederacy but most did
not!
Advancements made….
• Over 1,000 African Americans attended State
constitutional Conventions between 1867 and 1869.
• 16 African Americans went to Congress in the years
after the Civil War.
• Republicans focused their attention on improving
education for former slaves…that was the key to
success!
United States Senator from
MS in 1870
United States Senator from
MS in 1874
Blanche K. Bruce
Hiram K. Revels
“Gospel of Prosperity”
Many people tried to recreate the lifestyle that slavery had made
possible for them before the Civil War.
Two attempts
• Debt Peonage:
– Planters signed former
slaves to labor contracts
– Money was advanced for
supplies and tools and
listed as debt owed!
– Once crop was harvested,
a % of crop had to go to
pay for debt first!
– Debt always increased,
while wages did not!
• Sharecropping
– White landowners rent
land to former slaves
for planting.
– 1/3 of all harvested crops
go to the landlord.
– Low prices in the
marketplace made it hard
for many to survive.
– Those who did were dirt
poor!
Southern Retaliation
• Eventually the South turns to
violence as a way to keep the
black man in line!
• Ku Klux Klan formed in TN in
1866 by former Confederate
soldiers!
• Members met in secret and
wore white hoods and robes.
• Most were upper class citizens
who had wanted to preserve
the Southern tradition of
Superiority!
Foundations of the KLAN
Klan Founder
• General Nathan Bedford
Forrest.
• Each person took an oath
“to defend the social and
political superiority of the
white race”
• They wanted to stop the
“aggression” that inferior
races were pushing
forward with!
• Main tools are fear &
intimidation!
Congressional Reaction
Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871
• Designed to destroy and
cripple the KKK.
• Outlawed the
organization and
meeting of KKK groups
in Military districts of the
South.
• This was really a moot
point because the KKK
had already succeeded in
terrorizing blacks!
US Grant 1869-1877
• Ulysses S. Grant turned
his military successes into
a successful Presidency.
• He was unconcerned with
effects that Military
redistricting would have
on the South.
• He put people in place
within Administration that
would “put the hammer
down!”
Rutherford B. Hayes 18771881
• This will effectively end
Reconstruction!
• He actually lost the
popular vote to Samuel
Tilden.
• But, full Congressional
rights were not granted to
all former Confederate
States, so decision would
be fair if decided in
Congress
Hayes claimed he had won
• He disputed the vote counts
in Florida, Louisiana and
South Carolina.
• Congress launches an
investigation into the matter.
• Hayes uses his political
influence to get word to
commission members that if
he is chosen as President,
he will do away with
military districts and
troops in the South!
Disputed Votes!
Compromise of 1877
• The Commission was packed
with more Republicans than
Democrats.
• Democrats had enough
strength in Congress to
reject the findings.
• But not enough to stop back
room, shady deals.
• Hayes trades the lives of
southern African
Americans for the
Presidency!
The Gilded Age
• Civil War Impacted the American Economy
especially in the North!
• Supplies for Union soldiers kept many businesses
busy during the War.
• And immediately after the War, they swooped down
on the former Confederate states like vultures on a
gut wagon!
• Industrial Production rose in the USA by 75 %
between 1865 and 1873!
• Railroads set the pace for this economic development
Railroads brought
corruption
Credit Mobilier Scandal
• This was a dummy
corporation set up by the
Union Pacific RR
• The shareholders of the
Railroads created the
finance company so that
they could pay themselves
with Government grants
given to the Railroad!
•
Social Issues were
abandoned
Women -Many in North and
South had helped to care for
soldiers.
– Once war was over, they were
largely ignored by politicians.
• Labor Unions -were pressing
for the rights of factory
workers.
• Immigrants -wanted
protection under the law!
• Anti-Slavery Crusadersaccomplished their goal but
still had work to do!
Elizabeth
Susan
Cady
B. Anthony
Stanton
Reality is that Reconstruction allowed for a
different form of slavery to exist in the
South.
African Americans were no longer bound by
chains and shackles but instead by
segregation and Black Codes.
JIM CROW Would rule the South until the
20th Century and even still today!
Race Relations are still an issue!