Reconstruction and Civil Rights Era (1865–1877)
Presidential Reconstruction and its Limits
After Lincoln's assassination, President Johnson aimed for quick Southern reintegration, establishing all-white state governments and resisting Black civil rights.
The Freedmen’s Bureau aided education, but its efforts at land distribution (like Sherman’s Field Order 15) were largely reversed by Johnson, leading to land returning to former Confederate owners.
This resulted in the rise of sharecropping, which became the dominant labor system.
Land, Education, and the Rise of Sharecropping
Sharecropping involved landowners providing resources in exchange for a share of the crop, creating a cycle of debt and dependence, resembling quasi-serfdom.
Congressional Republicans grew increasingly dissatisfied with Johnson’s approach.
Civil Rights Legislation and the Fourteenth Amendment
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 defined U.S. citizenship and ensured nationwide equality, overriding Johnson’s veto.
The Fourteenth Amendment further defined citizenship, guaranteed equal protection, and extended Bill of Rights protections to the states, requiring new Black-inclusive governments for ratification.
The Black Codes and Reconstruction Act
Southern Black Codes restricted freed people’s movement and rights.
The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the South into five military districts, mandating new state governments with Black male inclusion and Fourteenth Amendment ratification, marking the start of Radical Reconstruction.
Political Realignment and Black Officeholders
Grant’s election in 1868 spurred Republican efforts for Black male suffrage via the Fifteenth Amendment, prohibiting voting denial based on race.
Roughly 2000 African Americans held office, advancing civil rights and public services despite corruption accusations.
End of Reconstruction and the Bargain of 1877
K.K.K. violence and economic depression in 1873 weakened Northern support for Reconstruction.
The disputed 1876 election led to the Bargain of 1877, where Republicans withdrew federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.
This resulted in the rise of Jim Crow laws, rollbacks of Black voting and civil rights, and white supremacist Redeemer governments.
Legacy and Reflection
The Reconstruction Amendments established foundational rights for Black Americans regarding citizenship, equal protection, and voting, influencing later civil rights movements.
However, the dream of land ownership for freed people was largely unrealized, leaving social and economic power contested and vulnerable to reversal.