Unit 1. Reconstruction

Start of Reconstruction

“Reconstruct“ - to rebuild the South after the Civil War

• Most of the South is destroyed

• the 13th amendment has been ratified (Abolish all slavery)

• Confederate money has been devalued

• The Civil War has ended.

Questions asked

• How should the Southern states be readmitted into the Union?

• What is going to happen to the former slaves

• Should Congress or the President be responsible for letting in the Southern states -(10% vs Wade-Davis bill)

• Should Southern Democrats participate in politics and power?

• How can the economy in the South be rebuilt if there are no more slaves?

Events and Plans

13th Amendment (1864, April)

An official amendment to abolish slavery throughout the U.S.

(Not just in rebelling states like the Emancipation Proclamation)

Freedman’s Bureau (1865)

An organization made by Congress to help former slaves assimilate into society (education, finding homes, etc).

10% Plan

A failed plan by Abraham Lincoln to integrate the Southern States into the Union
(Congress shot it down)

• (10% of the state needed to pledge allegiance to the Union & accept the Emancipation Proclamation ).

Wade-Davis Bill

A plan by Congress instead of the 10%
(Lincoln did not vote for it to pass)

• 50% of the Southern State needed to pledge and accept the Emancipation Proclamation.

President Andrew Johnson

Former Vice President and slave owner until Lincoln was assassinated 2 weeks after the war

Favored and liked the Southern Democrats and Confederates

• Issued individual pardons to former Confederates so they could regain their power and property.

• Wanted to rebuild relations with whites and southern whites as quickly and with little effect on their lifestyle

Black Codes

Based on former slave codes to limit former slaves’ rights despite 13th Amendment

• Could not freely travel or leave their jobs

• Could be whipped and beaten by employers

• Could not marry

• Could not hold office

• Could not stand jury or testify against Whites

• Could not vote

• Were called “persons of color“

The Southern States were reverting to pre-Civil War days because of former Confederates getting back into politics

For the purpose of preserving the structure of Southern Society despite the 13th amendment

Congressional Reconstruction

Radical Republicans: A group of Republicans who believed African Americans should hold full rights and legal protection as whites and the South should be punished

Bills Passed

Bills were all vetoed by President Andrew Johnson, but the Republicans had enough votes to override

Civil Rights Act

Civil Rights Act: States and governments could not discriminate against persons based on race

All people born or naturalized in the U.S. were citizens

*Overturned Black Codes

Enlarge Freedman’s Bureau

14th Amendment

Used the Civil Rights Act as a template

Granted all citizens:

• “Due Process“: Granted a fair and equal trial

• Equal Protection of Laws: Could not allow states to deny African Americans these rights

*Each state was forced to accept the 14th Amendment to be let back into the Union

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Reconstruction Act

Republicans were the dominant force in Congress because Northern voters supported them in the 1866 Congressional election

They refused to seat Southerners in Congress, so they were the majority

• Split the South into 5 districts

• Union soldiers would be present

• it would be placed under martial law.

Tenure of Office Act

Presidents could not remove cabinet members without Senate approval

Andrew Johnson fired his Secretary of War without approval and was impeached

• He was saved from removal by 1 vote

*Ulysses S. Grant was named president after him

15th Amendment (1870)

Could not discriminate people on the basis of race from voting

19th Amendment (1919)

Granted women the ability to vote (suffrage)

Reconstruction Governments

• “New South” - Name given to the South in Reconstruction

• Carpetbaggers: poor white people who moved to the South with all of their belongings for exploitation, business opportunities, or to help/govern with the Freedmen.

• Scalawags - White Southerners who supported Reconstruction

Reconstruction governments worked on banning racial discrimination, investing in railroads, and creating public schools

*However, many were involved in corruption

African Americans like Hiram Rhodes Revel started to work in state and local governments

*In 1870, Hiram was the first African American to work in Congress

Economics

• Plantation owners had to sell off sections of land or sharecrop

Tenant Farming: People would rent a piece of land to farm, but used their own tools

Sharecropping- Using the borrowers, mule, cabin, land, and tools to farm crops in order to get a small percentage of it

*Slaves would often sharecrop with former slave masters

Debt Peonage: Inability to leave unless you have paid back debt in full

Agriculture

The “New South” had more diversified crops and a larger selection of crops, (fruits & vegetables), to farm instead of focusing on a select few (tobacco, cotton, etc) thanks to advances in farming techniques

Manufacturing

Manufacturing was introduced to the South, just not as large as scale compared to the North

End of Reconstruction

Presidential Election of 1876

President Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) vs. Samuel Tilden (Democrat)

20 votes were disputed and Tilden lost the electoral college and won the popular vote

Disputations in results in 4 states (3/4 would be accused of fraud: Florida, Los Angeles, South Carolina)

*If Hayes won the 20 votes then he would win the election

Compromise of 1877

Disputed votes would go to Hayes if Northern troops would leave the South & local governments.

• Left southern governments under white southern rule

• Confederates regained power and kicked all African Americans from voting or politics.

• African Americans were living back in pre-Civil War era

Failure of Reconstruction

• Prejudice against African Americans still existed

• African Americans relied on old slaveowners for their work and livelihoods

• Lack of Education

• White terrorist groups such as the KKK, terrorized, killed, and harassed African Americans who demonstrated success or use of social rights

• Due to an Economic Depression in 1873, the North lost interest in Reconstruction

Circumventing the 15th Amendment

Poll Taxes

Prevented most African Americans and poorer populations to vote

• Had to be paid in advance long before voting

Literacy Tests

Voters must pass a test to see if they can read or write

African Americans received little or no education, so many were disqualified to vote

Grandfather Clause

Descendants, relatives, and those who were able to vote in 1867 did not have to do the literacy tests or pay poll taxes

• Allowed white, illiterate people to vote but not black people

• The grandfather clause was deemed unconstitutional by 1915, but poll taxes & literacy tests remained

Jim Crow Laws

Allowed public spaces, facilities, etc to segregate African Americans and white people

• (Restaurants, bathrooms, schools, etc)

*Was used to get around the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment, and try to preserve old South

Plessy vs. Ferguson

• Railroad companies passed a Jim Crow law stating facilities had to be separated due to race

“Separate but equal” - Segregation was deemed not unconstitutional

Plessy was 1/8th African American and sat in a railroad cart designated for white people

Was arrested and saw that the Jim Crow law was constitutional by Supreme Court

Adjustment

• Many African Americans moved to the North

• Many formed church ties and community ties