Reconstruction

Status of Confederate leaders post-war

• Jefferson Davis and other leaders were jailed but were eventually released

• Johnson pardoned them in 1868

• Some were paroled and allowed to return home

• Temporarily lost rights as US citizens

Economy of postwar South

• Cities, transportation, and agriculture were destroyed

• Infrastructure damage with many properties and buildings destroyed during the war

• The South lost billions of dollars

Union League

• This was an activist group meant to promote loyalty to the Union and protect the rights of freed slaves

• Represented black grievances by building back churches and schools

• Helped more African Americans register to vote

• Recruited militias to protect black communities from white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan

Life after Emancipation for former slaves

• They were given legal freedom with limited rights

• They had low-paying jobs

• They were given citizenship and voting rights

• They were given food, clothing and educationion by the Freedman’s Bureau

• Schools and churches were established for the lives of African Americans

• Many of them learned how to read

Purchase of Alaska

• Also known as “Seward’s Folly”

• Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867

• He purchased Alaska for natural resources like furs, fish, gold, oil and gas

• This helped America expand its land more

• Many believed this was a frozen wasteland with little to no value

Johnson’s impeachment

• He was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act

• This Act stated that the Senate had to consent before the president could remove his appointees from office

• Johnson violated this law when he removed Edwin M. Stanton from office early in 1868 without approval from the senate

• He also was impeached on 2 additional articles concerning Johnson’s verbal attacks on Congress

• He was acquitted by the Senate because he indicated that he would stop obstructing the Republican policies if he could stay in office

Freedman’s Bureau

• Welfare agency intended to provide food, clothing, medical care, and education to former slaves and white refugees

• Passed on March 3, 1865, by congress

• Through this, an estimated 200,000 blacks learned how to read

• President Johnson tried to kill this because he agreed with white supremacists

• Expired in 1872

13th Amendment

• Ratified on December 6, 1865

• Abolished slavery across the US in states where slavery remained legal during the war

• It prohibited forced labor unless one has been convicted of a crime

14th Amendment

• Ratified in 1868

• This was about whether or not black people should have citizenship in America

• Declared that everyone born in America regardless of color be granted citizenship.

• States that everyone born or naturalized in the US needs to be granted American citizenship

15th Amendment

• Ratified in 1870

• Granted African Americans the right to vote

• States that no citizen shall be denied the right to vote based on race

• Many people in former Confederate states were trying to suppress African American voting rights 

Why was Johnson Lincoln’s 2nd term VP?

• He wanted to appeal to both northern and southern states

• To do this he chose a Democrat who supported the Union and they renamed their party for the time, the National Union Party

• This choice aimed to unify the country after the Civil War, bridging the divide between the North and South.

Black Codes

• This was a set of laws passed by Andrew Johnson and southern states to regulate the affairs of former slaves and their families

• Missippi was the first to pass one of these laws in November 1865 and then other states followed

• This prevented blacks from serving on a jury or owning land

• This brought the question of whether blacks were really free and if the North had won the war

What was Johnson like?

• Came from the poorest background

• Lincoln chose him because he needed to get Democrats’ support

• Unpolished, unpopular, & tough to deal with

• Often agreed with white supremacists

• Congress didn’t like working with him

Southern attitudes after losing the war

• Embarrassed after loosing the war

• Opposed Reconstruction policies

• Resisted efforts to extend rights to former slaves

• Many white landowners had to rebuild their wealth

• Wanted to restore white supremacy

Roles of African American women after the war

• Women’s Loyal League was established

• Many women’s rights activists suspended their own demands to work for the cause of black emancipation

• Many African American women traveled long distances to reunite with family

• Limited opportunities for jobs

• Many women started taking part in education by becoming teachers

• Many were nurses

• They gathered 400,000 petitions asking Congress to pass an amendment to prohibit slavery

Thaddeus Stevens

• A leading figure of Radical Republicans

• He advocated for the 13th Amendment and the abolition of slavery

• Supported the 14th and 15th amendments

• Proposed giving land taken from the confederates to freedmen

• Accused Andrew Johnson of violating the Tenure of Office Act leading to Johnson’s impeachment

Scalawags

White southerners who supported the black cause, mostly former Unionists and Whigs.

Carpetbaggers

White northerners who moved south to seek personal profit and political power.

Democrats

• Opposed Reconstruction policies

• Supported white supremacy

• Supported restricting the freedom of the freedmen

• Supported states’ rights and opposed the federal government

• Supported return to the racial and social hierarchy pre-war

Republicans

• Advocated for civil rights, freedom and liberty

• Divided the south into 5 military districts to protect freedmen from white opression

• Advocated for the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments to grant former slaves human rights

Radical Repulicans

• Demanded harsh penalties for the south and former confederates

• They pushed for the rights of freedmen

• Redisrtibuted land from former confederates to freedmen

• Supported building schools and other building to institute freedom for African Americans

Hiram Revels

• He took Jefferson Davis’ former senate seat

• Represented change as he replaced a Confederate leader

• Focused on reconciling states and civil rights

Veto

• Presidents power to reject a bill passed by Congress

• When vetoed it is sent back to Congress with president's objections

Pocket Veto

•  When a president takes no action on a bill passed by Congress and Congress adjourns within 10 days

• This bill does not become law and the pocket veto can’t be overridden

Override

• Congress can override a presidential veto with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, making the bill law despite the President's objection

• Congress passed Civil Rights Bill – in March 1866 – citizenship to African Americans & attacked Black Codes – Johnson vetoed but Congress overrode it

Sharecropping

• Plantation owners sought labor to replace enslaved people and freed African Americans and poor whites sought means of survival and work

• A landowner would allow a tenant (sharecropper) to farm a portion of their land.

• In return, the sharecropper agreed to give a share of the harvest (typically one-third to one-half) to the landowner as rent.