reconstruction rebuilding the south. reconstruction reconstruction: the plan to restore the...
TRANSCRIPT
Reconstruction
Rebuilding the South
Reconstruction
Reconstruction: The plan to restore the Confederate states back to the Union after the Civil War.
Problems in the South After the Civil War
Freedmen: Newly freed slaves
Freedmen’s Bureau: Designed to help former slaves with food, shelter, education, and healthcare
Problems in the South After the Civil War
Freedmen were homeless, uneducated, and free for the first time.
Many freedmen were searching for spouses or children they lost during slavery.
Freedmen feared being enslaved again.
They were looking forward to new freedoms.
Problems in the South After the Civil War
White people (many of them) refused to accept these freedmen as equals.
White Mississippians feared punishment for their part in the Civil War.
Confederates lost their land to the United States (800,000 acres)
Many former Confederates feared that their suffrage would be taken from them.
Problems in the South After the Civil War
Suffrage: voting rights
Disfranchise: To take away the right to vote
Presidential Reconstruction
Abraham Lincoln’s plan was never carried out. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865.
Presidential Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson becomes president when Lincoln is assassinated.
Presidential Reconstruction
In 1865, Mississippians elect Benjamin Humphreys, a former Confederate general, as governor.
Presidential Reconstruction
The new Black Codes
Prohibited interracial marriages
Prohibited firearms and other weapons
Could not assemble in groups
Limited land ownership
Congressional Reconstruction
Congress takes over and passes the Reconstruction Act.
Reconstruction Act: This carved the South into 5 military districts and set up new, strict requirements for readmission to the Union.
Congressional Reconstruction
General Edward Ord was the man put in charge of the military district where Mississippi was located. His first task will be to register ALL eligible voters.
Congressional Reconstruction
When all eligible voters were registered, black people formed the majority in 32 counties, and whites formed the majority in 29 counties
Rise of the Republican Party
Members of the Republican Party consisted of:
White Mississippians who supported Congress
Scalawags: Native whites who supported the Republican Party
Carpetbaggers: Supporters of the Republican Party who came to the South from the North.
Freedmen
Rise of the Republican Party
This new constitution officially ratifies 3 amendments:
13th: Abolished slavery
14th: Made freedmen full citizens
15th: Universal Male Suffrage: the right of all males to vote
Rise of the Republican Party
New Constitution:
Free Education to All
No discrimination in public transportation
Eliminated property qualification for holding office
Former Confederates had to take an oath acknowledging that all people are created equal.
Rise of the Republican Party
This constitution had to be voted on but failed.
Many whites refused to vote for it, and organizations like the KKK used violence and intimidation to prevent black citizens and some white citizens from voting.
Rise of the Republican Party
In 1869, Ulysses S. Grant became president of the United States.
Rise of the Republican Party
President Grant takes out the requirement to take an oath acknowledging that all men are created equal, and he then resubmits it to the people.
This time it is accepted.
Our new constitution is ratified, and Mississippi is finally readmitted to the Union on February 23, 1870.
Rise of the Republican Party
African Americans will enjoy freedoms like never before with the ratification of this constitution and with the continued presence of troops in Mississippi.
Rise of the Republican Party
Hiram Revels, from Mississippi, was the first black man elected to the United States Senate.
Rise of the Republican Party
Public education will be revived in Mississippi.
The End of Reconstruction
Redeemers: White Mississippians who wanted to return control of the state government back to native whites.
They were committed to restricting black political power and overturning Republican rule.
The End of Reconstruction
Ku Klux Klan: A racist, militant organization that terrorized blacks and tried to restore control to native whites.
The End of Reconstruction
Presidential election of 1876:
Republican Rutherford B. Hayes wins this election!!! This will end Reconstruction in the South