(11) APUSH American Pageant Chapter 22 Review

Overview of Reconstruction Era

Reconstruction is the period following the American Civil War focused on reunification and rebuilding the nation, particularly the South.

Reintegration of Southern States: How to readmit Southern states into the Union.
Rebuilding the South: Addressing the physical and economic devastation.
Integration of Freedmen: Protecting and integrating newly emancipated black individuals into society.
Government Authority: Determining if Congress or the President controls the Reconstruction process.
Leadership of Former Confederates: How to handle leaders like Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis—punishment vs forgiveness.

Established by Congress in March 1865 as a welfare agency for former slaves and impacted poor whites.
Provided food, shelter, and medical care; notable success in education with approximately 3,000 schools created, teaching over 200,000 African Americans to read.
Land Distribution Idea: The notion of "40 acres and a mule" aimed to give land for economic independence, but this was rarely realized, leaving many economically vulnerable.

Initiated before the Civil War's end in 1863 via the Proclamation of Amnesty.
10% Plan: Southern states could rejoin the Union if 10% of voters from the 1860 election pledged loyalty and accepted emancipation.
The plan was lenient but faced Northern opposition.

Congress proposed stricter terms requiring 50% of Southern voters to take an ironclad oath of allegiance.
Pocket-vetoed by Lincoln before becoming law.

Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's vice president, adopts a version of Lincoln's plan but includes disenfranchisement of influential Confederates.
Ratification of the 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery) was necessary.
Johnson’s pardoning of most Confederate leaders enabled them to regain political power, causing Northern outrage.

Implemented by Southern states to control the labor of freedmen and recreate pre-emancipation race relations.
Examples of Black Codes:
Prohibited land rental or borrowing for African Americans.
Required labor contracts, with penalties for not adhering.
Excluded African Americans from jury duty and voting.
Resulted in sharecropping, seen as a new form of slavery by Northerners.

By 1866, Congress, especially Northern Republicans, sought a stricter Reconstruction approach.
Southern Congressional delegates were denied entry into Congress.
Johnson vetoes the extension of the Freedmen's Bureau and the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, both of which Congress overrides.

14th Amendment:
- Declared all persons born in the U.S. are citizens, ensuring equal protection under the law.
- Prevented former Confederates from holding political office.
Reconstruction Act of 1867:
- Divided the South into five military districts to enforce Reconstruction.
- Required new state constitutions including black male suffrage.

Johnson impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing a cabinet member without Senate approval.
Narrowly avoided removal from office.

13th Amendment: Abolished slavery.
14th Amendment: Granted citizenship and equal protection.
15th Amendment: Granted universal male suffrage; prohibited voting rights denial based on race.

During Congressional Reconstruction, African American political participation increased significantly with the election of African American leaders like Hiram Revels.
The Republican coalition in the South included African American voters, scalawags, and carpetbaggers.

Rise of the Ku Klux Klan in 1868 aimed to resist Reconstruction efforts and secure white supremacy.
Attempts to address such violence through federal legislation like the Force Bills were undermined over time.
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 had little enforcement and was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court in the 1880s.

By the late 1870s, Northern support waned, leading to an end of Reconstruction.
The Compromise of 1877 effectively concluded the era, culminating in the reinstitution of segregation and Jim Crow laws despite initial progress toward African American rights.