Reconstruction Era Notes

The Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

Overview of Reconstruction

  • Reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877.

  • It was a period aimed at rebuilding the United States after the Civil War and included the re-admittance of former Confederate states into the Union.

Conditions Post-Civil War

  • The Southern states lay in ruins, necessitating assistance for nearly 4 million freedmen (formerly enslaved individuals) who required food, clothing, and employment.

  • President Abraham Lincoln had planned for Reconstruction as a means to facilitate recovery in the South.

Lincoln's Reconstruction Plan

  • Ten Percent Plan:

    • Proposed that Southern states had never truly left the Union, asserting that secession was illegal, thus validating the idea of one indivisible nation.

    • Amnesties were offered to all Southerners (except Confederate leaders) who took an oath of loyalty and supported emancipation.

    • Once 10 percent of a state's voters swore this oath, they could establish a new state government.

    • This plan was lenient, emphasizing speed in readmitting Southern states over punishment.

Opposition by Radical Republicans

  • Radical Republicans:

    • Key leaders included Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens.

    • Opposed Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan, deeming it overly lenient and expressing a desire to revolutionize Southern institutions, habits, and manners.

Goals of the Radical Republicans

  1. Prevent Confederate leaders from regaining power post-war.

  2. Strengthen the Republican Party in the South.

  3. Ensure political equality for African Americans through voting rights.

Conflicts Over the Reconstruction Approach

  • Established a compromise between radicals and moderates:

    • Majority of adult white men in Confederate states must take an oath of allegiance to the Union before creating a new government.

    • A convention could only be held if delegates took an “ironclad oath” affirming they had never supported the Confederacy.

Ironclad Oath

  • Required officials and voters to declare they had never supported the Confederacy, aiming to restrict political activity by ex-Confederates.

  • Lincoln blocked this bill with a pocket veto, concerned it would further delay reconciliation.

Freedmen’s Bureau

  • Created by Congress in March 1865 to provide assistance including food, clothing, education, and job training for freedmen and impoverished whites.

Key Amendments

  • Thirteenth Amendment:

    • Passed Congress in January 1865, it ended slavery throughout the United States.

Andrew Johnson's Presidency

  • Johnson assumed the presidency after Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, shortly after the surrender of Confederate General Lee.

  • His approach differed from Lincoln's:

    • Believed Congress should not be involved in the restoration and perceived efforts to protect black rights as counterproductive, stating, "White men alone must manage the South."

  • Johnson’s policies were lenient:

    • Pardons were offered to Confederate citizens who took an oath of loyalty.

    • Restored Southern states based on ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.

    • Showed little concern for the conditions of freedmen, resulting in the passing of Black Codes, which restricted the rights of African Americans.

Republican Response

  • Congress refused to seat new delegates from Southern states who were elected despite the unrest.

  • Radical Republicans sought to take control of Reconstruction efforts to dismantle the power of Southern planters and ensure voting rights for African Americans.

Civil Rights Act of 1866

  • Defined citizenship and ensured equal protection under the law, mainly for former slaves.

  • Initially vetoed by Johnson in 1865, it was passed again in 1866 and became law despite his veto, marking the first major legislation enacted over a presidential veto.

Reconstruction Act of 1867

  • Divided the South into five military districts, governed by military leadership and laying conditions for elections.

  • States required to draft new constitutions and ratify both the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, effectively overriding Johnson’s policies.

Fourteenth Amendment (1868)

  • Declared citizenship for all individuals born in the United States and prohibited states from infringing on the rights of citizens.

Fifteenth Amendment (1870)

  • Stated that the right to vote cannot be denied on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Political Impact of Reconstruction

  • African Americans became a significant portion of the Southern Republican voting base.

  • Sixteen African Americans served in Congress during this period, with many others in state legislatures and local positions.

  • Reconstruction administrations established public school systems in the South, improved labor conditions, enacted fair taxation, and prohibited public discrimination.

Economic Developments in the South

  • Initiatives aimed to create a "New South" for economic revitalization, though corruption and rising taxes led to discontent among white voters.

  • Sharecropping established a system where tenants farmed land for landlords, yet often forced freedmen into persistent poverty.

Sharecropping

  • Defined as agriculture where tenants work land in exchange for a share of crops. Many contracts left freedmen unable to save enough to purchase their land.

  • Percentages of sharecropped farms varied by county, often falling into exploitative arrangements.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

  • Radical Republicans aimed to remove Johnson, pursuing impeachment for his defiance of congressional authority.

  • Impeachment Process:

    • The House impeaches a President, with the Senate conducting the trial overseen by the Chief Justice.

  • Johnson was impeached but acquitted by a single vote, remaining in office until the 1868 election.

Ulysses S. Grant's Presidency (1869-1877)

  • The 18th President who supported both amnesty for Confederates and civil rights protections for African Americans.

  • Limited troop presence intended to safeguard black rights and counter the KKK's terror.

  • Responded to economic crises like the Panic of 1873 that destabilized the country and led to bank closures.

Coalition of the Reconstruction Republican Party

  • Built upon support from three groups:

    1. African Americans, empowered by the Fifteenth Amendment.

    2. Scalawags: White Southerners who aligned with Republicans and supported Reconstruction.

    3. Carpetbaggers: Northern Republicans who migrated South for economic opportunities or to serve with the Freedmen's Bureau.

The Collapse of Reconstruction

Contributing Causes

  • Widespread anti-black violence, including actions from the Ku Klux Klan, aimed to hinder African Americans from voting.

  • Election of 1876:

    • Saw Samuel Tilden (Democrat) win the popular vote, but Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) secure the presidency via the Electoral College, leading to disputes and heightened tensions.

Compromise of 1877

  • Resolved the electoral dispute, permitting Hayes to retain the presidency in exchange for terminating military presence in the South, leading to 'Redemption' where white Democrats regained control.

  • This compromise ended Reconstruction, signifying a return to oppressive conditions for African Americans resembling the pre-war era.

Post-Reconstruction Laws

  • Following Reconstruction, Southern legislation sought to infringe upon African American rights through poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, segregation laws (Jim Crow), and lynching, which remained unaddressed for over a century until the Civil Rights Movement.