Reconstruction: refers to the period following the Civil War when the southern states were rebuilt and new political gains emerged for African Americans.

Reconstruction Era(1867-1877)

Problems following the Civil War

Northern States Lost largest number of

soldiers Factories closed Government canceled

work orders Returning soldiers

needed jobs

Southern States Cities in ruins Money worthless Bitter feeling Bridges and Railroad

destroyed Farmland was burned Lost political influence

Ruins in Richmond Ruins of Haxall's Flour Mill in Richmond, Virginia. When Union forces entered the Confederate capital on April 3, 1865, they found much

of the city destroyed by fire.

Savannah house destroyed by Union soldiers

Plans for Reconstruction

Three plans had emerged at the conclusion of the Civil War to help rebuild the southern states:

Lincoln’s Plan (Ten Percent)

Johnson’s Plan Radical Republicans

(Congressional Reconstruction Act of 1867)

Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan

Goal: achieve a complete and unified Union peaceful nation instead of a fighting one

Main Ideas: (1) all southerners, except high-ranking Confederate

political and military officials, would be pardoned and regain citizenship when they took an oath to support the Constitution and the emancipation of slaves

(2) when ten percent of the voters in a state took this oath they could establish a legal government that would be recognized by the President

* Wanted to take it easy on southern states* Battled with Congress

Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln would never see his plan take action: On the evening of April

14, 1865, while attending a special performance of the comedy, "Our American Cousin,“ at Ford’s Theater, President Abraham Lincoln was shot

The assassin, John Wilkes Booth, a disgruntled actor

Johnson’s Plan

Vice President Andrew Johnson became President following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination

Agreed with Lincoln’s Plan, however Johnson’s Plan was stricter

Ideas: Pardons would be granted to those taking a loyalty of oath

to uphold the Constitution No pardons would be available to high Confederate

officials A state needed to abolish slavery before being readmitted A state was required to repeal its secession ordinance

before being readmitted.

Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson

Congress wanted harsher terms for Reconstruction

President Andrew Johnson disagreed with congressional views on Reconstruction

Congress determined that President Andrew Johnson had violated the recent Tenure of Office Act and prompted the Republican-controlled House to impeach the president

The Senate fell short of their impeachment process by one vote, however Johnson’s political influence was gone

Radical Republicans

Congressional Military Reconstruction Act of 1867

Ideas: Organized the south into five military districts The states had to have a military leader from the north No state could return to civilian rule and be readmitted

to the Union until white and black voters framed a constitution that guaranteed suffrage to African Americans and ratified the Fourteenth Amendment.

Act banned confederate leaders from voting, and any who didn't pledge their allegiance to the U.S.

Five Military Districts

JIM CROW LAWS

Any law passed with the intention of keeping Blacks and Whites segregated

1830- first law passed in Massachusetts which allowed railroad companies to segregate train cars

Jim Crow Laws

Poll Tax – Must pay to vote.Literacy Test – Must pass a test to vote.Grandfather Clause – If your grandfather

could not vote then you can not.

Plessy v Ferguson

Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal in the United States

“separate-but-equal”

Booker T Washington

Born as a slave in 1856

studied at Hampton University 1872

Founded Tuskegee Institute in 1881

W.E.B.DuBois

First African American to earn PhD from Harvard

Founded Niagara Movement

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

N.A.A.C.P.Fought for the rights of African Americans