Reconstruction

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Chapter 17: Section 1 page 500-503• The South was in ruins & the people of the nation agreed that the South’s economy & society needed rebuilding.

• This period of rebuilding is called Reconstruction. It also refers to the various plans for accomplishing the rebuilding.

Lincoln’s Plan

• Before the war even ended, Lincoln offered the first plan for reconstruction.• Lincoln’s plan was called the ten percent plan.•10% of southern voters had to take an oath of loyalty to the U.S.•States had to form a new government.•States’ constitutions had to ban slavery.

• Lincoln believed that the south should not be punished.

The president offered amnesty (a pardon) to all white confederates except Confederate leaders.

•Congress Steps In:•The Republicans in Congress argued that Congress, not the president, should control reconstruction.

•They were called the Radical Republicans and were led by Thaddeus Stephens.

Lincoln & Congress differed on many policies, but they did

agree on creating the Freedman’s Bureau

• The Freedman’s Bureau was a government agency created to help former slaves.

•The Freedman's Bureau helped to:• Distribute food and clothing• Provided for medical services• Established schools• Helped freed people to acquire land• Offered free transportation to the countryside• Helped obtain fair wages

On April 14, 1865 Lincoln was assassinated. The new president, Andrew Johnson, and Congress did not agree on how reconstruction should continue.

• Johnson agreed with Lincoln’s reconciliation plan & called his plan Restoration.• In addition to the same conditions that Lincoln wanted for re-entry into the Union, southern states’ constitutions had to denounce (go against) session & abolish (end) slavery.•States had to ratify the 13th amendment which abolished slavery in all parts of the U.S.

By 1865 Johnson said

reconstruction/restoration was over.

- Congress (The Radical

Republicans) did not think it was

over…

Section 2 Pages 504-508• Because of the leniency of Johnson’s restoration plan, the new Southern governments were being run by former Confederate leaders. The Southern state legislatures passes a series of laws called “Black Codes.”

•These laws were aimed to control freed men and women and to enable plantation owners to exploit (take advantage of) African-Americans.

Black codes trampled the newly won rights of the former slaves.

• Some laws allowed local officials to arrest and fine unemployed African-Americans and make them work for white employers to pay off their fines.

• Some laws banned African-Americans from owning or renting farms.

• One law allowed whites to take orphaned African-Americans children as unpaid apprentices.

Black Codes were really

slavery in

disguise.

How did Congress challenge the Black Codes?

•The Civil Rights Act of 1866:

•Granted full citizenship to African-Americans.

•The law overturned the Black Codes.

Fearing that African-Americans might loose rights established

by the Civil Rights Act, Congress passed a new amendment.

• The 14th amendment granted full citizenship to all individuals born in the United States and every citizen equal protection under the law.

• Congress declared that all states had to ratify the 14th amendments in order to be remitted to the Union.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

• Divided the southern states into 5 military districts.• Guaranteed African-Americans the right to vote in state elections.• Prevented former confederate leaders from holding political office.

In 1868 Ulysses S. Grant becomes

president & the last piece of

reconstruction is developed.

• In 1868, Congress passed the 15th amendment which prohibited states from denying the right to vote to any male citizen based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Reconstruction is still far from

over…Giving the vote

to African-Americans did not secure (or enforce) their

protection.

Chapter 17 sections 3 &4 (Pages 509-520)

New Groups take Charge:

During Reconstruction the Republican Party

came to dominate Southern politics.

Support for the Republican came from 3

groups:1. African Americans2. White Southerners who supported Republican policies. 3. White settlers from the North.

• *These groups dominated the state constitutional conventions and state

governments.

Scalawags & Carpetbaggers:

•-Some Southern whites supported Republican policy throughout Reconstruction. Many were non-slaveholding farmers or business leaders who opposed secession in the first place.

• Former Confederates despised (hated) these people for siding with the Republicans and called scalawags; meaning scoundrel (or worthless rascal).

•-Many northern white who moved to the South also supported the Republicans and called them carpetbaggers because they often arrived with all their belongings in cheap suitcases made of carpet fabric.

•- Although some carpetbaggers were greedy and took advantage of the South, many were soldiers, lawyers, doctors, teachers who wanted to reshape Southern society (for the better without taking advantage).

Resistance to Reconstruction:

•-Most Southerners opposed efforts to expand African- American rights.

•-Plantation owners tried to maintain control over freed people.

•-Many plantation owners told the African-Americans they could not leave the plantations.

•-Most white land owners refused to rent land to freedmen.

•-Store owners refused them credit.

•-Employers refused to give them work (jobs).

The Ku Klux Klan:- Violence against African-Americans and

their white supporters became commonplace during Reconstruction (meaning, it happened all the time).

- The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) launched midnight rides against the African-Americans burning their homes, churches, & schools.

- Klan violence increased before elections to keep African-Americans from voting.

- The Klan also attacked white supporters of Reconstruction.

Farming the Land (page 512)

• The most common form of farm work for freed individuals was sharecropping.

• In this system, the landowner rented a plot of land to a sharecropper along with a crude shack, some seeds and tools, and perhaps, a mule.

• In return, a sharecropper shared a percentage of their crop with the landowner.•After paying the landowner, the sharecropper had little left to sell. Sometimes there was barely enough to feed their families. •For many, sharecropping was no better than slavery.

End of Reconstruction• In the election of 1876, Tilden (Democrat) and Hayes (Republican) ran for president. Although Tilden won the popular vote, there was no clear winner of the disputed electoral votes. A special Congressional commission decided the fate of the election. This led to…

The Compromise of 1877

The Compromise of 1877

•A deal was made. Rutherford B. Hayes (the Republican candidate) would become president, but he would have to do favors for the south including:

•Giving aid to the region (money, grants)•Withdrawing all the remaining troops from the Southern States.

After touring the South on a goodwill visit, Hayes’ message was clear….

- The federal government would no longer attempt to reshape Southern Society or help the

southern African-Americans.

Because of the Election of 1876 & the Compromise of

1877, RECONSTRUCTIO

N WAS OVER.

Reconstruction Policies

Soldiers from the North supervised the South.

Carpetbaggers from the North took advantage of the South during Reconstruction.

Rights for African Americans were gained as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which also authorized the use of federal troops for its enforcement.

Established the Freedman's Bureau to aid former enslaved African Americans in the South.

African Americans could hold public office. (they were elected).

Military leaders from the South could not hold office.

These policies made some in the South want to... SCREAM!!!