reconstruction (1863-1877) what was reconstruction? what did reconstruction mean in 1863 – 1877?

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Reconstruction (1863- 1877) What was Reconstruction? t did Reconstruction mean in 1863 – 18

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Reconstruction (1863-1877)

What was Reconstruction?

What did Reconstruction mean in 1863 – 1877?

Basic Question

Was secession illegal?Was the Constitution a compact among peoples of different

political societies, as peoples of the several states?Had the colonies – as a union – thrown off the dependence

and in turn made the states?Members of the Congress (including the 1st and 2nd

Continental Congresses) were present as agents of existing political societies and thus the political societies of the states existed prior to the adoption of either the Articles of Confederation or the Constitution.

No one had ever questioned the right of a state to secede prior to the debate concerning the secession of the southern states and reconstruction.

What did Reconstruction Mean?

Originally it meant simply reunification.

By the end of the war it had come to mean a fundament reconstruction of the South. Reconstruct Southern political life Reconstruct Southern economic life Reconstruct Southern social life

Central Questions of Reconstruction

On what terms should Southern states be readmitted?

Should Congress or the President establish those terms?

What system of labor should replace plantation slavery?

(slavery had been, first and foremost, a system of labor)

What should be the place of blacks in the political, economic, and social life of the South and the nation?

Groups in Conflict

1. President v. Congress

2. Republicans v. Southern Democrats

3. Radical Republicans v. Moderate Republicans

4. Blacks v. Whites (Blacks were not passive bystanders)

Each group had their own answers to the questions posed by Reconstruction

Phases of Reconstruction

1. Rehearsal for Reconstruction (1863 - 1865)

2. Presidential Reconstruction (1865 - 1867)

3. Congressional Reconstruction (1867 - 1877)

(also known as Radical Reconstruction)

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

The “Ten Percent Plan” (Dec, 1863)

Full pardon for those who took an oath of allegiance

Restored property (except slaves)

Prominent military & civilian leaders excluded

Became known as the “Ten percent Plan” because:When those taking oath = 10% of voters in 1860, could

establish a new state government

Reconstructed state governments had to accept abolition

As soon as first two were complied with, states could be readmitted

The Radical Republican Response

Wanted tougher stance toward ConfederatesSaw Reconstruction as a chance to fundamentally

transform Southern societyRefused to seat new reps from Arkansas & LouisianaPassed Wade-Davis Bill

Required 50% loyalty oathOath was much stricter than Lincoln’s (called the Ironclad

Oath)Bill was pocket vetoed by Lincoln - felt it would

damage his efforts to win over moderates (in both camps)

End of the Confederacy

April 9, 1865 - Lee surrenders to Grant in VirginiaApril 14, 1865 - Lincoln assassinated in Washington DCApril 26, 1865 - Johnston surrenders to Sherman in North

CarolinaMay 4, 1865 – Taylor surrenders to Canby in AlabamaMay 10, 1865 - Davis captured while fleeing to TexasMay 12 & 13, 1865 – Battle at Palmetto Ranch in South TexasMay 26, 1865 – Buckner (for Smith) surrenders to Canby in

Trans-MississippiJune 23, 1865 – following Winchester Colbert of the Chickasaws

and P.P. Pitchlynn of the Choctaws, Stand Watie of the Cherokees surrenders to Matthews in Indian Territory

Andrew Johnson’s “Restoration” Plan

Wanted to restore the Union as quickly as possibleBlamed individuals (specifically planter elite), not states for secessionSpring, 1865 - granted amnesty and pardon to Confederates who took

loyalty oath and supported emancipationConfederate officers & wealthy landowners had to apply for Presidential

pardon - freely grantedStates must hold constitutional conventionsDelegates elected by those who took oath or were pardoned (only whites

could participate)New constitutions must:

a) repudiate secessionb) Acknowledge abolitionc) Void state war debts

1. Bestowed full citizen ship on African-Americans

2. Overturned black codes

3. Overturned 1857 Dred Scott decision

Civil Rights Act of 1866

AMENDMENT XIV(Ratified July 9, 1868)

Defined citizens as ALL natural born or naturalized persons.

Set Congressional Representation based on number of citizens.

Made former Confederates ineligible to hold office.

Made debt caused by “suppressing insurrection or rebellion” legal while those incurred by the southern states “incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States … illegal and void.”

AMENDMENT XIV(Ratified July 9, 1868)

Designed to incorporate reconstruction principals in Constitution

Was a specific response to Johnson’s policies Made passage of amendment part of 1866

Congressional campaign

Doom of Johnson’s Plan

By 1867 Republicans controlled both Houses of Congress

Completely controlled the Northern States

Were not only prepared but were capable of directly challenging the president and seizing control of Reconstruction

First Reconstruction Act (March, 1867)

Divided the South into 5 military districts

Established martial law

Required new state constitutional conventionsElected by universal manhood suffrage

Had to guarantee voting rights to African-Americans

Had to ratify 14th amendment

Supporting legislationInvalidated provisional governments created under Johnson’s plan

Military to conduct voter registration

Required strict loyalty oath

The Impeachment Crisis

Johnson tries to impede Radical Reconstruction

February, 1868--Congress impeachesUses Tenure Act as an excuse

Real cause is differences over Reconstruction

Senate refuses to convict Johnson

Radical Republicans seen as subversive of Constitution, lose publics support

The Election of 1868

<= Horatio Seymour

Northern Democrat

Ulysses S. Grant =>Republican

Democratic Party Campaign Poster

from 1868

Early Members of the

Ku Klux Klan (c. 1866)

AMENDMENT XV(Ratified February 3, 1870)

SECTION 1: The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

A SOUTHERN VIEW OF RECONSTRUCTION

Election of 1876

Rutherford B. Hayes

Republican

Samuel J. Tilden

Democrat

Peter Cooper

Greenback

Election of 1876

Contested States:Florida

Louisiana

South Carolina

Oregon

Compromise of 1877

Democrats agreed that Hayes would be president

Republicans agreed to allocate more federal money for Southern internal improvements

Republicans agreed that federal government would not intervene in Southern affairs

Republicans agreed to appoint 1 Democrat to cabinet