7.2 Reconstruction Rights

Reconstruction Rights

Rights of Whites and African Americans During Reconstruction

  • The period following the Civil War presented a confusing landscape concerning civil rights for African Americans in the South.
  • Early post-war years saw limited rights for former slaves.
  • The Reconstruction Act of 1867:
    • Established military districts.
    • Deployed Union troops to the South.
    • Aimed to enforce civil rights for blacks and grant them voting rights.
  • Compromise of 1877:
    • Led to the removal of federal troops.
    • White Democrats regained control.
    • Freedmen were stripped of their rights, leading to segregation under Jim Crow laws.
  • White Southerners retained their rights and operated within and sometimes outside the legal framework (e.g., Ku Klux Klan).

Post-War Confusion and Black Codes

  • Former slaves gained freedom of movement, marriage, and the ability to form churches.
  • Southern state governments, under white Democratic leaders, enacted laws limiting the civil rights of African Americans.
  • Thirteenth Amendment:
    • Intended to grant equal rights to former slaves, but this did not occur in practice.
  • Black Codes:
    • Restricted the freedoms of freedmen.
    • Denied voting rights.
    • Forced them to sign labor contracts.
    • Limited their ability to live freely.
  • Former Confederate officials re-established themselves in Southern government and society.
    • Confederate army generals were elected to Congress.
    • Alexander Stephens, Confederate Vice President, was elected to the U.S. Senate.
  • White Southerners aimed to maintain their dominance in society and keep African Americans under their control, despite the abolition of slavery.
  • Prejudice and racism persisted after the war.

Radical Republicans and Reconstruction Act of 1867

  • Radical and moderate Republicans collaborated to protect black civil rights.
  • President Andrew Johnson (sympathetic to former Confederates) faced opposition in Congress.
  • Legislation was passed to safeguard civil rights for former slaves.
  • Reconstruction Act of 1867:
    • Divided the South into five military districts.
    • Sent Union troops to oversee Southern Democrats and state officials.
    • Allowed African Americans to vote.
  • African Americans were elected to Congress, state, and local offices.
  • Black Republicans worked to rebuild society.
  • Some officials were corrupt, but most worked for the benefit of their constituents.
  • Northerners who came to the South to aid in rebuilding were called "carpetbaggers".
    • They were labeled this, because they carried their belongings in carpet bags.
  • White Southerners who joined the Republican Party were called "scallawags".