Reconstruction 1865-1877

What were Abraham Lincoln’s views on race, equality, and Reconstruction?

• Initially held moderate views: opposed the expansion of slavery but did not support full racial equality.

• Believed slavery was morally wrong but politically tolerated its existence in the South.

• Evolved during the Civil War, especially after the Emancipation Proclamation (1863).

• In final speeches (e.g., April 1865), supported limited Black suffrage and civil rights for educated Black men and veterans.

• Favored a moderate Reconstruction: quick restoration of Southern states under the Ten Percent Plan, with loyalty oaths but no punitive measures.

• Prioritized Union over punishment, and leniency over transformation.

• Believed in a strong federal government during wartime, but aimed to balance state sovereignty in peacetime.

What were Andrew Johnson’s beliefs on race and Reconstruction?

• White supremacist: opposed Black suffrage, civil rights, and the 14th Amendment.

• Believed Reconstruction should restore the Union as it was—a “white man’s government.”

• Vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and Freedmen’s Bureau Bill (Congress overrode him).

• Promoted Presidential Reconstruction: rapid reintegration of Southern states with few conditions.

• Pardoned thousands of ex-Confederates, enabling the rise of Black Codes.

• Advocated states’ rights and resisted federal intervention in Southern governance.

• His leniency triggered Congressional backlash, leading to Radical Reconstruction.

• First U.S. president to be impeached, narrowly avoiding removal.

What role did Thaddeus Stevens play in Reconstruction?

• Leader of the Radical Republicans in the House of Representatives.

• Fierce advocate for racial equality, Black suffrage, and land redistribution (wanted to confiscate Confederate land for freedmen).

• Believed the South should be treated as conquered territory with no automatic restoration of rights.

• Architect of the 14th Amendment and proponent of the 15th Amendment.

• Supported military occupation of the South to enforce Reconstruction laws and protect freedmen.

• Believed only strong federal authority could secure justice for formerly enslaved people and reform the South.

• Saw Reconstruction as a revolutionary opportunity to reshape Southern society.

Ways and Means Committee: responsible for underwriting the financing of the war. - makes him a very influential and powerful figure. Suggests there is a large degree of respect for him.

What were W.E.B. Du Bois’s interpretations of Reconstruction?

• In Black Reconstruction in America (1935), Du Bois rejected the racist narratives of the Dunning School.

• Argued Reconstruction was a moment of radical democratic possibility, led by Black Americans seeking full citizenship.

• Emphasized the agency of freedpeople—their education, political organization, and community-building.

• Saw its failure as the result of white supremacy, Northern betrayal, and capitalist interests.

• Coined the term “the propaganda of history” to describe how Reconstruction was misrepresented to justify racism.

• Advocated federal intervention as essential to securing equality.

• Positioned Reconstruction as central to the American democratic project, not a failed detour.

How does Eric Foner reinterpret Reconstruction?

• Argued Reconstruction was a progressive attempt at interracial democracy, not a failure.

• Highlighted the achievements of Reconstruction governments: public schools, civil rights legislation, expanded voting.

• Emphasized how white resistance and violent groups like the KKK undermined progress.

• Criticized the North’s retreat from enforcement of civil rights after 1877.

• Saw the federal government as critical to protecting civil rights—but noted its limitations and political compromise.

• Identified the struggle for Black citizenship and equality as ongoing and unresolved—hence, “unfinished revolution.”

What was the Dunning School interpretation of Reconstruction?

• Characterized Reconstruction as a tragic failure imposed on the South by vindictive Northerners and corrupt, unfit Black leaders.

• Claimed Black people were inherently incapable of self-government.

• Portrayed Radical Republicans as vengeful and opportunistic.

• Praised Andrew Johnson and the idea of quick reconciliation.

• Advocated states’ rights and opposed federal enforcement of civil rights.

• Dominated U.S. textbooks and public memory for decades.

• Heavily criticized by later historians (especially Du Bois and Foner) for its overt racism and factual distortions.

south’s issues following the war

• Southern economy wrecked - Universal financial ruin in the south

• Most men 17-30 yrs killed or injured

• Plantations no longer operational esp with slaves free

• Emancipation wiped between $1.6-2.7 billion of capital investment off the book

• Per capita income collapsed by more than 40%

• Real estate fell in value e.g. 18% in Tennessee to 70% in Louisiana 

• ⅓ of livestock and ½ farm machinery had disappeared - crippled agriculture

• Land under cultivation shrank by 34% in Sc and 30% in Louisiana

• Banking capital (mostly invested in confederate securities) - losses of 28% → interest rates soared

• Total direct + indirect costs inc slavery → $13.6 b

How devastating was the American Civil War in terms of casualties?

Over 600,000 Americans died—more than in all subsequent US wars combined. The war caused enormous physical destruction, especially in the South.

What were the competing visions after the Civil War?

Reconstruction (introducing change) vs. Restoration (returning to the old order).

What was Lincoln’s view on the seceded states' legal status?

Lincoln saw the Union as “perpetual” (1861 Inaugural). He believed the Confederate states never legally left, so no need for readmission—only for loyal governments to return.

When did the different phases of Reconstruction occur?

• Presidential Reconstruction: 1863–1866 (Lincoln & Johnson)

• Congressional/Radical Reconstruction: 1867–1877 (Radical Republicans)

What caused the shift from Presidential to Congressional Reconstruction?

A power struggle between President Johnson and Congress; Congress wrested control in 1867. Johnson was later impeached (unsuccessfully) in 1868.

Who was Charles Sumner?

Radical Republican Senator and prominent abolitionist

Who was Benjamin Wade?

Radical Republican Senator; co-authored the Wade-Davis Bill.

why was slavery an issue to republicans - why was it not just a moral issue

Slavery not just a moral issue for Republicans → wanted to institute free labor in the South 

Thought this would lead to the South thriving 

Internal improvements, economic mobility, bourgeois virtues (thrift, industry, rationality)

They saw the plantation aristocracy as holding back the South but the war had wiped this class out with emancipation and the destruction of plantations

Included in Reconstruction was the idea that northern industry, northern capital and northern people would go into the South and make it as prosperous as the rest of the Union

What was Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan (1863)?

States could rejoin the Union when 10% of 1860 voters took an oath of loyalty. Excluded high-ranking Confederate officials. Lincoln saw Reconstruction as an executive function.

What was the Wade-Davis Bill (1864)?

Proposed by Congress. Required 50% loyalty oath before state restoration; stricter and more democratic. Lincoln pocket-vetoed it, angering Radical Republicans.

What was Johnson’s Reconstruction policy (1865)?

Declares 2 Presidential Proclamations May 1865

1st one: relates to treatment of former confederates. Promises to pardon those confederates who take an oath to the United states with an exception to those named by Lincoln already and all those with property over $20,000 and had taken part in the rebellion. Those who were part of the exception would have to make an appeal to the President for a special presidential pardon. (Johnson disliked the plantation aristocracy) 

2nd: relates to how governments could be reconstituted in the South. Lincoln had established military govenors in the South but Johnson took it upon himself to appoint provisional governors. The job of provisional governors was to oversee elections which would choose a legislature to draft a new state constitution (had to inc the 13th amendment, proclaim the illegality of secession, repudiate the debts of the Confederacy). Once the constitution is created, new state elections for new Reps and Senators to be sent to Congress. At this point, martial law would end. E.g. a provisional gov Johnson appointed was William Holden in North Carolina who had been in 1864 a pro-unionist, Holden had originally voted for secession.

Favored humiliation of the planter class, not black rights. Continued Lincoln’s plan but added personal grudges.

Johnson's plan required states to proclaim the illegality of their secession, repudiate Confederate debts and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. When they have complied, martial law would be revoked, federal troops would be withdrawn and Reconstruction would be done

johnson’s pardons

Those excluded from amnesty travelled to Washington in the summer of 1865 to ask for a presidential pardon (which they did receive). Johnson granted 13,500 pardons.

impact of Johnson’s reconstruction plan

He ignored Northern eyewitness accounts + the press and claimed the South was ready for reunion

Johnson’s legislation just justified his critics in Congress

Southern blacks were reduced to second class citizenship in FC (former confederacy) states as Johnson argued the FCS only had to accept the 13th Amendment and the FG had no right to interfere in civil and political rights. Relegated freedman to the role of propertyless, unskilled and illiterate agricultural workers. 

Johnson appeared to support ‘soft’ peace and mild Reconstruction policies to both the North and South. Southerners approved of this but Northerner’s (esp Republican Congress) was deeply opposed. 

Congress reconvened Dec 1865 - Johnson Reconstruction essentially completed w/ Southern Congressmen elect ready to take their places

However, the Johnson Reconstruction was not all Southerners had to comply with. They would soon have to deal with Congress.

What were the major constitutional changes during Reconstruction?

• 13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery

• Later: 14th (citizenship) and 15th (black male suffrage) amendments under Radical Reconstruction

What happened in the 1876 election?

Deeply contested. A deal (Compromise of 1877) ended Reconstruction in exchange for Republican Rutherford B. Hayes becoming president.

What were the effects of Reconstruction on African Americans?

Contested. Some say AAs remained in semi-servitude; others argue progress was made, particularly in civil rights and education. Gains were often undermined post-1877.

What steps toward emancipation preceded the 13th Amendment?

• Confiscation Act (1861): Freed slaves of rebels

• Emancipation Proclamation (1863): Freed slaves in rebelling areas

• 13th Amendment (1865): Ended slavery entirely

Which states did Lincoln attempt to reconstruct during the war?

Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina—by appointing military/civil governors. But Congress refused to admit their representatives, calling them “Lincoln governments.”

Lincoln assassination

John Wilkes Booth assassinates Lincoln, 14th April 1865, he dies on the 15th April 1865

difference between Lincoln and Johnson

Lincoln had promised internal improvements like the transcontinental railways, tariffs, and the Homestead Act. -> FG playing an important role. Through this the executive and legislative branch had to work together. Johnson, on the other hand, was more suspicious of the FG and wanted a minimum of federal intervention. INSTINCTIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 2.

criticisms of AJ’s reconstruction plan

too lenient on the South, Republicans want the South to be punished and to acknowledge what they did was wrong. 

Also gives a lot of power to the presidency with the presidential pardons.

 Republicans felt that the individuals Johnson chose as provisional governors were not suitable with former secessionists. Also these are provisional not military governors (civilian), this is not covered by war powers. 

No mention of the status of former slaves. In particular, no reference to property. This plan for reconstruction would leave it up to the states to decide this - seems to operate on the basis that they have changed, which there is no evidence for. 

Order no. 15: former slaves can get 48 acres and a mule to have as their own. (land that had been abandoned or confiscated from confederates). What would the status of that land be now? 

Republicans wanted to see a free-labour market in the South.

were republicans united in their views of former slaves

No.

RadRepubs: very keen AA were given the right to citizenship and the right to vote (individuals like Thaddius Stevens and Charles Sumner) - AAs are the natural supporters of the Union as the Union gave them their freedom. Not to give this naturally loyal group political rights would be remiss. ⅗ constitutional clause - with slaves freed, AAs will have more electoral college votes (South will reenter the Union more politically powerful than before the civil war) : cannot just give power to former secessionists, Democrats and confederates - a threat to the Republican majority of HofR, could threaten the measures put in by Republicans like homestead act, internal improvements, internal improvements and tariffs. The south prefers a different economic strategy. ABOUT POLITICS, NOT EQUALITY.

RadRepubs were a minority. The vast majority of republicans were not vowed supporters of giving the vote to AAs. They are absolutely not in favour of recognising AAs as equal. Evidence for this: following year in 1866, number of state referendums on the Q of whether AAs should have the vote in Northern states (overwhelming majority of Northern states - AAs do not have the vote). All referendums reject this idea. People in the North are NOT rooting for AA equality. Many Conservative Republicans are akin to the Democrats (were former Dems) - they joined the Republican party because they didn’t want slavery in the West, that did not mean they supported equality. 

However, all Republicans agree the South needs to show contrition especially due to the high death toll of Northern soldiers. 

Republicans are united in some things e.g. the South needs to be punished but that doesn’t mean that they are all keen in promoting AA equality.

Freedman’s bureau

Est March 1865 to provide assistance to former slaves. These people have no land, no money, no nothing. 

Also gives them legal advice as to procure money, they have to get jobs - should have contracts to protect the employment. Southerners aren’t too keen on providing contracts - places limitations on employers and suggests there is a degree of equal footing between whites and blacks (who were once property). 

But, they do not want a group of AAs to be entirely dependent on gov assistance so they do encourage AAs to take up contracts. 

Much of the Bureau is sympathetic to plantation owners who have no money - no slaves, farms destroyed, -> need to restore some degree of normalcy. 

Responsible for oversight of handing over land to freedmen. 

General Otis Howard (in charge of Bureau) - very sympathetic to AAs.

southern attitudes to Johnson

Southerners have been touched by loss with the sheer amount of men lost (south had mobilised a higher percentage of men) ¾ of the Mississippi budget used for prosthetic limbs

However, Johnson offers a glimmer of hope with the large amount of presidential pardons and the general favourable outlook towards the South. E.g. rescinding Circular 13.

was it Johnson’s intention to give them hope in this way?

No:

He wants them to acknowledge the rights of some property owners AAs to vote, respect free-labour doctrines, include the 13th amendment in their constitutions and encourage them not to introduce restrictive legislation to curtail the rights of AAs. Discourages them from electing former Confederates e.g. says that former vice pres of the Confederacy being elected as governor of georgia (alexander stevens) was a bad idea. 

AJ’s willingness to work in the framework of states rights to coax the South back into the Union is not him being completely permissive to the South. He would like them to truly acknowledge they have lost and return to the Union with a degree of humility. Many Southerners are reading his conciliatory nature as somehow giving them licence to behave in a provocative manner e.g. Some southerners come to congress in their confederate uniforms - suggests they have no regrets - that they believe they fought an honorable war for an honorable cause which is not how republicans view them

Carl Schurz

Radical Republicans grow fearful that Southerners are being encouraged by the lenient nature of AJ’s proclamations to be defiant. So, Congress authorised a fact finding mission in the South - Carl Schurz, nov 1865:

The South remains unchanged. This is not helpful to AJ’s cause - undermines support for his view of reconstruction

Large brutality- maiming and killing of AAs.

reasons for brutality towards AAs in the South

Freed people are not being respected in the South; widespread murder and mayhem directed at AAs. (could be due to the large number of dead southerners - feel that AAs have been conspiring with the Union - can’t hurt Union soldiers as easily - pick on the little guy

AAs are no longer acting as slaves, they are acting as free people - provokes fear, these AAs seek food and shelter from others lands because they don't have anything. This is their greatest fear. Slavery was a form of social control. It had never been conceivable to the South that AAs and whites could live peacefully.

impact of Schurz

Worries RadRepubs who want the south to embrace a free-labour system. However the South seems absolutely opposed to this. Their concerns are being fed by men like Schurz.

AJ response to schurz fact-finding mission

So, AJ conducts his own fact finding mission. Sends a nationally respected Republican - Ulysses S. Grant.

Grant = Commander of the Union Army. He is the envoy of the President. Everyone is on their best behaviour - show him how “transformed they are”

Visits Charleston, entertained by former fire eaters and secessionists - tell them they recognise their wrong. 

This pleases AJ - a vindication of his policy. 

However later on Grant realises he has been duped, he disowns his initial perspective and accepts he’s been naive.

black codes

first adopted in Mississippi and then everyone else. 

Purpose: to restrict AAs

Fear of interracial relationships

Apprenticeship codes: (demand for restoring the plantation system, high demand for workers - dead) - upward pressure on wages, AAs could demand higher wages or whites could entice AAs with higher wages. But this clause deliberately tries to subvert free-market labour which says you cannot entice people away from their job. 

Vagrancy: have to be employed by the 2nd Monday in Jan 1866 - but you also cannot leave these jobs + unlawful assembling -> designed to make it hard for AAs to move around unsupervised or without the permission of white people. Fines for violating this - will be put in prison until they can pay this off. The 13th amendment allowed slavery for those who convicted a crime. Jailers and wardens may hire out convicted AAs to plantation owners, this will drive down wages. 

Certainly has some of the same characteristic sof slavery, although it is not. AAs are unable and ineligible to truly exercise their freedom. They find themselves subordinated by the South. This increases anxiety from Republicans about AJ’s

southern reps in congress

For AJ’s reconstruction plan to be fulfilled, Southern reps including HofR and the Senate have to be readmitted to Congress. 

By December 1865, all Southern states had legislatures up and running, had new constitutions, elected prospective Senators and representatives. They are arriving in Washington and expecting to take their seats. Congress determines who is admitted into Congress. Edward McPherson calls people to take their seats - doesn’t call any former Confed states’ representatives - barred by Congress to take up their positions. As long as Congress rejects them, AJ cannot get his way. 

AJ annual address mid December: tells Congress his plan worked with the 13th amendment ratified by ¾ of Congress - appeals to Congress to allow Southerners take their seats. But, they refuse.

joint reconstruction committee

under the initiative of Thaddeus Stevens they established something called the Joint Reconstruction Committee - 12 Republicans and 3 Democrats. Headed by Wiliam Pitt Fessenden (moderate). Job is to coordinate the response of Congress to AJ’s proposals and to work with the President. 

Many Republicans do not have a gripe with AJ, they recognise how he pushed for the 13th amendment - their problem is with the Southerners. So, the committee does not necessarily suggest a full break between Congress and AJ.

Point is to draw up and respond to presidentents position + negotiate - not outwardly hostile to the Pres.

facets of Republican Party

• Radicals

• Moderates; largest group. 

• Conservatives

Lyman Trumbull

• Former Dem. 

• Repub senator for illinois. 

• moderate

• 1850s attitudes: says the republican party is the white man’s party. 

• Is no firm believer in AA voting rights. But, committed to the idea AAs should have civil rights because all men are created equal. Two contradicting views. 

• His views developed with the framing of the 13th amendment. 

• Jan 1866 - working on extension of the freedmen's bureau for the next year and a civil rights bill

extension bill

Dec 19: Trumbull introduced bill (senate) to extend life of Freedmen’s Bureau beyond initial 1 year authorisation + give it more support from War Department + new responsibilities as “guardian of freedpeople” → would arbitrate dispute, oversee establishment of schools,

set unoccupied public lands in Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas for freedpeople, 

subdivide land seized via Confiscation Acts for loyal refugees and freedmen (not exceeding 40 acres) 

Passed jan 25 in the senate, house on feb 6 - 136 to 33

civil rights bill

Jan 5th: Trumbull introduced “An Act to protect all Persons in the United States in their Civil Rights, and furnish the Means of their Vindication”

Birthright citizenship (exc native americans) even former slaves

Would all have the same civil rights - contracts, lawsuits, give evidence, inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, property 

Passed in senate Feb 2nd by 33 to 12 votes

intention of these bills

• These bills didn’t seek to appease AJ (he was not happy) but they didn’t seek to directly oppose him either - Trumbull gave him a copy of the civil rights bill + private interviews w/ AJ made Trumbull think he would be okay with the Civil Rights Bill (T had also avoided reference to the protection of voting as a right.When HofR and Senate review the freedmen’s bill, it passes with only one republican voting against. 

• The intentions and size of support, there is full expectation AJ would sign the bill.

AJ response to FB bill

AJ very quickly formulated a number of objections against the freedmen’s bill. The bill introduced a military court in the south which would supersede civil courts - concern AAs weren’t getting fair trials, this would counteract bias from southern judges and juries. AJ saw this as tyrannical, unconstitutional, expensive to maintain and would give republicans patronage in the south (would appoint people - appears self interested to build up a political claim in the south). He thought it was unconstitutional as the Confederate states were not admitted to congress. He said he would veto this bill until they were admitted into congress - they had no process or input or deliberation on the bill.

circular 13

July 1865 - Howard issued a circular to his assistant commissioners to select confiscated + abandoned property to designate to refugees and freedmen 

AJ saw this as a violation with his amnesty proclamation - ordered Howard to revoke Circular 13 + ordered Howard to return all abandoned lands to owners who were pardoned by the Pres

reactions to vetoes

• Fessenden realised if he vetoes one bill, he could veto them all. Angers republicans - appears like blackmailing. 

• Positive reception towards AJ’s actions in the South. Montgomery Ledger ‘South and the Government are in the same boat’.

• Veto of FB: Uproar in Congress. But, some republicans in the senate wanted to avoid an outright split with Pres. Override of pres veto were 2 votes short of ⅔ majority

AJ president’s day

released a chain of venomous remarks towards sumner, stevens and phillips -> calling them traitors. This shocks moderate and radical republicans, they may not get along all the time but they’re certainly not traitors.

AJ saying war was over essentially + implications of that

April 2: AJ issued another pres order

“There now exists no organised armed resistance…to the authority of the United States” → got rid of military occupation in the South as the war was over

This removed martial law, military tribunals, suspension of habeas corpus

Freedmen's bureau lost enforcement power over freedmen’s land claims and working conditions

AJ fucking around and finding out

Senate overrode the civil rights veto by unseating a democrat from new jersey to secure a 2/3s majority - unprecedented. Republicans must have been united. Suggest those hearings they have undertaken over the condition of the South has made an impact.

memphis riots + political implications

Memphis May 1-3: WC whites attacked on black soldiers (thought they would be rivals for jobs) then any AA. 48 black Memphians dead + AA churchers and schoolhouses had been burned. 5 AA women raped. Blamed on AAs. But, congress sent officials to Memphis who confirmed that it was not AAs who were perpetrators, in fact, they were victims.

Joint committee hears further evidence - see southerners as reckless and unconstructive. Even some moderate republicans start to believe AAs should be accorded the right to vote - a conclusion starts to form that there should be a constitutional amendment. - risky.

New Orleans riots

July 30 1866

Louisiana had a civilian state gov @ the time of Lincoln’s death under governorship of James Madison Wells: Johnson let him hold self-reconstruction election in Nov 1865. Louisiana had a larger share of radical sympathisers than any other rebel state: June - proposed to call a constitutional convention. White police and well-armed civilians tried to prevent the convention taking place. 38 people killed, 146 wounded (mostly AAs). Johnson accepted any explanation that blamed this on radical Repubs. However the country disagreed.Mayor of new orleans orchestrates an assault on the rally at city hall called to support the state constitutional convention

hamlin , former vp under lincoln spoke of ‘wholesale slaughter’ 

AJ called on general sheridan (local union general) to suppress the illegal meeting called by the governor - suggesting to congress that the policy of the president is enticing violence.

aj acc being a loser and falling out with his friends

• AJ begins to revive the idea of a national union party - wants to break w/ Republicans and establish a coalition between democrats and conservative republicans. 

• Proposes there should be a rally in mid-august. Tells cabinet that if they don’t show up or he’ll fire them (these are people who were appointed by Lincoln). Edward Stanton refuses to attend or resign 

• Convention not that successful

• Swing about the circle. Took grant with him but grant eventually dips, realises AJ was just using him for clout and to legitimise him

1866 midterms

• Massive republican landslide - house - 173 Repubs, 53 dems. Senate - 43 repubs, 9 dems. -> now the 14th amendment can be guaranteed - can override a veto. 

• Northerners were incensed by AJ’s policy - voting against the south. Idea of ‘waving the bloody shirt’ 

• Midterms show that the moderate repubs are pushed by the president into a position where they align much more with radrepubs. BUT, radicals are not a majority.

what’s the reason for an amendment?

• Civil rights bills - passed by simple majority - can be repealed by future congresses

• Some southerners would argue citizenship is a privilege extended by a state - constitutional challenge -> leaves the civil rights bill in a precarious place

• If AAs don't get the vote - south has higher electoral votes (AAs now free) - can determine the political agenda + will likely vote overwhelmingly democrat. They win the war and come back more powerful. ; this worries many republicans. 

• Argument that the FG is responsible for determining and gifting rights. 

• But, the vote is not a right. It is a part of the privileges and immunities provided by their citizenship -> blurs the lines, privilege is not necessarily extending to all. 

• E.g. in the vast majority of Northern states AAs cannot vote + 10 referendums in the North 1866, 1867 about whether AAs should get the vote - only 2 vote yes. Northerners don’t want AAs voting and don’t see them as equal either. 

• Northern republicans - hypocritical for wanting AAs to vote in the South but not in the North. Don’t believe AAs are equal, want them to vote for their own political purpose - want to develop their own southern republican party. Operating a double standard. POLITICAL MOVE.

14th amendment section overview

Section 1: birthright citizenship

Citizenship is not about colour - given by FG. Construct to 1783 naturalisation Act - white people emigrating the US given citizenship 

Gives rise to idea some rights come from USA citizenship and some from state citizenship 

Section 2: vote

All men over 21 given the PRIVILEGE vote - not explicitly AAs but they fall under this umbrella. 

Felons and confederates can’t vote. 

If the proportion of voters is out of line -> congress will reduce representation of these states. 

However if the north’s proportion is out of line, they will not reduce their own representation because they have the majority. Leaves the South feeling resentful at the difference between treatment. Further shows that the 14th amendment is designed to punish Southerners for the Civil War. 

Section 3: holding office

Confederates + insurrectionists cannot hold office

About punishing confederates 

Section 4: debt

Confederate debts will not be paid off

Will not compensate confederates for emancipation

Section 5:

Congress can enforce the legislation

Gives congress power to reduce representation -> but would they really? No.. they never did

lead up to the reconstruction acts - congress going rogue lol

March 1867 - congress:

Normally go into recess. Instead they go into a special session so power isn’t returned to Johnson. The 38th Congress became the 39th the following night. 

South under military control: Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, George, SC, NC, Virginia

Attorney General: says no military commander has the ability to remove civil office holders. Direct challenge to military leaders to lead the south. 

General Sheridan ignores the AG’s opinion - supported by Edwin Stanton (sec of state for war) + Grant (nominally the Commander of the Army)

AJ is big mad - wants to get rid of Stanton. Clear rupture within the administration. The President is trying to interfere and frustrate congress’s wish to impose the 14th amendment on the sOuth. Seems to be actively working to limit the ability of the army to police the implementation of the 14th amendment.

tenure of office act

passed again after pres veto. Says pres has to secure the agreement of the senate before removing federal officials. Can’t get rid of anyone inc Stanton. E.g. generals, cabinet. However, AJ argues that he has the right to pick his own cabinet. This seemingly interferes with the separation of powers (purpose to limit each powers of government - only works if they cooperate). This Act is passed - could be taken to SC (never makes it)

stanton trolling AJ

Congress argues that AJ didn’t appoint Stanton - he inherited him from Lincoln. 

1867 - AJ sacks Stanton BUT he refuses to leave his office (barricades himself in im lolling there is no way)

AJ impeachment events

AJ was brought to trial in the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanours. Bit of a reach but they have the majority. Impeachment fails by a single vote (persuades 5 republican senators to abstain or vote against impeachment). William Pitt Fessenden voted not to impeach - moderate republican, believes it would be a bad precedent (would be the 1st time) -> ppl start impeaching presidents of other parties. Would undermine the constitution. 

Leader of senate = should be AJ but he has no VP -> so leader of largest party - Benjamin Wade (radical republican- they are not a majority). Fessenden hates Wade (if AJ was impeached then Wade would become Pres)

After AJ is not impeached, he is a little quieter because he knows there is a chance of impeachment.

why is the republican position so strong 1865 dec

• Republican senators used to meet every day to avoid hesitation and division (reported by minnesota senator Morton wilkinson)

• Majority in both house and senate - 37/48 S, 132/191 HofR. -> allowed them to override presidential vetoes 

• Protected their majorities by instructing the clerk of HofR, Edward McPherson, to omit names of Representatives elect from all ex-Confederate states from the roll coll of the House

• After this Thadeus Stevens called a resolution to create a join committee “for the purpose of considering the condition of the so-called Confederate States of america” - 129 to 35 votes in favour

why was it not crazy for AJ to think he could collab w/ the dems

• Not impossible; Dems had won more than 300,000 popular votes than Lincoln in 1860 + 45% of the presidential vote in 1864 + they did not believe in black civil rights 

• Prompted by seward (sec of State); the New York Time June 25th 1865 called for a Nation Convention that would define “a platform of principles upon which the Northern and Southern States could take common political action”

why was AJ’s convention such bad timing

• Convention Aug 14

• Join Committee had just finished recording 6 months of witness examinations and testimony from 144 individuals (from Lee to Clara Barton) 

• published a reported submitted on June 18 → inc. accounts of how self-reconstructed states had done everything to return freedmen to little better than slavery. Congress concluded that they “cannot be expected to recognise as valid the election of representatives from disorganised committees” or “admitting such communities to a participation in the government”

What demonstrated the persistence of elite Southern landownership after the Civil War?

In western Alabama’s “Black Belt,” 236 landowners had >$10,000 in real estate in 1860 (median holding: 1,600 acres); by 1870, 101 (43%) still retained their land—similar to pre-war persistence rates.

Why was free labor unappealing to Southern elites post-war?

Southern ideology centered on family and hierarchy; free labor threatened this order and was seen as disorderly and morally inferior

How could slavery persist socially even if outlawed legally?

Through entrenched customs, religion, and social norms that still favored white supremacy, even in defiance of the law.

What were Black Codes and how did they oppress freedmen?

Laws like those requiring freedmen to carry passes restricted movement, banned assembly and education, and enabled violence like murder without legal consequence.

How did Southern elites reclaim control after the war?

Through Johnson’s amnesty, former Confederates regained confiscated lands and used intimidation to drive freedmen off these lands.

What did Samuel Thomas report about white attitudes in Mississippi in 1865?

Whites believed freedpeople “belonged to them” and considered their claims to property theft.

What limited freedpeople’s ability to organize politically or economically?

Lack of press, political inexperience, hostility from whites, poor organization, and being poorly armed left them vulnerable.

How did freedpeople resist despite challenges?

Many left the South, avoided servile work, and founded schools with support from Northern abolitionists despite violent opposition.

How successful were early freedmen’s schools despite violence?

By 1866, there were 965 Freedmen’s Bureau schools across the South, supported by Northern abolitionist teachers.

What did the Reconstruction Acts of 1867 achieve?

Dissolved self-reconstructed governments and empowered military commanders to create new electorates excluding Confederates and registering black voters.

What was the scale of black political registration under the Reconstruction Acts?

1.3 million voters registered in 5 districts—700,000 were black, forming majorities in 5 states.

What organizations helped freedpeople begin political organizing?

Union Leagues and Equal Rights Associations (e.g., Georgia, NC, Alabama, Mississippi) taught parliamentary procedure and formed paramilitary units for protection.

How did the Union Leagues contribute to Republican organizing?

They laid the foundation for biracial Republican parties, starting conventions (Louisiana 1865, Virginia 1866) and enrolling 40,000 white men by Oct 1867.

How did Johnson undermine Reconstruction through military appointments?

He replaced sympathetic commanders (e.g., General Pope) with figures like Meade, who opposed black voting rights.

What progress had Reconstruction made by 1868?

Four Reconstruction Acts reversed Johnson’s leniency; freedmen were enfranchised; Republicans controlled Southern state conventions (e.g., Alabama: 96/100 delegates Republican, 18 black).

What happened in the 1868 Presidential Election?

Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour. Republicans nominated Ulysses S. Grant, who won 214–80 in the Electoral College.

What states were readmitted between June–July 1868?

Arkansas (June 22), Florida (June 25), Louisiana (June 25), NC (July 4), SC (July 9), Alabama (July 14).

What did South Carolina’s new constitution guarantee?

Voting rights for all males over 21 regardless of race and banned disenfranchisement except for serious crimes post-conviction.

What was the composition of Georgia’s legislature under Reconstruction?

29 of 84 Republican members in the lower house were black

Who filled many Southern leadership roles during Reconstruction?

Northerners, including governors of Georgia, Louisiana, and SC; in SC, 28 of 51 white constitutional delegates were from the North.

Why was Reconstruction considered too rapid?

In a short time, voter rolls were created, states restructured, conventions held, constitutions written, and elections conducted—leaving little time for deeper reforms.

What key reforms were overlooked during rapid Reconstruction?

Land reform, commercial restructuring, and public resource development were largely neglected.

How did Johnson continue to obstruct Reconstruction in late 1868?

Issued a blanket amnesty on Dec 25, 1868, restoring federal legal standing to ex-Confederates including Jefferson Davis (but not political privileges)

How effective was the political purging of ex-Confederates?

Poorly executed: e.g., only 14/342 state officials removed in Arkansas; only 12 in NC.

What disenfranchisement tactics were used against black voters?

Intimidation and violence from groups like the White League, KKK, and Constitutional Guards.

How widespread was Klan violence by 1868?

Over 500,000 members; tactics included whipping, rape, and murder. In Tennessee alone, 3,000–4,000 black people fled to Nashville.

How did Georgia Republicans respond to black political participation?

Denied seats to 3 black senators and 29 black representatives, citing the state constitution’s silence on black eligibility.

How did Congress limit AJ’s power as Commander-in-Chief?

Army Appropriation Act: AJ had to issue military orders through General Grant.

What did AJ do in his final months as President?

Issued a universal amnesty in Dec 1868, pardoning nearly all ex-Confederates.