Chapter 16: Era of Reconstruction (1865–1877)

Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

Period after the Civil War during which Northern political leaders created plans for the governance of the South and a procedure for former Southern states to rejoin the Union; Southern resentment of this era lasted well into the twentieth century

Radical Republicans

Congressional group that wished to punish the South for its secession from the Union; pushed for measures that gave economic and political rights to newly freed blacks in the South and that made it difficult for former Confederate states to rejoin the Union

Reconstruction Act (1867)

Act placing Southern states under military rule and barring former supporters of the Confederacy from voting

Carpetbaggers

Northerners who moved to the South during the Reconstruction Era; traditional elements of Southern society were deeply resentful of profits made by carpetbaggers during this period

Scalawags

A term of derision used in the South during the Reconstruction Era for white Southern Republicans

Ku Klux Klan

Group was founded in Tennessee in 1866; its oftentimes violent actions during the Reconstruction Era represented the resentments felt by many Southern whites toward the changing political, social, and economic conditions of the Reconstruction Era

Compromise of 1877

The political compromise ending the disputed presidential election of 1876

1865

Andrew Johnson institutes liberal

1865

Reconstruction plan Whites in Southern legislatures pass Black Codes

1865

Thirteenth Amendment ratified

1866

Civil Rights Act, Freedmens Bureau Act approved by Congress

1866

Fourteenth Amendment passes Congress (fails to be ratified in Southern states)

1866

Antiblack riots in New Orleans, Memphis

1866

Republicans who favor Radical Reconstruction win congressional elections, in essence ending Johnson’s Reconstruction plan

1866

Ku Klux Klan founded

1867

Tenure of Office Act approved by Congress (Congress had to approve presidential appointments, dismissals)

1867

Reconstruction Act approved by Congress (Southern states placed under military rule)

1867

Constitutional conventions called by former Confederate states

1867

Johnson tries to remove Edwin Stanton as secretary of war, leading to cries for his impeachment

1868

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: Johnson impeached in the House of Representatives, not convicted in the Senate

1868

Southern states return to Union under policies established by Radical Republicans

1868

Final ratification of Fourteenth Amendment

1868

Former Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant elected president

1870

Amendment ratified Many blacks elected in Southern state legislatures

1872

Confederates allowed to hold office Ulysses S. Grant reelected

1876

Disputed presidential election between Tilden, Hayes

1877

Compromise of 1877 awards election to Hayes, ends Reconstruction in the South

Ten Percent Plan

This plan allowed Southerners without important Confederate military or political positions to swear allegiance to the US.

Wade-Davis Act

An "**ironclad**" oath was required of a majority of Southern voters. A Southern state could only reenter the Union on these terms by enfranchising large numbers of African American voters.

Black Codes

Later, Southern legislatures passed ________ that seemed like a return to slavery and fueled Radical Republican suspicions.

**Freedman’s Bureau**

In early 1865, Congress passed a bill establishing the **_________**. By 1866, most freed slaves were tenant farmers on their former masters' plantations, making the _________’s job difficult.

Senator Charles Sumner

__________ of Massachusetts believed that the vote and political influence were the best way to improve freedmen's status.

Congressman Thaddeus Stevens

He advocated confiscating land from wealthy Confederates and giving it to former slaves to give freedmen economic independence.

Joint Committee on Reconstruction

Congress established a __________ in late 1865 to investigate Southern conditions and recommend reintegration.

Civil Rights

The Joint Committee persuaded Congress to *renew the authorization of the Freedman’s Bureau*. It also proposed a ________ bill.

**Civil Rights Act of 1866**

The **_____________** granted freedmen citizenship and extended the Freedman's Bureau. The federal courts and military could enforce these rights for freedmen.

Thirteenth Amendment

In December 1865, this Constitutional amendment abolished **slavery and involuntary servitude**. It confirmed Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and freed all slaves in Union territory.

Fourteenth Amendment

National citizenship and equal rights were defined by this amendment. It included Southern-focused measures.

Reconstruction Act

In 1867, Congress passed a ______________ that put the former Confederacy under military rule.

Army Act

This act limited his ability to interfere with the army in the South.

Tenure of Office Act

This act prevented the president from firing a cabinet secretary without Senate approval.

February 24, 1868

The House of Representatives voted on articles of **impeachment** on ___________. No president had been impeached before.

General Ulysses S. Grant

In the 1868 presidential election, Republicans nominated Civil War hero ____________, who won easily.

Fifteenth Amendment

The _____________ guaranteed African American voting rights "on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

**P.B.S. Pinchback**

Sixteen African Americans were elected to the House and one to the Senate. ________ was elected governor of Louisiana.

**Ku Klux Klan**

In 1886, The **__________** was founded in Tennessee. Voters and schools were burned by the Klan. Their vigilante actions included torture and murder.

**Civil Rights Act of 1875**

Grant was reelected in 1872. He signed the ____________ to guarantee African Americans equal treatment in public accommodations, transportation, and juries.

Samuel Tilden

He was famous for opposing New York City's Tammany Hall political machine and its corrupt boss William M. Tweed.

**Rutherford B. Hayes**

The Republican candidate was Ohio Governor **_____________.** He was a Union general during the Civil War.