the crisis of reconstruction, 1865-1877. the biggest fight after the war was political ◦ power...
Post on 06-Jan-2018
222 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
TRANSCRIPT
The Crisis of Reconstruction, 1865-1877
The biggest fight after the war was political◦Power struggles between the
executive and legislative branches
◦Constitutional amendments◦Presidential impeachment◦Ambitious domestic legislation
Only a small group supported black suffrage
Lincoln’s PlanProclamation of Amnesty and
Reconstruction◦ 10% of those who had cast ballots in 1860◦ A loyal state govt. would be created◦ Excludes: Confederate govt. officials,
army/navy officers, those who resigned commissions in 1861 (they would apply for a pardon), blacks
This 10% Plan would undermine Confederacy with pro-Union govts.
He wants to win allegiance of southern Unionists and rebuild a Southern Republican Party
Radical Republicans think Lincoln’s plan is too weak
They want to punish more Confederates
July 1864: Wade-Davis Bill◦Each southern state to be ruled by a
military governor◦50% plan for readmittance after they
repeal secession and abolish slavery◦Second “ironclad” oath to qualify as a
voter/delegateLincoln pocket vetoes the bill
By the war’s end AK, LA, TN, and parts of VA had moved towards readmittance under Lincoln’s plan
Congress refuses to seat the delegates
Presidential Reconstruction Under Johnson Johnson was the only southern senator to
remain in Congress when his state seceded Johnson despised the planter classDuring Congress’s recess Johnson
announces how the seven remaining states can be readmitted:◦ Almost all who take an oath may return◦ All property except slaves will be restored◦ State conventions would have to claim the
illegitimacy of secession, repudiate state debts, and ratify the 13th Amendment
◦ Also, wealthy Confederates (over $20,000) barredc
Johnson handed out 13,000 pardonsConfederate officers and large
planters assumed state positionsEven VP Stephens went to DC as a
senatorStates enact Black Codes to get
around the 13th AmendmentWhen Congress reconvenes in
December of 1865 they refuse to seat the new delegates and establish the Joint Committee on Reconstruction◦It is now Congress vs. Johnson
Congress vs. Johnson Status of southern blacks is now the key issue Moderate Republicans were the largest bloc in
Congress; they agreed that Johnson’s plan was weak They joined up with the Radicals in the following ways
◦ Continuation of the Freedman’s Bureau 3-yr. extension; special military courts to settle
labor disputes◦ Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (over
Johnson’s veto) Blacks are citizens and it authorized the feds to
intervene in states to ensure black rights in the courts
1st major piece of legislation passed over a presidential veto
Johnson vetoed because he felt it illegitimate because the South had been cut out
The Fourteenth Amendment
April 1866: Naturalization, due process, equal protection
Nullifies Dred ScottStates who deny male suffrage can lose
representation in CongressDisqualifies from office all prewar
officeholdersRepudiates Confederate debt and maintains
validity of federal debtThis was the first national effort to limit state
control of civil and political rightsCongressional elections of 1866 were a
referendum on the 14th
◦ Republicans win 2/3 of the House; 4/5 of the Senate
Congressional ReconstructionCongress passes Reconstruction Acts
over Johnson’s vetosReconstruction Act of 1867
◦Invalidated the state governments formed under Lincoln and Johnson (except TN)
◦Set up five military districts◦Blacks and whites could elect delegates
to set up new constitutions◦Then elect state officers◦Congress approves the state constitution,
state leg. Ratifies the 14th, readmittance
This act was harsher than Johnson, but did not prosecute Confederates for treason, or permanently exclude them from politics
Also, it didn’t redistribute land◦Even Republicans didn’t want to
mess with the sacredness of property rights
Impeachment CrisisTenure of Office Act and a
rider to an army appropriations bill
Johnson fires Sec. of War Stanton
Why not removed?◦Removal would upset the
balance of power◦Afraid of the Pres. Pro Tempore
Fifteenth Amendment and the Question of Woman SuffrageThe need to make black suffrage
nationalRatified in 1870 – The south didn’t
have enough votes to block itWomen’s movement splits into two
organizations◦American Woman Suffrage Assoc. –
states◦National Woman Suffrage Assoc. –
national (Stanton and Anthony)◦Minor v. Happersett – the state can
deny women the right to vote
A New ElectorateLaws had disenfranchised 10-15%Blacks held voting majorities in five
statesCarpetbaggers, scalawags, and
freedmen◦Carpetbaggers: no more than 20,000◦Scalawags: mostly small farmers that
cared little for black rights◦Freedmen: the backbone of southern
Republicanism (8 or 10 Rep. votes) At most1 in 5 political offices; in all southern
legislatures; majority in South Carolina; two senators; no Governors; 6% of the House (half from South Carolina)
Republican RuleNo state instituted land reformPoliticians wanted to attract
northern investmentShift towards public works
projectsIncreased taxes to pay for
rebuildingReconstruction was punishing
the propertied
CounterattacksVigilante groups spring up in all southern
statesThere is an effort to deny blacks
participation in governmentIntimidation, purchase, killing, etc.1866- the KKK is formedFederal govt. responds with the
Enforcement Acts (1870 and 1871): these allow federal supervision and protection
Shows that federal supervision was necessary, but it was never going to happen on a large scale
Feds let the Freedman’s Bureau end in 1869
Confronting FreedomHouse slaves were more likely to
flee the plantation than field slavesMost moved to adjacent plantationsDuring the 1860s urban black
population increased by 75%Seeking family was prominentSo was the legalization of unions
and quickly established two-parent families
Black women seek female roles
Black Institutions Growth of the Black Church, esp. the African
Methodist Episcopal Church and Black Baptist churches
Churches and ministers become the pillars of black society
Black schools were set up by the Freedman’s Bureau and northern philanthropic societies
Traditional black colleges such as Howard, Atlanta, Fisk and Hampton all formed
However, by the end of Reconstruction 80% of black pop. is still illiterate
1883 Civil Rights cases: 14th amendment did not prohibit discrimination by individuals
A segregated society is developing, and is supported by both races
Land, Labor, and Sharecropping
Forty acres and a mule never really happened
1866: Southern Homestead Act◦44 million acres set aside in five
state◦Bad land and few made it work
Blacks had no capital; no whites would sell them land anyway; labor contracts were unjust
By 1880, 80% of land in cotton producing states is sharecropped
Crop-lien system comes into existence
Both sharecropping and the crop-lien system prevent diversification of southern agriculture
GrantismGrant is elected in 1868: Carried all
but eight states due to his popularity in the North; being unscathed by Reconstruction politics; and the black vote in the South
His administration was riddled with scandals◦Cornering the gold market, Credit
Mobilier, “Whiskey Ring,” and Indian trading posts
Grant may have not known all of these, but it was the Gilded Age
Foreign policy issues◦Seward’s Icebox◦Attempt to annex the eastern half
of Santo Domingo (Senate rejects this)
◦By 1872, Liberal Republicans form their own party to get away from Grantism and the “Great Barbeque”
Liberals’ RevoltLiberal Republicans believed in
free trade, the gold standard, and the law of supply and demand. They demanded civil service reform, the end to bayonet rule in the South, the end of high tariffs
They nominate Horace Greeley and lose
Grant then supports the Amnesty Act to undercut the Liberals views on the South
Panic of 1873The Transcontinental Railroad in
complete and over speculation in RR begins
The collapse of the Northern Pacific Railroad triggered a financial meltdown in America (5-year depression)
18,000 businesses go bankrupt; 3 million unemployed
Money and the debtWhat to do with the
greenbacks?How to pay off the debt?
Reconstruction and the ConstitutionEx parte Milligan decision dooms the
military courts established to enforce the Freedman’s Bureau
Texas v. White – Reconstruction was constitutionally possible, grounded in the Congressional power to provide a republican form of government to every state
Slaughterhouse cases of 1873 – chipped away at the 14th Amendment by narrowly defining it
Republicans RetreatIt was gradual, but it happened
◦Grant’s elections◦The rise of the Liberal Republicans◦The Amnesty Act◦Supreme Court decisions◦Radicals had left the scene◦Industrial expansion◦Just plain tired of it
Redeeming the SouthDemocrats a beginning home rule
againBut it is New South advocates vs. the
BourbonsThe White League; Mississippi plan;
Red Shirts; Rifle Clubs were effectiveOnce the redeemers were back in
power they rewrote the laws to diminish freedmen’s rights, as well as their economic, political and social standing
Late 1870 “exodusters” to Kansas
Election of 1876Hayes (R) vs. Tilden (D)Platforms were very similarTilden wins the popular vote by 3%;
however 19 electoral votes in South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana (pro-Tilden) were challenged, and 1 in Oregon (pro-Hayes)
Republicans controlled the three pro-Tilden states so those were thrown out; but Democrats had kept blacks from voting
Neither had enough Electoral Votes
Compromise of 1877◦Commission of 7 Dems., 7 Rep. and
1 Independent to decide◦The Ind. Resigns to run for the
Senate and his position is filled with a Republican
◦Hayes wins!◦Not so fast: The Dems. Controlled
the House, and they were going to obstruct the approval of Electoral votes
◦A deal had to be cut
The Basic Deal◦Hayes gets to be President◦Troops are taken out of the
South◦Democrats are back in charge◦Reconstruction ends
top related