Reconstruction and the New South

Chapter 16

Rebuilding the Nation

Section 1

Huge problems after Civil War endedVast parts of the South were ruinedHomeless refugees scattered across the

SouthBoth African American & Whites

Needed: food, shelter, & work

Biggest problemSuppressing the hard feelings between the

North & South

Preparing for Reunion

Lincoln’s plan for reconstructionDecember 1863

10% of voters need to take loyalty oath to U.S.New gov’t could then be formedDeclare an end to slaveryMembers of state could be sent to Congress to

take part in national gov’tPlan included amnesty for former

ConfederatesNot for Confederate gov’t leaders or military

leaders

10% Plan

Stricter than 10% plan50% of voters to swear loyalty oathVoluntary Confederate soldiers not allowed to

vote for delegates meeting to form new state constitution

Lincoln refused the bill & it never became law

Lincoln thought his lenient plan would promote a strong Republican party in the SouthRadical Republicans opposed lenient plan &

wanted strict planThought strict plan would keep Confederates who

led the secession from regaining power

The Wade-Davis Bill

Developed to deal with the needs of freed African Americans & war refugees after the war

1st Duty: provide emergency relief2nd: set up schools to teach freed slaves to

read & writeAfrican American communities also set up their

own schools & paid for teachers by pooling money

Many white northern women were teachers as well as black northern women

Continue education centers were also startedPublic Education system to education whites &

blacks in most southern states

Freedmen's Bureau

Bureau also helped freedmen find jobs & resolve disputes between whites & blacks

Bureau also set up its own court system to deal with cheaters

Defending Freedmen

April 14, 1865 5 DAYS after the war John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln at the Ford’s Theater in

Washington Shot Lincoln in the head with a single bullet Booth later shot & killed after the barn he was hiding in was set on fire

8 others convicted & 4 were hung for their part in the plot to kill Lincoln

Nation shocked by deathHuge crowds paid their last respects & Lincoln’s body was

transported back to Illinois for burialVice President Andrew Johnson, southern Democrat, became

President Showed bitterness toward the Confederacy before & during the

war, many expected him to take a strict approach to Reconstruction

Lincoln is Murdered

Section 2The Battle Over Reconstruction

A Growing ConflictAndrew Johnson

Proposed lenient plan of ReconstructionPut plan into effect himself, did not consult w/

legislators

13th AmendmentJanuary 1865

Congress approved amendment to abolish slavery throughout the nationBanned slavery & forced laborCongress had power to make laws to enforce its

terms

Johnson’s PlanAmnesty offered

Southern states could organize new gov’t & elect reps. for CongressHad to abolish slavery & ratify the 13th Amendment

December 1865Most states met Johnson’s requirementsSenators elected included many former Confederate

leadersCongress rejected plan

1st: refused to seat southern senators & reps.2nd: two houses appointed a committee to form a new

plan for the SouthHeard testimony about black codes: new laws used by

southern states to control African Americans

Black CodesReplaced slavery w/ near slavery

Caused hard line in CongressRadical Republicans

Wanted to prevent former Confederates from regaining control over southern politics

To protect the freedmen & guarantee them a right to vote

Civil Rights Act of 1866Granted citizenship rights to African

Americans and guaranteed the civil rights of all people except Native AmericansVetoed by Johnson & another bill extending the

life of the Freedmen’s BureauCongress voted to overturn vetoes, & both received

2/3 vote of each house & became law

14th AmendmentAll people born or naturalized in the U.S. are

citizensStates may not pass laws that take away a

citizen’s rights; cannot deprive any person of life, liberty, or property w/o due process of law, or deny equal protection of the laws.

Any state that denies the vote to any male citizen over the age of 21, will have representation in Congress reduced (not enforced until 1970s)

Became powerful tool for enforcing civil rights

Radical Reconstruction1866 election

Rioters & police killed many African Americans in southern cities

Led Congress to push for a stricter form of Reconstruction

Radicals In ChargeRadical Republicans

Won support to begin strict reconstructionReconstruction Act of 1867

Removed gov’t of all southern states that did not ratify 14th Amendment

Imposed military rule & divided states into five military districts

Before returning to Union, each state had to write new state constitution & ratify 14th Amendment

Also had to let African Americans vote

Time of Hope and AdvancementAfrican Americans

Were elected as sheriffs, mayors18 served in Congress

Radical ReconstructionSouthern states opened public schools, legislators

spread tax money more evenly, & made fairer voting rules, gave property rights to women, states rebuilt bridges, roads & buildings

Republican Party built a strong following from 3 groupsScalawags: southern whites who had opposed secessionFreedmen votersCarpetbaggers: name given by southerners to northern whites

who went south to start businesses or pursue political office

15th AmendmentApproved in 1869Barred all states from denying African

American males the right to vote on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitudeDid not prevent states from requiring voters to

own property or pay a voting tax

Ku Klux KlanSecret societies created by white shut out of

power to terrorize African Americans & their white alliesWould threaten African American voters, burn

crosses in their yardWhen threats failed they would: whip, torture,

shoot, or hang African Americans & white Republicans

Congress responded to violence w/ new lawsKu Klux Klan Acts of 1870 & 1871

Barred use of force against voeters

Section 3The End of Reconstruction

Reconstruction’s ConclusionRadical Republicans

Support declinedPeople focused more on their own lives

Grant’s ScandalsPoor public office appointments

Corruption of appointeesGrant

Claimed no part in scandals, but reputation was hurt

Won reelection in 1872, but Northerners lost faith in Republicans & their policies

Self-rule for the SouthAmnesty for Confederates?

Northerners & Southerners both wanted the withdrawal of federal troops & amnesty for Confederates

1869Republican opponents: began taking back the

south one state at a timeChipped away at African Americans rights

The Election of 1876 End of Reconstruction resulted from this election Choice of President decided by Congress

Due to election returns Deal made between Republicans & Democrats

Republicans: Rutherford B. Hayes; would continue reconstruction Democrats: Tilden; would end reconstruction

Won popular vote; 20 electoral votes disputed; one vote short of 185 needed to win electoral college

Special Commissions 15 members appointed by Congress Most were Republicans 20 electoral votes given to Hayes

Democrats did not fight decision because Hayes told them privately he would end reconstruction

Once in office Hayes removed federal troops from the South

African Americans Lose RightsEnd of Reconstruction

African Americans lost political & civil rights Several techniques used to stop blacks from voting

Poll tax: must pay a tax before voting; kept poor whites & freedmen from voting

Literacy test: required to read & explain section of Constitution Grandfather clause allowed illiterate white males to vote; test

avoided if father or grandfather had been eligible to vote on Jan. 1, 1867

Segregation: enforced separation of races; barred mixing of races in almost every aspect of life, know as Jim Crow laws (born in separate hospitals, buried in separate cemeteries, separate playgrounds, restaurants, & schools, travel on specific seats on streetcars or take black streetcars); Laws were upheld in local courts

1896Supreme Court upheld segregation laws

Plessy v. FergusonHomer Plessy arrested for sitting in a coach marked

for whites onlyCourt upheld Louisiana law of segregated streetcars

Ok if they were equal

Separate but equal rule was in effect until the 1950sFacilities were rarely equal

A Cycle of PovertyPoverty forced freedmen & poor whites to

become sharecroppersWork the land for the farmer in return for a share

in the value of the cropLandlord

Supplied living quarters, tools, seed, & food on credit

Crops were harvested & sold and amount given to sharecroppers was figured outIn times of bad harvests or low crop prices

sharecroppers often earned enough money to pay what they owned landlords Locked into a cycle of debt

Industrial GrowthSouth’s economy began to recover1880s

New industries Agriculture in the South recovered, especially

cotton production Tobacco production also increased

Southern investors started or expanded industriesTextile industry became important part of

economySouth began to develop their natural resources

New mills to use South’s iron, timber, & oil South no longer dependent on cotton