Download Reconstruction

The War’s Aftermath
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Physical Toll
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67% of southern
shipping and 9,000 miles
of railroad destroyed
Farmland, machinery,
bridges, roads, factories,
and 1/3 of all livestock
were destroyed
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Human Toll
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North lost 364,000
soldiers, 38,000 of which
were African American.
South lost 260,000
soldiers, 20% of white
male population
Southern Hardships
Different
Groups
Suffered
Black Southerners
Plantation Owners
Poor Southerners
4 million freed slaves now
found themselves with no shelter,
and no work
$3 billion in slave labor vanished
Many sold property to pay debts,
as gov't seized land and cotton.
White migrant workers now faced
poor job prospects, as freed
slaves flooded the labor pool.
African Americans Respond to
Freedom
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Wanted to escape white control
Traveled
- Looked for family
Many officially married
Created own churches
Started schools
Land / Labor issues
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Freedmen wanted land
- Most never received it
South needed new labor system
- Landowners didn't have cash or labor
- laborers didn't have land
Both sides had trouble with new system
- Planters not used to bargaining for labor
- Freedmen thought wage was extra (landowners
still provided food, clothing , and shelter)
Reconstruction
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Lincoln didn't want to
punish south
- Assassinated by
John Wilkes Booth .
Andrew Johnson
becomes president
- Believed
reconstruction was
presidents' job
- Gave most white
southerners Amnesty
Reconstruction
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Freedmen’s Bureau - Gov. agency established
to distribute food and clothing to poor in the
south
- Also in charge of land that confederates
abandoned
- Divided it into
40 acre parcels a. couldn't sell it
Most whites regained land after President
Johnson pardoned them
Andrew Johnson
17th President

Personal:
• First Lady: Martha Johnson Patterson
• Education Level: No College
• Profession: Apprentice of a tailor, Tailor, Military
• Military Service: Brigadier General
Public Service:
• Dates of Presidency: 4/15/1865 - 3/3/1869
• Presidency Number: 17
• Number of Terms: 1
• Why Presidency Ended: Not nominated
• Party: Democratic
• His Vice President(s): None
• Vice President For: Abraham Lincoln (1865-1865)
• Senator: Tennessee (1857-1862), Tennessee (1875-1875)
Two Reconstruction Plans
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Lincoln’s plan
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Offered pardons to former
confederates who swore
loyalty to the Union.
Denied pardons to confederate
gov’t and military workers
Allowed states to hold
constitutional conventions
after 10% of population swore
allegiance
States could then hold
elections and participate in the
Union.
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Johnson’s plan
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Offered pardons to former
confederates who swore
loyalty to the Union.
Required states to hold
constitutional conventions,
regardless of 10%
participation.
States were required to void
secession, abolish slavery, and
ratify the 13th amendment.
States could then hold
elections and participate in the
Union.
Reviving the Old South
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Southern states rebuilt the same way as before
the war
Refused to Ratify the 13th Amendment Abolished slavery
Black codes - laws aimed returning freedmen
to plantation labor
Prohibited African Americans from meeting in
unsupervised groups or to bear
firearms
Black Codes
Curfews- black
Vagrancy laws
Labor contract
people not allowed Freedmen who didn’t Freedmen forced to
work could be fined,
sign 1-year work
to gather after
whipped, or sold for a contract. If broken,
sunset
year’s labor.
Women’s
Rights Limits
Land
Restrictions
Mothers forced to
work farm labor
instead of caring for
children at home.
Freedmen could only
rent land or live in
rural areas, forcing
plantation living.
they lost all wages.
Congress takes stand
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Congress has constitutional right to determine
whether members are qualified to hold office
It set up a committee to look into conditions in
the south and decide whether southern states
should be represented in Congress
Congress let the President Know that it
intended to play a role in Reconstruction
Republicans in Congress
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Outnumbered Democrats
Moderates - were against great change
- Wanted to work with President
- Were against abuses in south
- However felt that Fed. Gov. should stay out
of individuals and states affairs
Republicans in Congress Continued
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Radicals
- Had wanted to end slavery for a long time
- Now wanted equal citizenship for freedmen
-Wanted to change the south's politics and
economy
- Wanted small farms, free schools, respect for
labor, and political equality
Civil Rights Act
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Bill stated that person born in the U.S. were
citizens (excluded Indians)
President Johnson vetoed the bill
Congress overrode the veto with a 2/3 vote
- 1st time Congress had overrode a Presidents
veto
14th Amendment
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Congress wanted African American's rights protected in the
constitution
Stated that all people born in the U.S. were citizens and had
the same rights as citizens. (gave African Americans
citizenship).
Amendment also prevented states from depriving any person
of life, liberty, and property without due process of law.
It required states to allow Blacks to vote
- Stated that states would lose Reps in Congress if they didn't
President Johnson argued against the amendment
- Urged the south to reject it
- Every southern state except Tennessee did
Reconstruction Act of 1867
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Moderates angry at Johnson over 14th Amendment
Agreed to work with radicals
The act divided the south into 5 military districts
Prevented the pre war ruling class from voting 10 - 15
% of the population)
Explained how southern states could re-enter the
Union
- Had to approve new state constitutions that gave all
adult men the right to vote
- Had to ratify the 14th Amendment
Reconstruction act of 1867
Put the south
under
military rule,
with 5
generals
ruling 5
districts
Barred
confederate
supporters
from voting
Ordered
southern states
to hold new
elections to
create new state
constitutions
Required states
to allow all
male voters,
including
Africanamericans, to
vote
Required
southern states
to guarantee
equal rights to
all citizens
Required all
states to
ratify the 14th
amendment
New Order in the South
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1867 – Freedmen’s Bureau began registering voters
1. 735,000 Blacks
635,000 whites
¾ of the voters were Republicans
½ were whites who supported the north
- People who lived in up country poor and only grew
enough food for their families
- Blamed the planters for the states problems
- Called it the 'rich mans war
- Planters called them scalawags (scoundrels)
New Order in the South
Continued
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¼ were whites who moved
from north after war
- Called carpetbaggers
(stuffed belongings into
suitcase and headed south)
- In reality they brought
capital
¼ were African Americans
who had been free before
the war
- Ministers, Teachers Skilled
workers
Republican South
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Carpetbaggers
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Northern republicans
who moved south during
reconstruction were
named this by
southerners, as many
southerners felt they
rushed south for nothing
more than personal
fortune.
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Scalawags
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To be a southern white
who was republican was
to be a traitor in many
eyes, and these people
were named scalawags,
hated by many native
southerners.
Reconstruction Legislation
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Gov. began rebuilding the south
- Used property tax to raise money
- Planters had least power and had to pay most tax
Republicans hoped they would have to give up land
- It could then be divided and sold to create small
farms
- Some people had to give up land
- Very little land ended up in the hands of the poor
President Johnson is Impeached
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Johnson had worked against reconstruction
while obeying its laws
- He appointed people Friendly to ex
confederate military commanders in south
1867 Congress passed law that prevented
president from firing cabinet
Members
President Johnson is Impeached
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Johnson opposed the law tested it
Feb 1868 - Johnson fired
(Secretary of War) Edwin
Stanton due to disagreement over
Reconstruction
- 3 days later the House of Reps.
Voted to impeach the president
Senate acts as jury (needs 2/3 vote
to remove president)
- Fell-one vote shy
- Tradition of strong president
remained intact
15th Amendment
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States that the right to vote should not be
denied on account of race, color, or previous
condition of servitude (didn't apply to Indians)
Aimed at the entire country
- African Americans couldn't vote in 16 states
at this time
Grant Elected President
18th President
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1868 - Ulysses S. Grant
Elected President
Had republican support
in both the north and
south
Rise of the Ku Klux Klan
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Secret group formed after the war to control
elections
- Wanted to keep blacks powerless
- Targeted prosperous and educated blacks
(Some were lynched)
Helped the Democratic party
- Used terror to achieve goals
Grant vs. Klan
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1st Grant tried to avoid conflict
with the Klan
It became impossible to ignore the
Klan's terror in the south.
Grant asked Congress to pass a
tough anti - Klan law (It does)
Fed. Gov acts against the Klan
- U.S. marshals arrest thousands of
Klansmen
Elections of 1872 are fair and safe
(wouldn't last)
Reconstruction Ends
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Election of 1876
- Democrats chose Samuel Tilden
- Republicans chose Rutherford B. Hayes
Election so close that victory depended on
electoral votes in South Carolina, Louisiana,
and Florida (Votes were in dispute)
Congress had to settle election dispute
- Appointed a committee which resolved the
problem with an understanding
Reconstruction Ends
Continued
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Compromise of 1877
- Hayes becomes president
- Agreed to remove Federal troops from the
south
Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction
Blacks and northerners lost their chance at
equality
Rutherford B. Hayes
19th President
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
• Education Level: Graduate
• School Attended: Kenyon
College, Harvard Law School
• Profession: Military, Lawyer
• Military Service: Major
General
Public Service:
• Dates of Presidency: 3/4/1877 3/3/1881
• Presidency Number: 19
• Number of Terms: 1
• Why Presidency Ended:
Retired
• Party: Republican
Reasons for loss of interest in
Reconstruction & Republicans
Reconstruction was
marked by heavy
taxes and spending,
plunging the south
into deeper debt.
Reconstruction came
to symbolize greed,
corruption, and poor
government practices.
White southerners
gained control of
government decisions
as soon as federal
forces withdrew to
the north
White-dominated
states blocked
reconstruction
policies
Northern voters never
fully supported racial
equality as the
Radicals did.
Nationwide economic
downturn diverted
attention from
reconstruction.
Successes of Reconstruction
Union was
rebuilt and
South rebuilt
as well
Stimulated
Economic
growth in the
south and new
wealth in the
north
Freedmen’
bureau
helped blacks
get on their
feet.
Southern states
began a
program of
public
education
14th and 15th
amendments
gave former
slaves full
rights
Failures of Reconstruction
Blacks remained Southern
governments and
in a cycle of
KKK denied
poverty
Racist attitudes
continued, both in
the north and the
south
Whites in the
south remained
very bitter about
the federal gov’t.
Didn’t address
railroad
regulation, or
women’s
suffrage.
freedmen the right
to vote
South remained
slow to
industrialize.
Economy was
slow as well.
Sharecropping
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Farmers and their families rent a piece of land
- Landowners supplied tools, seed, and housing
- Farmer gave landowner part of their crops
Farmers and landowners had different goals
- Farmers wanted to subsistence farm
- Landowners wanted cash crops
Most farmers were forced to buy food from the country store
- Usually owned by the landowner (never ending debt)
South paid heavy price for depending on cotton.
- It ruined the soil
- South had to import more than ½ its food
Sharecropping in the South 1880
New Southern Farming Methods
Sharecropping
A family would work a
portion of planter’s land, and
in exchange, the planter
would provide the family
with shelter, and a portion of
the crop’s yield at harvest
time, to be sold by the family
for money
Some planters would evict a
family after the harvest,
without pay; others would
charge the family for
housing, and after the
harvest, the family would
still be in debt, and therefore
trapped on the plantation like
slaves.
Tenant farming
Similar to sharecropping, but
the farmer and/or family
would rent the land from
someone, thus having the
freedom to choose what to
plant and when to work.
This held a higher social
status.
This was the goal for most
poor whites in the rural
south. Farming one’s own
crop with one’s own labor
was, in a small measure, a
position of some freedom
and profit.
Growth of Industries in the South
Many people wanted the south to move away from
farming

Henry Grady - editor
of the Atlanta
Constitution urged the
south to turn to industry
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James B. Duke Became wealthy in the
tobacco business
1. 1881 - purchased the
1st cigarette making
machine
Segregated South
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After reconstruction division grew between
blacks and whites
Jim Crowe Laws - made segregation official
(Jim Crowe was a term often used to refer
African Americans)
1896 - Plessey vs. Ferguson U.S. Supreme
Court rules that segregation is legal as long as
facilities for Blacks and whites were equal
Solid South
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South's nickname due to its solid support for
the Democratic Party
Whites kept power by preventing Blacks from
voting
- Intimidation
- Poll Taxes
- Literacy Test
African Americans Organize
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Booker T. Washington
founded the National
Negro Business League
He said that Blacks
needed to learn a useful
trade rather than
demanding social
equality from the
Government
Important Facts
Date
Legislation
Purpose
1865
13th amendment
Abolishes slavery
1865,1866
Freedmen’s bureau
Provides services for
freed slaves
1867
Reconstruction Acts
Establishes Radical
Reconstruction
1868
14th Amendment
Defines citizenship, gives
basic rights to all
1870
15th Amendment
Guarantees voting rights
to all men
1875
Civil Rights Act
Protects African American’s
rights in public