Ch. 16

Reconstruction

Section 1

Ending Slavery

• Emancipation Proclamation: --freed slaves in states that were in rebellion (Confederacy)

• --did not free slaves in the border states (slave states that were still in the Union)

• For this reason, the 13th Amendment was ratified.

• 13th Amendment (1865) ended slavery in the U.S.

Problems facing the U.S. after the Civil War

• 1. Much of the S. destroyed

• 2. People were homeless• 3. Lack of food• 4. Bitterness btwn N & S• 5. What would happen to

freed people?• 6. Slavery hadn’t

officially ended in all parts of the country

Reconstruction

• Period following Civil War during which slavery ended and the South was rebuilt. Lasted from 1865 until 1877.

Plans for Reconstruction

• Lincoln’s Plan (Ten Percent Plan)

• Wade-Davis Bill

• Johnson’s Plan

• Reconstruction Acts

Ten Percent Plan• Lincoln’s plan for

Reconstruction• Lincoln wanted to reunite the

nation ASAP• When 10% of a state’s voters

swore the oath of loyalty to Union, states could organize new governments

• New state governments had to declare an end to slavery

• Once that happened, they could send representatives to Congress again

• Confederates who took the loyalty oath were granted amnesty (pardon)

Wade-Davis Bill

• Passed by Congress• 50% of a state’s voters had to swear loyalty oath

for state to be readmitted• anyone who served voluntarily for the

Confederacy couldn’t vote• not signed by Lincoln, which meant it never

became law• Radical Republicans: felt only a strict plan for

Reconstruction would keep former S. leaders from regaining power and weakening control of Rad. Rep.

Freedmen’s Bureau

• 1. Provided relief to people who had no homes after the Civil War

• 2. set up schools to teach freedmen to read & write

• 3. helped freedmen find jobs

• 4. settled disputes between blacks & whites

• 5. also aided poor whites• freedmen: former slaves

Lincoln’s Assassination

• April 14, 1865: Lincoln murdered by John Wilkes Booth, a southern sympathizer

• Lincoln succeeded by his VP, Andrew Johnson

Sec. 2

Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction

• Granted amnesty to former Conf. who swore loyalty

• Could org. new gov’t & elect reps

• Had to abolish slavery & ratify 13th Am.

• By Dec. 1865, most states had done all of these & some sent Reps & Sens to Congress

• Congress refused to seat S. sen. & rep.– Appointed a committee to form new plan for

S.– Heard testimony about black codes (new laws

used by S. states to control Afr. Am.)• Couldn’t vote, serve on juries

• Led Congress to adopt hard line

• 2 goals of Radical Republicans– prevent former Conf. from regaining control– protect freedmen & grant them right to vote

Civil Rights Act of 1866

• granted citizenship rights to Afr. Am.

• guaranteed civil rights to everyone except Native Americans

• Vetoed by Johnson, but Congress overturned his veto

14th Amendment

• drawn up b/c Cong. didn’t want Supreme Ct. to strike down Civil Rights Act

• approved 1868• all ppl born or naturalized in U.S. are

citizens• states can’t pass laws taking away

citizens’ rights• states denying citizens right to vote will

have # of reps reduced

Radical Reconstruction• Congress pushed for

stricter form b/c of violence in S.

• Reconstruction Acts– Removed gov’t of S.

states that refused to ratify 14th Am

– Military rule imposed-five districts

– To be readmitted, a state had to write new constitution, ratify 14th Am, & grant Afr. Am right to vote

• In South, # of Afr Am voters outnumbered white• Republicans won all S. states in 1868

congressional election• Afr. Am elected as sheriffs, mayors, judges,

legislators• 16 elected to House of Reps, 2 to Senate

(Blanche K. Bruce & Hiram Revels)• S. states opened public schools for 1st time• Taxes more evenly spread• Voting rules fairer• Women granted property rights• Rebuilt bridges, roads, buildings• Old leaders lost much of power

Supporters of Rad. Rep.

• Freedmen• Scalawags (S. whites

who opposed secession)

• Carpetbaggers (N whites who went S. to start business or pursue pol. office)

Radical Rep. v. Johnson• Johnson opposed much of legislation about

Recon.• Rad Rep tried to impeach Johnson• Impeachment-process of bringing formal

charges against a public official• Used Tenure of Office Act (said president

couldn’t remove Cabinet official from office w/o permission of Congress)

• Johnson had fired his Sec. of War—Edward Stanton

• In impeachment trial, Johnson was one vote short of 2/3 maj. needed for impeachment

• Ulysses S. Grant won (war hero), moderate Rep.

• Rad. Rep. began to lose power

• 15th Am: granted Afr. Am. right to vote

Election of 1868

Ku Klux Klan

• secret society created to terrorize Afr. Am.

• wore white robes that hid faces

• shouted threats, burned wooden crosses, whipped, tortured, shot, hung Afr. Am. & white Republicans

• led to decrease in voting among Afr. Am. who were threateElection of 1868ned by KKK

Section 3

End of Reconstruction

Why Rad. Rep. Lost Support

• Americans started to forget the Civil War and get on with their lives

• Members of Grant’s administration were involved in scandals– Grant wasn’t involved in scandals but others were– Credit Mobilier – Whiskey Ring

• Northerners lost faith in Republicans and their policies

Self Rule for the South

• People called for w/drawal of troops and full amnesty for Confederates

• S. started to take back control of gov’t

• Chipped away Afr. Am. rights– Aided by societies that terrorized Afr. Am.

(such as KKK)

Election of 1876• Presidential election results

disputed• Rutherford B. Hayes (Ohio)

v. Samuel Tilden (NY)• Tilden won popular vote but

20 electoral votes were disputed– Tilden was 1 short w/o

them – Congress appointed a

commission to handle the situation which gave all 20 electoral votes to Hayes

• Hayes promised to end Reconstruction in exchange for becoming president (Compromise of 1877)

Afr. Am. Lose Rights

B/c Reconstruction ended, Afr. Am. lost rights in S.

• Poll tax—tax to be paid b/4 voting

• Literacy test—showed whether a person could read or write

• Grandfather clause—a person could vote if his grandfather was eligible to vote b/4 1/1/1867

• Segregation—enforced separation of races

• Jim Crow Laws—enforced segregation in the S.– Separate hospitals,

cemeteries, playgrounds, restaurants, schools

– Had to sit in back seat of RR or streetcars or take separate ones

• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)– Homer Plessy was

arrested for sitting in a RR car marked “for whites only”

– Case went to Supreme Ct.– Ct. ruled segregation was

legal—“separate but equal”• Lack of jobs available to

Afr. Am., even if they were educated or skilled workers

A Cycle of Poverty• Most freedmen became sharecroppers

(farmers who rent land & pay a share of ea. yr’s crop as rent)

• Problem: what you earn depends on weather conditions & crop prices

• Sharecroppers often lost $ and were in debt

• Few jobs in towns & cities available to Afr. Am.

• Most had to take menial jobs

New South

• S. economy began to recover during Reconstruction

• 1880s—industries began to recover or develop• First to recover was agriculture

– Cotton production revived—led to textile industry in S.– Tobacco production increased

• Started developing natural resources: iron, timber, oil