Reconstruction

The Destruction of the War

Presidential Reconstruction

Abraham Lincoln Wartime acts Emancipation Proclamation*

War still in doubtFugitive slavesSlaves boost Confed. CauseNorthern moralePublic opinionFrance and BritainMorality

Presidential Reconstruction

Lincoln - 10% Plan* 10% loyalty oath Abolish slavery Northern opposition

Wade-Davis Bill*50% Ironclad oath

13th Amendment

Presidential Reconstruction

Andrew Johnson* General pardon Col. M.F. Pleasants* Voting = state issue Secession illegal Repudiate Confed.

debt Abolish slavery

Black Codes*Why?

Control Disregard federal govt. Fear black retaliation Labor supply Racism

Examples: Freedmen no testify vs. whites Vagrancy laws Taxes Whipped Blacks called “servant”, whites called “master”

Johnson’s declining popularityMemphis riot*Disputes with Congress

Freedmen’s Bureau Civil Rights bill 14th Amendment

1866 Civil Rights Act1866 14th Amendment

Citizenship for all persons - regardless of race - born or naturalized in US

Forbade states from abridging privileges of citizensGuaranteed due process of the lawEqual protection of the law

“Swing Around the Circle”*, 1866

Congressional ReconstructionRadical Republicans

Who were they?Thaddeus Stevens, PACharles Sumner, MA

What were their goals?Protection of freedmen and supportersFull citizenship of freedmenWin conservative supportSome extreme views

Strip Southerners of citizenshipConfiscate land

Congressional Reconstruction

The Stevens Plan* Federal officials

supervise elections Blacks vote Whites stripped of

citizenship

Congressional Reconstruction1867 Congressional Reconstruction Act

5 military districts Military make arrests, trials Military directs constitutions Not extremely radical

Johnson ImpeachmentImpeachment of Johnson

Radical crusade

Failure: Bring down presidential office Lack of clear crime Successor = Ben Wade Lawyers Johnson quiet

Reconstruction Laws & Acts

1870 15th Amendment Forbade states to deny any citizen the right to vote

on grounds of race, color, or previous condition of servitude

Decline of the Radicals

Small in numberJohnson quietRadicals dividedTrouble staying in officeDeathU.S. Grant

Scandals: political appointments, favors to businessmen and railroads

New Leadership in the South

Grant presidency Northern military Freedmen’s Bureau Carpetbaggers, scalawags,

black politicians 1870, Union restored

Black politicians 22 Congressmen Too few for great impact

Republican ReconstructionPositive aspects:

Public education Efficiency of government Public buildings, roads, manufacturing Social services (orphanages, hospitals, welfare) Capital/investment Political democracy

Republican ReconstructionDecline 1870s

Other concerns Corruption, depression Colfax Massacre

U.S. v. Cruikshank

“Compromise of 1877” Dem. – Samuel J. Tilden, NY Rep. – Rutherford B. Hayes, OH Hayes wins, 185-184 Republicans withdraw N support

Legacy of Reconstruction “America’s unfinished revolution”