Download Chapter 16: The Agony of Reconstruction, 1863-1877 (#1)

CHAPTER 16: THE AGONY OF RECONSTRUCTION, 1863-1877 (#1)
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African Americans struggled to become equal citizens of a democratic republic
produced a number of remarkable leaders
o Robert Smalls
 had a white father whose identity has never been clearly established
 allowed to live and work independently, hiring his own time from a master who may
have been his half brother
 working on a Confederate steamship called the Planter
 took command of the vessel and its slave crew, sailed out of the heavily fortified harbor,
and surrendered to the Union navy
 turned into a Union army transport, and Smalls became its captain after being
commissioned as an officer
 served in the South Carolina constitutional convention, in the state legislature, and for
several terms in the U.S. Congress
 able to control local government and get himself elected to Congress even after the
election of 1876 placed the state under the control of white conservatives who wanted
to deprive blacks of power
 champion of free and compulsory education
o loss of real political clout for Smalls and men like him was one of the tragic consequences of the
fall of Reconstruction
The President Versus Congress
- problem of how to reconstruct the Union – one of the most difficult and perplexing challenges faced by
American policymakers
- how far should the government go to secure freedom and civil rights for 4 million former slaves?
- White House – favored the minimal approach
- Congress – endorsed the more radical and thoroughgoing form of Reconstruction
o led to the most serious clash between two branches of government in the nation’s history
- Wartime Reconstruction
o Lincoln never set forth a final and comprehensive plan
 were initiatives that indicated he favored a lenient and conciliatory policy toward
Southerners who would give up the struggle and repudiate slavery
o December (1863) – issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction – offered a full
pardon to all Southerners (with the exception of certain classes of Confederate leaders) who
would take on oath of allegiance to the Union and acknowledge the legality of emancipation
 after 10% or more had taken the oath, they were authorized to set up a loyal
government
 by 1864 Louisiana and Arkansas had fully functioning Unionist governments
 became known as the 10% Plan or Presidential Reconstruction
 was meant to shorten the war
 hoped to further his emancipation policy by insisting that the new governments abolish
slavery – believed that this was crucial if the courts or a future Democratic
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administration were to disallow or revoke the Emancipation Proclamation (especially
before Lincoln’s re-election in 1864 and Congress’s passage of the 13th Amendment)
o Congress was unhappy – 1864 they refused to seat the Unionists elected to the House and
Senate from Louisiana and Arkansas
 strongly anti-slavery Radicals – favored protection for black rights as a precondition for
the readmission of southern states
 were upset because Lincoln had not insisted the constitution makers provide for
black male suffrage
 did not trust the repentant Confederates who would play a major role in the new
governments
 feared that hypocritical oath taking would allow the old ruling class to return to power
and cheat the North of its impending victory
o Lincoln – operated on the theory that secession being illegal, did not place the Confederate
states outside the Union in a constitutional sense
 President could use his pardoning power
o dominant view in Congress – the southern states had forfeited their place in the Union and that
it was up to Congress to decide when and how they would be readmitted
 Congress passed a Reconstruction bill of its own in July 1864 – the Wade-Davis Bill
 required that 50% of voters take an oath of future loyalty before the restoration
process could begin
 those who had never willingly supported the Confederacy could vote in an
election for delegates to the constitutional convention
o did not require black suffrage
 did give federal courts the power to enforce emancipation
o Lincoln exercised a pocket veto by refusing to sign the bill before Congress adjourned
 did not want to be committed to any single Reconstruction plan
o in his last months in office, Lincoln showed some willingness to compromise
 seemed receptive to the setting of other conditions – perhaps including black suffrage –
for readmission of those states where wartime conditions had prevented execution of
his plan
Andrew Johnson at the Helm
o Andrew Johnson – attempted to put the Union back together on his own authority in 1865
 policies eventually set him at odds with Congress
o had been a tailor and an effective stump speaker
 spokesman for Tennessee’s non-slaveholding whites and the most successful politician
in the state
o went from state legislator to congressman to governor and was elected to the U.S. Senate
 only senator from a Confederate state who remained loyal to the Union and continued
to serve in Washington
 had objected only to the fact that slaveholding was the privilege of a wealthy minority
o Johnson – endorsed Lincoln’s emancipation policy
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saw it as a means of destroying the power of the hated planter class rather than as a
recognition of black humanity
apparent agreement with the Radicals that ex-Confederates should be severely treated
 seemed likely to punish southern “traitors” – by preventing them from regaining
political influence
Johnson’s Reconstruction policy – placed North Carolina and eventually other states under
appointed provisional governors chosen from prominent southern politicians who had opposed
the secession movement and had rendered no conspicuous service to the Confederacy
 governors were responsible for calling constitutional conventions and ensuring that only
“loyal” whites were permitted to vote for delegates
 taking the oath of allegiance that Lincoln had prescribed earlier
 Confederate leaders and former officeholders who had participated in the rebellion
were excluded
 those in the exempted categories had to apply for individual presidential
pardons
 also included all those possessing taxable property exceeding $20,000 in value
sought to prevent his longtime adversaries – the wealthy planters – from participating in the
Reconstruction of southern state governments
conventions met:
 1. declare the ordinances of secession illegal
 2. repudiate the Confederate debt
 3. ratify the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery
 president assumed that the Reconstruction process would be complete and that
the ex-Confederate states could regain their full rights under the Constitution
delegates in several states approved the recommendations begrudgingly or with certain
qualifications
resulting constitutions – limited suffrage to whites (disappointing the large number of
Northerners who had hoped that at least some African Americans – maybe those who were
educated or had served in the Union army – would be allowed to vote)
Johnson – seemed to be willing to allow southern white majorities a free hand in determining
the civil and political status of the freed slaves
“Black Codes” – passed under the new state constitutions by the elected state legislatures
 subjected former slaves to a variety of special regulations / restrictions on their freedom
 vagrancy and apprenticeship laws
 forced African Americans to work and denied them a free choice of employers
 prevented them from testifying in court on the same basis as whites
 were subject to a separate penal code
 looked suspiciously like slavery
many northerners were upset when a number of prominent ex-Confederate leaders were
elected to Congress
 Johnson was generous in granting pardons to members of the old elite who came to him
 granted them special amnesty so they could serve
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o House and Senate – refused to seat the recently elected southern delegation
 Congress established a joint committee to review Reconstruction policy and set further
conditions for readmission of the seceded states
Congress Takes the Initiative
o clash between Johnson and Congress was a matter of principle and could not be reconciled
o Johnson – disagreed with the majority of Congress on what Reconstruction was supposed to
accomplish
 wanted to restore the prewar federal system as quickly as possible and without change
(except that states would not have the right to legalize slavery or secede)
o Republicans – wanted firm guarantees that the old southern ruling class would not regain
regional power and national influence by devising new ways to subjugate blacks
 worried about increased southern strength in Congress and the electoral college
 favored a Reconstruction policy that would give the federal government authority to
limit the political role of ex-Confederates and provide some protection for black
citizenship
 did believe that all citizens must have the same basic rights and opportunities –
regardless of natural abilities
o southern blacks – whatever their shortcomings, were likely to be loyal to
the Republican party that had emancipated them
o Johnson – vetoed two bills that had passed with over-whelming Republican support
 1. extended the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau – a temporary agency set up to aid the
former slaves by providing relief, education, legal help, and assistance in obtaining land
or employment
 2. civil rights bill – meant to nullify the Black Codes and guarantee to the newly
freedmen “full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person
and property as is enjoyed by white citizens”
 Civil Rights Act – won the 2/3 majority necessary to override his veto
o president was now hopelessly at odds with most of the congressman
from what was supposed to be his own party
o Johnson – helped found the National Union movement – to promote his plan to readmit
southern states to the Union without further qualifications
o the Republican majority – passed the 14th Amendment
 gave the federal government responsibility for guaranteeing equal rights under the law
to all Americans
 amendment was sent to the states with the understanding that Southerners would not
be readmitted to Congress unless their states ratified it
o Johnson – opposed the amendment, believed it created a “centralized” government and denied
states the right to manage their own affairs
 counseled southern state legislatures to reject it
o bloody race riots broke out in New Orleans and Memphis
 atrocities against blacks made it clear that the existing southern state governments
were failing abysmally to protect the “life, liberty, or property” of the ex-slaves
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o Republican majority in Congress increased to a solid 2/3 in both houses
 Radical wing of the party gained strength at the expense of moderates and
conservatives
Congressional Reconstruction Plan Enacted
o Congress in 1867 and 1868 passed a series of acts that nullified the president’s initiatives and
reorganized the South on a new basis
o Radical Reconstruction – actually represented a compromise between genuine Radicals and
more moderate elements within the party
 a program of “regeneration before Reconstruction” required an extended period of
military rule, confiscation and redistribution of large landholdings among the freedmen,
and federal aid to schools to educated blacks and whites for citizenship
o First Reconstruction Act
 placed the South under the rule of the army by reorganizing the region into 5 military
districts
 military rule would last for only a short time
 quick readmission of any state that framed and ratified a new constitution providing for
black suffrage
o speed was needed, some Republican leaders believed they would need votes from the
reconstructed South in order to regain control of Congress and the White House in 1868
o Radical Reconstruction - based on the belief that once blacks had the vote, they would have the
power to protect themselves against white supremacists’ efforts to deny them their rights
 many republicans were unwilling to accept centralized government and a long period of
military rule over civilians
 these drastic steps went beyond the popular northern consensus on necessary
and proper measures
 plan of readmitting the southern states on the basis of black suffrage – was as far as the
party and the northern public were willing to go
 genuine spirit of democratic idealism gave a legitimacy and fervor to the cause of
black male suffrage
o granting voting rights to people who were so poor and downtrodden (giving access to the ballot
box) was a bold and innovative application to the principle of government by the consent of the
governed
 problem was finding a way to enforce equal suffrage under conditions then existing in
the postwar South
The Impeachment Crisis
o Johnson – began to dismiss officeholders who sympathized with the Radicals, he
countermanded the orders of generals in charge of southern military districts who were zealous
in their enforcement of the new legislation
o Congress – passed laws designed to limit presidential authority over Reconstruction matters
o Tenure of Office Act – required Senate approval for the removal of cabinet officers and other
officials whose appointment had needed the consent of the Senate
 limited Johnson’s authority to issue orders to military commanders
o Johnson objected – on the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers
o some congressmen began to call for his impeachment
o Johnson tried to discharge Secretary of War Edwin Stanton – the only Radical in the cabinet
 he ordered General Grant – who already commanded the army, to replace Stanton,
Grant refused to deny Congress
 General Lorenzo Thomas – agreed to serve
o the House voted overwhelmingly to impeach the president and he was placed on trial before
the Senate
o effort to convict Johnson and remove him from office fell one vote short of the necessary 2/3
o the attorney’s for the president argued for a narrow interpretation of the constitutional
provision that a president could be impeached for “high crimes and misdemeanors”
 referred only to indictable offenses
o on the charge that Johnson had deliberately violated the Tenure of Office Act – the law did not
apply to the removal of Stanton, he had been appointed by Lincoln
o obstructing the will of the legislative branch, they claimed, was sufficient grounds for conviction
– even if no crime had been committed
o some feared that removal of a president for essentially political reasons would threaten the
constitutional balance of powers and open the way to legislative supremacy over the executive
 the impeachment episode helped create an impression in the public mind that the
Radicals were ready to turn the Constitution to their own use to gain their objectives
o failure to remove Johnson was an embarrassment to congressional Republicans
o during the trial – Johnson helped influence the verdict by pledging to enforce the
Reconstruction Acts – held to this promise during his remaining months in office
 Radicals – had at least succeeded in neutralizing his opposition to their program