Planning Reconstruction Section 1 – 514-519

• Immediately following the Civil War, the South’s economy was in ruins.– Southerners faced:

• High food prices• Worthless Confederate money• Crop Failure• Starvation

– The federal government addressed these problems through reconstruction = Reuniting the nation and rebuilding the southern states w/o slavery – 1865-1877

Planning Reconstruction• Lincoln wanted to reunite the nation as quickly

and painlessly as possible. – He proposed amnesty = an official pardon, for

illegal acts supporting the rebellion.• For southerners to receive amnesty they

had to:–Swear an oath of loyalty to the U.S.–Accept a ban on slavery.

Planning Reconstruction• Once 10% of the voters in a state accepted the

amnesty requirements, they could form a new government.– After the new government had been formed, the

state could be readmitted to the Union.– Lincoln’s proposal became known as the Ten

Percent Plan.• Louisiana became the first state to accept

Lincoln’s proposal.

Planning Reconstruction• Some members of Congress disagreed with Lincoln’s

10% Plan.– Senator Benjamin Wade and Congressman Henry

Davis proposed an alternative known as the Wade-Davis Plan (W-D). • The W-D had two requirements:

– A complete ban on slavery.– A majority (at least 51%) of the white males in

the state had to take the loyalty oath.• W-D made it much more difficult for southern

states to rejoin the union– Lincoln refused to sign the bill.

The Thirteenth Amendment• The Emancipation Proclamation had freed slaves in

Confederate states, not in border states where slavery continued. – Lincoln urged Congress to make slavery illegal

throughout the U.S.• December, 1865 Congress ratified the

Thirteenth Amendment which officially made slavery illegal in the U.S.

The Thirteenth Amendment• Many Abolitionists felt that the 13th Amendment was not

complete.– African Americans still didn’t have the right to vote.

• However, the 13th did allow many freedoms such as:– Legalized marriages– The ability to move more freely and to search for

relatives

The Freedmen’s Bureau• In 1865 Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau

(FB). Its purpose was to provide relief for all people – black and white, in the South.

• The FB was responsible for:– Distributing food to the poor.– Supervising labor contracts between freedpeople and

their employers.– Assisting African Americans war veterans in

receiving veteran’s benefits.– Promoting education

• Provided books and teachers

A New President• On April 14, 1865 President Lincoln was shot by John

Wilkes Booth while watching a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC. – President Lincoln died the next day.

• Vice President Andrew Johnson was sworn into office later that morning.

President Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan• Johnson’s plan called for designing a system for setting

up new state governments.– Each state was appointed a temporary governor.– Each state’s citizens who had taken a loyalty oath

would elect delegates to a convention that would revise that state’s constitution.

– Voters would elect new state officials and representatives to the U.S. Congress.

– Declare that secession was illegal.– Refuse to pay any Confederate war debts

President Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan• By the end of 1865 all southern states except for

Texas had created new governments.– Johnson declared that the U.S. was restored.– The newly elected congressional representatives

travelled to Washington, but Congress refused to allow them to take their seats.• Republicans complained that:

–Many of the southern representatives had been military leaders and political leaders in the Confederacy.»Many Republicans felt that those reps.

were not loyal to the U.S.» The U.S. was still divided.

The Black Codes Section 2 – 520-526

• As southern states were readmitted to the Union, each state’s legislature began creating Black Codes (BC)= laws that limited the freedom of African Americans.– BCs required African Americans to sign work

contracts• Working conditions were similar to those

experienced during slavery.– African Americans had to prove they were

employed or they could be arrested.– African Americans couldn’t own guns or rent

property in cities.

The Radical Republicans• Most Republicans in Congress were concerned that the

Black Codes were an indication that the South was returning to its old ways.– They felt that the BCs were cruel.– Some of these Republicans became known as Radical

Republicans (RR) b/c they wanted the southern states to change much more.• RRs feared that too many southern leaders were

still loyal to the former Confederacy.• RRs wanted economic and political justice for

African Americans and poor white southerners.

Johnson versus Congress• In early 1866 Congress proposed a bill to give the

Freedmen’s Bureau more power.– Johnson vetoed the bill and insisted that Congress could

not pass any new laws until southern states were represented in Congress.• Congress responded with the Civil Rights Act of

1866 = African Americans were to have the same legal rights as white Americans.– Johnson vetoed this bill as well, claiming that it

would give too much power to the federal government.» Johnson also rejected the idea of equal rights

for African Americans. He said that they didn’t understand how our country and government was run.

» Congress overrode his veto.

The Fourteenth Amendment• The Republicans in Congress wanted to protect civil

rights from hostile presidents, courts, and/or future legislators.– In the summer of 1866, Republicans proposed the

Fourteenth Amendment. Its main provisions are:• U.S. citizenship = born or naturalized w/in the

U.S.– American Indians were not considered

citizens.• Citizens would receive equal protection of law.• All states must provide due process of law.

Congress Takes Charge• In the spring of 1867, Congress passed the first of

several Reconstruction Acts (RA). – These laws divided the South into five districts with a

military commander in charge of each district.• The military would remain in the South until the

southern states rejoined the Union. The requirements to rejoin were:– Write a new constitution supporting the 14th

Amendment.– Give African American men the right to vote.

Congress Takes Charge• President Johnson disagreed with the RA.

– He argued that African Americans did not deserve the same treatment as white people.

– Since the Republican party held a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress, they were able to override Johnson.• The Republican majority also passed a law to

further limit the president’s power by not allowing him to remove cabinet officials w/o the Senate’s approval.– Johnson broke the law by firing his secretary

of war.

Congress Takes Charge• The HOR responded to Johnson’s action by voting to

impeach him.– The Senate still needed to have a two-thirds vote for

Johnson to be removed.• Although Johnson was unpopular with many

Republicans, some thought he was being treated unfairly.– By a single vote, the Senate failed to convict

Johnson; though his career in politics was ruined.

The Election of 1868• Republican candidate Ulysses S. Grant won the 1868

presidential election.– He supported the congressional reconstruction

plan and ran under the slogan “Let us have peace.”– Shortly after Grant’s nomination, Congress

readmitted seven southern states.• These states approved the 14th Amendment and

agreed to allow African American men the right to vote.–Many white southerners used violence to

keep African Americans away from the polls.» Still, hundreds of thousands of African

Americans voted for Grant.

The Fifteenth Amendment• Many Republicans in Congress wanted to protect their

Reconstruction plan.– They were concerned about future Congresses trying to

change it.– They felt it was not fair that many northern states had

laws that prevented African Americans from voting.• All southern states were required to allow African

Americans to vote if they wanted to be readmitted to the Union.

– Congress proposed the Fifteenth Amendment in 1869.• All African American men throughout the U.S. had

the right to vote.– Women, whatever their race, still could not vote.

Reconstruction Governments Section 3 – 527-532

• After the war, some northern-born Republicans moved to the South.– Southerners called these people carpetbaggers b/c

many carried their possessions in bags made from carpeting.• Many southerners resented the carpetbaggers b/c

they felt that they had moved south to profit from the Reconstruction.

• Some northerners wanted to help former slaves while others were there to make money.

• Southern Democrats referred to southern Republicans as scalawags = mean fellows, b/c they believed the scalawags had betrayed the South by supporting the Republicans.

Opposition to Reconstruction

• Most white southerners opposed Reconstruction.– Southern Democrats claimed that Reconstruction

governments were corrupt.– They disliked having federal troops in their states.– They disapproved of African American social,

working, and political freedoms.• Tennessee, 1866 – Ku Klux Klan (KKK)= A secret

society opposed to civil rights, particularly suffrage for African Americans.– The KKK used terror and violence against

African Americans, and their white supporters.

The End of Reconstruction• Actions that challenged Reconstruction:

– General Amnesty Act of 1872 = Former Confederates were allowed to hold public office.• Most were Democrats who opposed

Reconstruction.– The Republican party lost its majority control of

Congress in 1874.– Panic of 1873 = A severe economic depression in

which two million Americans were out of work.• The Republicans were blamed for that

depression.

The End of Reconstruction• Rutherford B. Hayes was elected as president in

1876.– Hayes and the Republicans decided that it was

time to end federal support of reconstruction.• In 1877, the last of the federal troops were

removed from the South.

Jim Crow and Plessy v. Ferguson• After the Reconstruction period, Democrats began to gain

control of state governments in the South.– These Democrats became known as Redeemers.

• Goals of the Redeemers:– Reduce the size of state government, social

programs, and public funding for schools– Limit African American rights

» Poll Tax = a tax people had to pay b/f they could vote.

» Literacy Test = a test that required a certain reading ability b/f they could vote.

– Cut property taxes

Jim Crow and Plessy v. Ferguson• The Redeemers also introduced legal segregation =

the forced separation of whites and African Americans in public areas.– Jim Crow Laws = Laws that required segregation

and were common in the southern states from the 1880’s – 1964. • Early examples of Jim Crow segregation:

– Hotels, Trains, Theaters, Places of employment

• Later examples:–Water Fountains and Restrooms, Public

Transportation, Restaurants, Stadiums

Jim Crow and Plessy v. Ferguson• In 1896, the case of Plessy v. Ferguson was heard by the

Supreme Court.– Homer Plessy, an African American, was arrested

after he refused to leave the white-only section on a Louisiana train. • LA’s Jim Crow laws did not allow African

Americans to ride in train cars with whites.• The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was

allowed if “separate-but-equal” facilities were provided for African Americans.– In practice, separate-but-equal facilities were

separate and unequal.

Sharecropping Section 4 – 533-537

• Few African Americans in the South could afford to buy or rent farms. – Many remained on the same plantations where they

were once slaves.• They worked for much less pay than whites did

and were treated harshly.• The landowner provided the land, tools, and

supplies while the sharecropper provided the labor.– Most of the crop went to the landowner and

the sharecropper got whatever was left.

Sharecropping• Most sharecroppers hoped to earn enough money from

the sale of their share so that they could buy their own land.– Few ever did and sunk deeper into debt with each

passing season.

Southern Industry• The southern economy prospered and declined as the

price of cotton rose and fell.– Southern business leaders felt that creating industry

would strengthen the South’s economy.• The South had an abundance of two resources –

cotton and cheap labor.– Textile mills were built and in turn helped

boost the southern economy.

Southern Industry• With the creation of southern textile mills came the

creation of jobs.– Many people from rural areas came to work in the

mills, however most mills would not hire African Americans.• Often, entire families worked in the mills

including children by the age of 12.• Mills offered:

– Steady pay and steady work.– Six day work weeks, 12 hours/day.– Cotton dust and lint filled air = asthma and

brown-lung disease.

Southern Literature and Music• As the South began to modernize, many southerners

looked to the arts to preserve their longstanding traditions.– Authors such as Mark Twain and Mary Murfree

wrote short stories and novels about southern people and places.

– Musicians played the fiddle, banjo, and guitar.• These instruments were and are still especially

popular for square dancing and Bluegrass music.

• All information for this PowerPoint taken from Holt “Call to Freedom” 2004