chapter 12: reconstruction american history. plans begin to unfold the president and congress...

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Chapter 12: Reconstruction American History

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Chapter 12: Reconstruction

American History

Plans begin to unfoldThe president and Congress grappled with the difficult

tasks of Reconstruction, or rebuilding the country after the Civil Warplans began right after the Civil War began

In 1863, Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstructionoffered general amnesty, or pardon for all Southerners

who took loyalty to the U.S. and accepted Union proclamation on slavery

The Radical Republicans, in opposition to Lincoln’s policies, had three goals:prevent leaders of Confederacy from returning to powerwanted Republican Party to be an institution in the SouthHelp African Americans gain the right to vote

Wade-Davis BillModerate Republicans caught in the mix between the

radicals and Lincoln came up with a plan that supported both sidesWade-Davis Bill

Required majority of white male Southerners to swear allegiance to the Union

Confederate state would then hold a constitutional convention to establish a new state government

Each convention would then abolish slavery, reject all debts, and deprive all Confederate officials and military leaders of the right to vote or hold office

Lincoln blocked the bill with a pocket veto, or waiting until the session of Congress expired without signing the bill felt bill was counterproductive

Freedman’s BureauLincoln realized that the South was in chaos from the

thousands of homeless, unemployed, and hungry

Lincoln also realized that thousands of freedmen, or freed slaves, were coming into the North

During the war, General Sherman used all abandoned plantations to help freed African AmericansRefugee crisis led to the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen,

and Abandoned Lands, or the Freedman’s Bureau

Bureaus helped feed and clothe refugees of the war, find employment for African Americans on plantations, negotiate pay wages with Southern employers, and educated former slaves in the North

Johnson’s Plans for Reconstruction

Johnson took over as President when Lincoln was assassinated was hot tempered, but believed in

moderate principles

In 1865, Johnson implemented his own restoration plan Offered pardon to all Confederates

excluded former military officials and Confederates with property valuing more than $20,000

Those who were excluded from the pardon had to apply directly to Johnson for a pardon, for he believed these people caused the war

Each state had to revoke its secession and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment

Black Codes

New Southern legislatives passed a series of laws known as black codes severely limited African rights

in the SouthAfricans were required to enter

into an annual working contract

African children had to join apprenticeships and could be subjected to beating during these apprenticeships

Set specific work hours and required Africans to get licenses for non-agricultural jobs

Radicals take control

Many moderates joined the radicals and developed the Joint Committee on Reconstruction, developing their own plan for rebuilding the Unionpassed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, granting all Americans,

except Native Americans, citizenship, and gave Africans the right to own land

passed the Fourteenth Amendment, granting citizenship to all people born and naturalized in the United States and that no person should be deprived of “life, liberty, and property”, or “equal protection of the laws”

passed the Military Reconstruction Act, dividing the South into five military districts and had to hold another constitutional convention to ratify a constitution deemed acceptable by Congress

Johnson impeachedBy preventing Johnsons from bypassing Grant or firing

Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, both supporters of Republican ideals, Congress passed these two acts:Command of Army Act: all orders of the president had to go

through headquarters of the general of the armyTenure of Office Act: Senate had to approve any removal of

office who appointment required Senate consent

Johnson fired Stanton anyway, and was impeached, or charged with high crimes and misdemeanors for not abiding by the Tenure of Office Actwas put on trial, but was acquitted and kept his place in

office, but had little power due to the impeachment

Election of 1868

Johnson finished his term and did not seek re-election

Republicans nominated Ulysses S. Grant for Presidentwon elected, and gained major

support from Africans in the South

With the President on their side, Congress passed the Fifteenth AmendmentDeclared the right to vote shall

not be denied by any “race, color, or previous conditions of servitude”

Carpetbaggers and Scalawags

Many Northerners moved to the South and were elected into government positions Carpetbaggers were seen as intruders trying to

exploit the South some wanted to help, while others

did want to take advantage of the war-torn South

Southerners also hated scalawags, or white Southerners working with Republicans and supported Reconstruction some were farmers, some were

Democrats, and most were businessmen

Republican Reforms

African Americans begin to take government positions held different types of positions in all facets of government angered Southerners, claiming “Black Republicanism” was

taking over the South

Republicans made reforms in the South repelled all black code laws established state hospitals and institutes for orphans, the

mentally ill, and the hearing and visually disabled established a system of public schools rebuilt roads, railways, and bridges

Reforms cost money, however officials implemented heavy taxes corrupt officials committed grafts, or illegally gaining money

through politics

African American communities

Once freed, African Americans desired to get an education incorporated African Americans in

public schools built schools for African American

children institutions offered advanced

academics for African Americans

African Americans also established their own churches housed social gatherings, events,

and schools

African Americans began several organizations established to help communities

Resistance from the South

Organizations began to erupt to counteract the Black RepublicansKu Klux Klan

started by former Confederate soldiers

Goal was to drive out the Union and carpetbaggers and regain the South for the Democratic Party

terrorized African American and Republican communities

Republicans and African Americans formed groups to protect themselves from these organizationsconfrontations all turned out violent

Enforcement Acts

To combat the violence in the South, Grant and Congress passed three Enforcement ActsOne made it a federal crime

to interfere with a person’s right to vote

Two made federal marshals in charge of federal elections

Three was the Klu Klux Klan Act, outlawed the activities of the Klan

Republican Party splits

Republican-controlled Congress continued to enforce Reconstruction and expanded on programs it introduced during the Civil Warkept tariffs high, tightened banking regulations, repaid

debts with gold, and increased federal spending on railways, port facilities, and the postal service

Kept in place taxes on alcohol and tobacco: sin taxes

Democrats and Liberal Republicans disagreed with these motions, stating they were used only to make the wealthy more richnominated Horace Greeley for president, promising to

remove Union troops from the South and pardon nearly all Confederates still lost to Grant

Scandals and Panics rock the White House

Grant’s second term was plagued with scandals and a financial panic One scandal involved Secretary of

War William Belknap, who accepted bribes from merchants operating in army posts in the West

Another, called the “Whiskey Ring” scandal, a group of government officials and distillers cheated the government by filing false tax reports

Panic of 1873: when large banking firm of Jay Cooke & Company declared bankruptcy, smaller banks closed and the stock market plummeted

Democrats take control, but illegally

In the mid-term elections in 1873, Democrats took much of the seats in Congress, giving them powercommitted election frauds and

appealed to Southern farmers, stating that the South had a struggle between African Americans and whites

From Grant’s damaged reputation, the Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes, while Democrats nominated Samuel Tilton for president

Compromise of 1877From the election, Tilton won the

majority of votes, but 20 electoral votes could not be accounted for came from three states that Republicans

controlled: Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida

Had been so much election fraud on both sides, no one could tell who the votes went to

To help solve this issue, Congress appointed a 15 man panel 8 were Republican, who voted for Hayes

to have the votes Southern Democrats sided with the

Republicans, stating they helped Hayes win and the Democrats accepted this vote Compromise of 1877

The New South emergesSouthern leaders called for the creation of the “New South”,

since the South could not be like it was before the war

With deals from Northerner financiers, portions of the South’s economy became industrial

African Americans began to return to plantations to either work for wages or become tenant farmers, or work for rent some tenant farmers became sharecroppers, or people who

paid rent using the crops they grew got equipment from furnishing merchants, or country stores,

who supplied credit and issued crop liens, or taking of crops to pay for debts acquired by credit

the crop liens system led many to debt peonage, or inability to move off of land due to the debts they had acquired could not pay off debt or declare bankruptcy