RECONSTRUCTION Reconstruction = the process of readmitting

the former Confederate states to the Union 1865-1877Lincoln’s main vision for the process was to

reunite the nation as quickly and painlessly as possible

FREEDMEN’S BUREAUOrganization established by Congress to aid

poor southerners Gave relief to freed African-Americans Established more schools and increased

efforts to educate freed slaves

TEN PERCENT PLANLincoln’s plan Offered southerners amnesty, or official pardon

(forgiveness), for all illegal acts supporting the rebellion Southerners had to swear an oath of loyalty to the U.S. and

agree that slavery was illegal Many Republicans did not agree because they felt it would

take more to restore the Union than a loyalty oath *(Do not copy) – if only ten percent of voters in a state

made these pledges, they could be readmitted into the Union

WADE-DAVIS BILLThis bill required that the majority of

southern males take an oath of loyalty Also required States to ban slavery forever

THIRTEENTH AMENDMENTThis amendment to the Constitution made

slavery illegal throughout the U.S.Ratified on December 18th, 1865

LINCOLN’S ASSASSINATIONApril 14th, 1865Lincoln was shot and killed at Ford’s Theater

in Washington, D.C. while attending a play with his life

His assassin was John Wilkes Booth who was a southerner who opposed Lincoln’s policies

VP Andrew Johnson was sworn into office quickly

PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON17th President; Democrat He was now in charge of Reconstruction Wanted to grant wealthy southerners and former

Confederate leaders amnesty through presidential pardons His administration set up new southern governments by

allowing elections of state and federal representatives Congress, however, still refused to readmit southern states

be cause the representatives of the new governments had been Confederate leaders (nation was still divided)

CHANGES IN SOUTHERN LIFESocial structure of the South changed because African-

Americans began to demand the same economic and political rights as whites

Life at southern mills was difficult because employees were overworked and suffered from asthma and brown-lung disease

Many blacks were elected as representatives to state legislatures in the South

BLACK CODESSouthern states passed these laws to limit the freedom and

civil rights of African-Americans Southerners felt the codes were justified because the

government was intended for white men only Codes required that blacks sign work contracts to replace

the labor force that was lost after the ending of slavery Blacks were not allowed to own guns/firearms

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866Johnson determined that the Freedmen’s

Bureau was unconstitutionalRepublicans responded by passing this act

which provided African-Americans with the same legal rights as whites

RADICAL REPUBLICANSThey wanted the federal government to force

change in the South They supported suffrage (the right to vote)

for African-American men Thaddeus Stevens, a Pennsylvania

Congressman, was the leader

FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT All people born or naturalized within the U.S.,

except Native Americans, were citizens Citizens were guaranteed equal protection of the

laws Republicans proposed this because they wanted

to protect the Civil Rights Act from being overturned by the South

RECONSTRUCTION ACTSPassed by Congress in March 1867 Divided the South into five military districts

controlled by a military commander

JOHNSON’S IMPEACHMENTImpeachment = process used by a legislative body to

bring charges of wrongdoing against a public official Congress passed a law that prevented the president from

removing a cabinet official without Senate approval because they knew Johnson did not support their Reconstruction policies

House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson in 1868 because he fired a cabinet official without Senate approval; he wasn’t convicted

ELECTION OF 1868 Ulysses S. Grant was voted the 18th president He was a Republican He appealed to many northern voters

because he was a war hero and his party was “the party of Lincoln”

African-American votes helped him achieve victory

FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT1869 - Gave African-American men the right to

vote Republicans believed this amendment would help

their Reconstruction plan because blacks would support the plan as well

Women criticized the amendment because it did not give them the right to vote

CARPETBAGGERSWhite southerners used this term as an insult

towards northern-born Republicans who held political offices in the South

*(Do not copy) – the rumor is that “carpetbaggers” rushed to the South carrying all their possessions in bags made from carpeting so they could profit off of Reconstruction

HIRAM REVELSFirst African-American Senator He was elected in 1870 Took over the seat previously held by

Jefferson Davis in Mississippi

KU KLUX KLANBegan in 1866 Secret society of white southerners who opposed black

suffrage They used violence and terror against African-Americans;

in some cases they murdered blacks They gained much power in the South because local

governments did little to stop their violence Their actions inspired Congress to make it illegal to

interfere with elections or deny citizens equal protection

END OF RECONSTRUCTION In 1872, low-ranking, former Confederate officers were

permitted to hold public office Republican Party also began losing power in the North due

to scandals in Ulysses S. Grant’s administration Panic of 1873 – severe economic downturn made

northerners less concerned with southern racism and more considered with their financial well-being

COMPROMISE OF 1877Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) was

elected the 19th president in 1876 after a dispute over electoral votes

Compromise = Democrats agreed to accept Hayes’s victory if all federal troops were removed from the south

REDEEMERSThey were Democrats who regained control

of state governments in the South They established laws that successfully

discriminated against African-Americans

JIM CROW LAWSSegregation = forced separation of whites and blacks in

public places Jim Crow laws enforced segregation Poll tax = a special tax that people had to pay so they

could vote and many blacks could not afford itGrandfather clause = men whose fathers and

grandfathers who could vote before 1867 did not have to pay the tax or take a literacy test – every white man could escape voting restrictions

SHARECROPPING SYSTEMLimited opportunities for blacks to own farms

and property Most sharecroppers lived in a cycle of debt =

buy goods on credit and then fail to make much money selling their crops

PLESSY V. FERGUSON1896 – major Supreme Court case Supreme Court ruled that segregation was allowed

(constitutional) if “separate-but-equal” facilities were provided for blacks

Segregation became widespread across the country in schools, libraries, parks, restaurants, etc.

Black facilities were blatantly inferior and unequal