American HistoryAmerican History——Chapter 12Chapter 12

Reconstruction

Problems after the WarProblems after the War

Human—What do you do with all the new slaves? All the people that died?Political—What do you do with all the Southern states? What about Lincoln’s death?Constitutional—Does the President or Congress have the right to chose which plan will work to fix the South

ReconstructionReconstruction

1867-1877: Time period in which the United States tried to rebuild after the Civil War.Also is the name for the process that theAlso is the name for the process that the North allowed the South to come back to the United Statesthe United States.Critical Period in United States History

Lincoln’s PlanLincoln’s Plan

Didn’t blame individuals in the South—blame the Southern leaders for leavinggWanted to restore the Union as QUICK as possiblepossibleAmnesty--To pardon (forgive) people for crimes against the governmentcrimes against the governmentLincoln’s Plan never took place

Lincoln’s Plan cont..Lincoln’s Plan cont..

Pardon (forgive) all confederates who swear allegiance to the Union

This did not include high ranking people in the Confederacy (generals, politicians, POW)

States could form their own government if 10% ofStates could form their own government if 10% of voting population swore allegiance to the UnionThis made many people in the North mad becauseThis made many people in the North mad because they felt it let the South off the hook

Radical RepublicansRadical Republicans

Radicals Republicans—people from the North who wanted to make Reconstruction difficult for the SouthThaddeus Stevens—Radical RepublicanThaddeus Stevens Radical Republican leader in Congress, wanted to punish the South for what they had doneSouth for what they had done

WadeWade--Davis BillDavis Bill

Bill designed to counter Lincoln’s PlanCongress would be responsible for ReconstructionMajority (over 50%) in a state would have to swear allegiance to the Union for the state to be readmittedreadmittedLincoln killed this bill with a pocket vetoPocket Veto—When the president ignores a billPocket Veto When the president ignores a bill passed by Congress (within the last 10 days) the bill will fail

Johnson’s PlanJohnson’s Plan

Andrew Johnson became President after Lincoln was killed (Johnson was a Democrat)( )Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction

1 Any state could be readmitted if they declared secession1. Any state could be readmitted if they declared secession illegal

2. Swear Allegiance to the Union3. Promise to pay back their debts4. Pass the 13th Amendment (no slavery)

Johnson’s Plan cont..Johnson’s Plan cont..

Very easy terms for the South—within a month every state (but Texas) had passed all the requirements and was sending representatives to Congress

bl h d d (f ) ll hProblem—Johnson pardoned (forgave) all the people responsible for causing the warR lt 58 C 6 C f d t C bi tResult—58 Congressman, 6 Confederate Cabinet Members and 4 Confederate Generals were in the new US Congressnew US Congress.

Congressional ElectionsCongressional Elections

In 1866 the Radical Republicans won most of the Congressional Seats.After the election, over 2/3 of Congress was made up of the Republican Party who was opposed to Johnson.Now Congress could pass a law and then override the Presidential Veto…this started Congressional Reconstruction

Congressional ReconstructionCongressional ReconstructionFreedman’s BureauFreedman s Bureau

Assisted former slaves and free whites in the South (food, schools, hospitals)

Ci il Ri ht A t f 1866Civil Rights Act of 1866Gave blacks citizenship and forbade states from passing black codes (laws that limited freedom of black)

h14th AmendmentGave Civil Rights to all people born or naturalized in the USA (Citizenship). Life, Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness

15th AmendmentNo one can be kept from voting b/c of race or colorHelped ensure that Republicans would stay in powerHelped ensure that Republicans would stay in power

Congressional ReconstructionCongressional Reconstruction

Reconstruction Act of 1867 Abolish all governments created under Li l /J h PlLincoln/Johnson PlansDivided the South into 5 military districtsBlacks males go the right to voteBlacks males go the right to voteMust ratify the 14th amendment to be readmitted into the Union

d b h blVetoed by Johnson—Congress was able to override his veto

Response to 1Response to 1ststResponse to 1Response to 1Reconstruction ActsReconstruction Acts

Stunned the Southern Whites (how could they be equal to the blacks?)y q )20,000 federal troops went to the South to make sure things went as orderedmake sure things went as ordered.Now Congress turned their attention to getting rid of Johnsongetting rid of Johnson

Tenure of Office ActTenure of Office Act

Tenure of Office ActLaw passed by Congress to try to bait Johnson into p y g ydoing something illegal. (How to get him out of office)President could not remove any cabinet memberPresident could not remove any cabinet member without 2/3 Senate vote.

Johnson was willing to test this new act andJohnson was willing to test this new act and kicked out his Sec. Of War (Stanton)

ImpeachmentImpeachmentImpeachment—Bring to trial!Impeachment Bring to trial! House of Reps voted to Impeach Johnson on the following charges

1 T f Offi A t th bl th t St t1. Tenure of Office Act—the problem was that Stanton was appointed by Lincoln, not Johnson, so the law didn’t apply.

2. Radicals accused him of being a disgrace—this was not a crime that could get the president removed

ResultResultThe Senate voted 35 to 19 for Johnson to be kicked out of office (1 vote shy of the needed

j it )majority)

Election of 1868Election of 1868

Democrats ran a guy named SeymourRepublicans ran Ulysses S GrantRepublicans ran Ulysses S GrantGrant won

Almost all of the 500 000 blacks voted for GrantAlmost all of the 500,000 blacks voted for Grant

Radicals decided to pass the 15th

d t hi h id ld b k tamendment which said no one could be kept from voting based on race

Section 2Section 2

Reconstructing the South

Problems for the South Problems for the South

Physical ConditionsMuch of the South was destroyedSherman alone had caused more than 100 million dollars worth of damage to GeorgiaBuildings, Bridges, Roads and Farms all need to be rebuilt.

Economic ConditionsNo property value, Confederate bonds failed, poorS th f d t f t f th b ildiSouth was forced to pay for most of the rebuilding

HumanOver 1/5 of all white men in the South died in the Civil WarOver 1/5 of all white men in the South died in the Civil War

Scalawags/CarpetbaggersScalawags/Carpetbaggers

Scalawags—White Southerners who joined the Republican Party

W t d th S th t i d t i li i klWanted the South to industrialize quicklyDid not want former slave owners back in powerMost were considered traitors by the South

Carpetbaggers—Northerners who moved to the South after the war

Some were teachers/priest (wanted to help)Some were teachers/priest (wanted to help)Some were old soldiers who wanted to live in warmthMost were businessmen who wanted to make money off the rebuilding process in the South (some dishonest)ebu d g p ocess t e Sout (so e d s o est)

New Freedoms for AfricanNew Freedoms for AfricanNew Freedoms for African New Freedoms for African Americans (1865Americans (1865--1877)1877)

Travel---move new places, etc…Re-unite with family/marryEducation---more African American Teachers and Schools (80% illiterate b/f Civil War)R li i M th di t/B ti tReligion—Methodist/BaptistPolitics---More involved in Politics

Hiram Revels—1st black SenatorHiram Revels 1 black Senator16 Blacks were elected to Congress

De-Segregation Laws

Economic ProblemsEconomic Problems

Problem: Lots of poor people needed work and many of the old slave owners needed ypeople to work in their fieldsSharecropping/Tenant FarmingSharecropping/Tenant Farming– Old Landowners divided their land

Gave each worker land seed tools– Gave each worker land, seed, tools.– When the crops were harvested, 2/3 of the

profit went back to the landownerprofit went back to the landowner

SharecroppingSharecropping

GoodBlacks could keep some of what they produceIn theory they could save up enough money and buy their own land

BadBadBy the time they harvested crops and paid for the supplies—they were in debtHeavy production hurt the soil didn’t produce enough goodsHeavy production hurt the soil—didn t produce enough goods

Results—Poor white and black farmers were still in debt…..temporary solution to the problemin debt…..temporary solution to the problem

Section 3Section 3

People who opposedPeople who opposedPeople who opposed People who opposed ReconstructionReconstruction

Whites blamed the blacks for many of their problems (economic and social)p ( )– Ku Klux Klan—Began in Tennessee (1866)

Nathaniel Forrest was their leaderInitially tried to prevent blacks from votingEventually turned violentWanted to make sure that the Republicans lost political power

Response to ProblemsResponse to Problems

Force Acts—Act from Congress to lessen the activity/influence of the Klan

T ld i l tiTroops would supervise elections

Amnesty Act—Gave the right to vote to 160,000 former ConfederatesEventually people in the North got sick of Reconstruction and started to allow old leaders to

b k icome back into power

Weakening of RepublicansWeakening of Republicans

North got sick of dealing with problems in the SouthRadicals were losing influence over the Republican PartyNorth didn’t really want full equality in the NorthBusiness in the North wanted a stable governments in the South

Grant’s AdministrationGrant’s Administration

Grant was honest, people around him were not.Scandals

Whiskey Ring—IRS was not taxing whiskey govtWhiskey Ring IRS was not taxing whiskey, govt. employees were getting kickbacks from thisWilliam Belknap—Sec. Of War that took bribes from merchants in the west

Depression of 1873Depression of 1873

Economy was booming after the Civil WarManufacturers had to borrow so much money to yrebuild the South that the banks could not cover the loans that they were putting out.

M j B k b kMajor Banks went bankruptResult: 3 million workers lost their jobs

Election of 1876Election of 1876

Rutherford B Hayes (Rep) vs. Samuel Tilden (Dem)( )Tilden won the popular vote and was leading the electoral college vote 184-165leading the electoral college vote 184 165.20 votes were in dispute (Florida)—Tilden should have gotten those votes and won theshould have gotten those votes and won the presidency.

Election of 1876Election of 1876

A special commission was made to investigate the votes in Florida (more Republicans than Democrats on commission)Democrats on commission)They decided that Hayes won Florida therefore he won the election by 1 votewon the election by 1 voteDemocrats were mad—they made a deal with the Republicans.

Fed. Troops had to leave the SouthGive the South money to build railroadsHayes must have a Southern Democrat in his cabniety

Results of ReconstructionResults of Reconstruction

Good– Political and Social Conditions ImprovedPolitical and Social Conditions Improved– Blacks could now vote– Didn’t have to own property to be inDidn t have to own property to be in

government

Results cont..Results cont..

Bad– Segregation started to appear– Had a hard time rebuilding everything (no $

available)– State funded projects got terrible loans from

governmentHigh taxes kept farmers in debt– High taxes kept farmers in debt

– Graft—People in the government who took bribes from construction projectsbribes from construction projects

White SupremacyWhite Supremacy

Gradually Southern Whites took control of the government.gPoor whites had a hard time accepting equality because of the competition for jobsequality because of the competition for jobsThis led to a variety of political restrictions

Political RestrictionsPolitical Restrictions

Blacks faced discrimination, especially in the voting process.

Literary test—Blacks who voted Republican would get a hard test, blacks who voted Democrat would get an easy one (what is your name?)g y ( y )Poll Taxes—pay $ before they voteGrandfather Clause—a person could fail the literacy and poll taxes and still be allowed to vote if hisand poll taxes and still be allowed to vote if his grandfather had been able to vote (allowed poor whites the opportunity to vote)

Separate But Equal?Separate But Equal?

Jim Crow Laws—laws that established the idea of “separate but equal”p q

Basically separate blacks and whites in a variety of places (Schools, hospitals, etc)

Plessy vs Ferguson—a Supreme Court Decision that said separate but equal was legal; just as long as the facilities were equal.