Reconstruction Era Review

Reconstruction Plans

  • Lincoln's 10% Plan:
    • Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction.
    • Never fully implemented due to Lincoln's death.
  • Andrew Johnson's Plan:
    • Johnson attempts to carry forward Lincoln's plan after his assassination.
    • Johnson blamed planters initially but later issued numerous pardons, angering Republicans.
    • Required states to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment for readmission into the Union.
  • Wade-Davis Bill:
    • Proposed a more punitive approach, requiring 50% of a state's voters to take an oath of allegiance.
  • Congressional Reconstruction:
    • Radical Republicans like Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner pushed for stricter measures against the South.

Freedmen's Bureau

  • Purpose:
    • Aimed to provide basic necessities to anyone in need, not just former slaves, including medical care, food, and clothing.
    • Focused on education, establishing schools for freedmen.

Andrew Johnson's Opposition

  • Black Codes:
    • Johnson opposed efforts to punish the South and resisted measures to address Black Codes.
    • Black Codes regulated the social and economic lives of Black Southerners, restricting their rights (e.g., testifying in court, carrying weapons, job opportunities).
  • Vetoes:
    • Congress frequently overrode Johnson's vetoes, diminishing his power.
    • Johnson's plan involved ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment for Southern states to be readmitted.

Constitutional Amendments

  • Thirteenth Amendment:
    • Abolished slavery.
  • Fourteenth Amendment:
    • Guaranteed citizenship, equal protection, and due process under the law.
    • Addressed by the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
  • Fifteenth Amendment:
    • Prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude (black male suffrage).
    • Excluded women, leading to continued advocacy for women's suffrage.

Congressional Reconstruction (1867)

  • Military Districts:
    • Congress divided the South into five military districts, each controlled by a former Union general.
  • Redeemer Governments:
    • Southern state governments that regained power after Reconstruction were called "Redeemers."
    • Map was shown.

Radical Republicans

  • Key Figures:
    • Thaddeus Stevens
    • Charles Sumner

Social and Political Dynamics

  • Republican Motherhood:
    • The concept of Republican Motherhood influenced the exclusion of women from the Fifteenth Amendment.
  • Carpetbaggers and Scalawags:
    • Carpetbaggers were Northerners who moved to the South for economic or political gain.
    • Scalawags were white Southerners who cooperated with Reconstruction efforts.
  • Ku Klux Klan (KKK):
    • Used fear and intimidation against people of color and anyone not fitting their white supremacist ideal.
    • Experienced a resurgence in the 1920s.

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

  • Tenure of Office Act:
    • Congress passed this act to prevent Johnson from firing officials without their approval.
  • Stanton's Dismissal:
    • Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, leading to his impeachment.
  • Impeachment Vote:
    • Johnson was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate by one vote.
    • The close vote set a dangerous precedent, as disagreement with a president's policies alone should not be grounds for impeachment.

Alaska Purchase

  • Acquisition:
    • The U.S. acquired Alaska.
    • Nicknames included "Seward's Folly" and "Ice Box".