Reconstruction

Reconstruction Overview

Post-Civil War challenges: 3.5 million freed slaves without money, property, or direction.
Questions of real freedom: land ownership, legal equality, versus the desire of Southern whites for a return to antebellum life, regional autonomy, and white supremacy.
Role of the Federal government: military presence to protect freed blacks, establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau, but its effectiveness is questioned.

Implemented a lenient policy for Southern reconstruction.
Offered general amnesty to white Southerners (some exceptions exist).
Required an oath of loyalty from 10% of voters in a state for readmission.
Mandated acceptance of abolition of slavery.
Proposed extending suffrage to educated black men who owned property or served in the Union Army.
By 1864, three Southern states (Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee) had loyal governments.

Aimed for total abolition and protection of black civil rights.
Advocated for confiscating property from white Southerners; land distributions to blacks.
Conservatives called for abolition alone without further measures.
Radicals pushed for the Wade-Davis Bill, countering Lincoln’s leniency.

Required majority of white males to pledge allegiance to the Union.
Each state would appoint a provisional governor.
States needed to hold constitutional conventions, with delegates elected by those not involved in the rebellion.
New state constitutions had to abolish slavery, disenfranchise Confederate leaders, and repudiate war debts.
Lincoln used a pocket veto to block this bill.

Andrew Johnson’s presidency marks a turn in Reconstruction policy.
He was pro-Union but had Southern sympathies.
Proposed a plan for "Restoration" combining elements of Lincoln’s and the Wade-Davis Plan.
Appointment of provisional governors in states; conventions to revoke secession ordinances, abolish slavery, and ratify the 13th Amendment.
Offered amnesty for most Southerners who would swear allegiance, excluding high-ranking officials.
Growing frustration in the North as the South resisted abolition and black suffrage.

In December 1865, Congress refused to seat representatives from restored Southern governments.
Southern state legislatures enacted Black Codes (1865-1886) restricting black freedoms.
These Codes allowed arresting unemployed blacks, imposing fines for vagrancy, and limited employment options.
Congressional response included the expansion of the Freedmen’s Bureau and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
- This Act declared blacks as citizens and empowered federal intervention in civil rights matters.
Johnson vetoed both measures, but Congress overrode his vetoes.

Radicals dominated Congress and passed three Reconstruction Bills in early 1867.
Tennessee admitted after ratifying the 14th Amendment; other Confederate states’ Lincoln-Johnson governments were rejected.
Established five military districts overseen by military commanders.
Required newly registered voters to elect conventions guaranteeing black suffrage and ratification of the 14th Amendment.
Required congressional approval of new state constitutions.

Restricted the President from removing officials without Senate consent (notably, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton).
Command of the Army Act mandated presidential orders go through the commanding general of the army.
Ex parte Milligan ruled military tribunals unconstitutional when civil courts were available.

Johnson removed Stanton and appointed General Lorenzo Thomas, leading to impeachment but narrowly avoiding removal from office.

Scalawags and Carpetbaggers: terms used to describe Southern whites who supported Reconstruction and Northern transplants, respectively.
Freed black men became prominent in Republican politics.
Improvements in education: by 1876, over half of white children and 40% of black children attended public schools.
Segregated schools aimed to maintain racial norms; sharecropping was the dominant labor system as most blacks and many whites didn’t own land.
Crop lien system disadvantages for many farmers: lack of credit availability and predatory lending led to land loss during poor crop years.

Ulysses S. Grant was elected, benefitting from black voter support.
Despite inexperience, Grant’s administration was noted for corruption and reliance on the spoils system.
Secured election even after primary challenges from Horace Greeley and “liberal republicans.”

Led to economic downturn and domestic challenges; the government passed the Specie Resumption Act in 1875 to stabilize currency.

Midterms of 1874 saw Democrats regain control of the House; intimidation tactics (KKK) influenced black voter turnout.
Some landowners refused services to Republicans; the Panic of 1873 frustrated Reconstruction efforts.
Enforcement Acts (1870-1871) aimed to protect voters but were weakly enforced.
In 1876, a contested election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden led to a special congressional commission declaring Hayes the winner.

Resulted in Hayes's presidency through concessions: appointment of Southern cabinet members, local control of federal patronage, internal improvements, and removal of federal troops from the South.
Marked the end of Reconstruction and the beginning of the Jim Crow era.

The post-Reconstruction South dealt with economic disparities between races and class struggles.
Redeemers emerged, advocating for industrial growth at the expense of public schooling.
Industrial progress lagged behind the North; the South remained at 40% of Northern income levels.

Proposed by Booker T. Washington who founded the Tuskegee Institute; emphasized economic advancement for blacks, postponing demands for social equality.

Established a system of segregation and disenfranchisement, exemplified by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and other legal challenges.
Restrictions included poll taxes, literacy tests, and unjust practices leading to a 62% decline in black voter participation.
Enforced racial separation in all aspects of public life.
Widespread violence against blacks persisted, including lynching, with activists like Ida B. Wells bringing awareness to these issues.

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