Reconstruction

Reconstruction

Reconstruction was the period from 1863-1877 when the United States worked to rebuild the South and integrate freed slaves into American society after the Civil War. It involved multiple phases including Lincoln's plan

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as punishment for crime. The "except as punishment for crime" clause allowed for continued forced labor of convicted criminals

Lincoln's 10 Percent Plan

Lincoln's lenient Reconstruction plan requiring only 10% of 1860 voters in a state to take a loyalty oath to rejoin the Union. Lincoln proposed this lenient approach because his primary war goal was to preserve the Union quickly and peacefully

Presidential Reconstruction

Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction approach (1865-1867) that was even more lenient than Lincoln's plan. Johnson issued widespread pardons to former Confederates

Andrew Johnson

Lincoln's Vice President who became President after Lincoln's assassination. A Southern Democrat who opposed secession

Pardons of rebels

Johnson issued over 13

Radical Republican reaction to pardons

Radical Republicans were outraged by Johnson's lenient pardons

Congressional Reconstruction

Reconstruction led by Radical Republicans (1867-1877) who imposed stricter requirements on Southern states. It divided the South into military districts

Radical Republicans

Congressional leaders like Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner who believed the South should be severely punished and that freed slaves deserved full civil rights. They opposed lenient plans because they felt they didn't adequately protect African Americans or transform Southern society.

Thaddeus Stevens

Leading Radical Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania who advocated for harsh punishment of the South

Impeachment of Johnson

Johnson was impeached in 1868 for violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton without Senate approval. However

14th Amendment

Granted citizenship to all persons born in the US (including freed slaves)

15th Amendment

Specifically prohibited denying voting rights based on "race

Freedmen's Bureau

Federal agency (1865-1872) that provided food

Share Cropping

Agricultural system where freed slaves worked land owned by whites in exchange for a share of the crop. While it gave some autonomy compared to slavery

40 Acres and a mule

Referred to Special Field Order 15 (1865)

Reconstruction Act 1867

Required Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment

Black Codes

Laws passed by Southern states to restrict the rights and movements of freed slaves

KKK and terror

The Ku Klux Klan spread quickly during Reconstruction through white supremacist networks and opposition to Black political participation. They used violence

Carpetbaggers and Scalawags

Carpetbaggers were Northern Republicans who moved South during Reconstruction; Scalawags were Southern whites who supported Republican Reconstruction policies. Their presence created resentment among Southern Democrats and was used to discredit Reconstruction governments as illegitimate.

Civil Rights Act of 1871

Also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act

Compromise of 1877

Deal that resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election by giving the presidency to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for withdrawing federal troops from the South. This effectively ended Reconstruction and allowed the South to reverse many civil rights gains.

Jim Crow Law

State and local laws that enforced racial segregation in the South after Reconstruction. They used methods like separate facilities

End of Reconstruction

Who: Southern Democrats regained control; What: Federal troops withdrawn

Reconstruction failure or betrayal

Reconstruction was both failed in implementation and violently sabotaged/subverted. While some progress was made in civil rights and education