Reconstruction Era Notes
Debate on who should run the reconstruction era?
Congress exerts more power than president at that time
Confederate states of America- conquered nation, defeated territory
Congress runs territory
Lincoln argus its illegal for the south to cecede to begin with, believes it doesn’t exist, false government, terriroties in rebellion
North will embargo the south economically, blockade ports
Lincolns reconstruction proclomation- southernrs have to take loyalty that their loyal to the United States (may 29th- july 13)
10% of people that took the oath, will become states again
need those to swear they didn’t fight agaisnt union
need new constitutions to abolish slavery
republicans dominate congress
900,000 men in war
boothe (actor) attempts to kill lincoln, pro for the south
luise paine and harold are told to kill secretay of state
Booth finds out that Lincoln is coming to the theater, starts strategizing
grant can’t attend the theater with lincoln, tries to blame it on wives not wanting to go
fall of richmond, april 9th 1865
staten dislikes lincoln because he’s not treating the south harshly
whats booths original and final plan?
original plan: kidnap president to contiue war
secretary of state is wounded but not killed
emancipation proclomation allowed african americans to serve in war
go to the theater, kill the gaurd, block the door, escape, go with horse, (booth is drinking heavily), after sniping i the back of the head, he runs o the stage to escape
12 people refused the presidents invitation ot the theater
booth was killed by a soldier, soldier burned the barn he was hiding in
2 important women that represented the United States in the 19th centure: Lady of liberty and Columbia
pardon (pardoning the confederates who started the civil war)
franchise (right to vote for African Americans)
13,14,15- amendemnts of the constituion related to RECONSTRUCTION
13- abolish slavery
14- grant citizenship (before it was viewed by states, now its a federal function [country])
15- right to vote (also used to be a state function, now federal)
civil rights- gives citzienships to blacks
Johnson vetos it, congress overrules his veto, 14th amendment is created
Congress takes over reconstruction
Tenure of Office Act: Members of senate have approval in everything before a president can go through with it.
Johnson fires Stanton, hires Ulysses S. Grant, congress wants to impeach Johnson for Tenure of Office Act, leader of senate wants to take Johnsons place (he’s exteremely radical)
Waving the Bloody Shirt: happens in 1868, knock at freedman’s schools superintendents house, greeted by members of kkk, kkk beats him, Butler (general in civil war comes to talk about the violence in the south), waves bloody shirt (reference to reminding voters of the civil war)
Grant won because of African American votes (republican party)
KKK is there to stop African Americans from voting, poor white people are in KKK
2 groups of people in South trying to help: Carpetbaggers and Scallywags
CB: northerns go down south during reconstruction, outsider who comes to your area for political power (still used today, hillary clinton, robert kennedy)
S: southerners help freedmans
Sharecropping- sign work, bosses rent them a house for the next year, account gets sent up for them at genreal store for food, plants, etc, rent farm equipment, crop comes in, crops get sold, bosses get share and workers get share, bosses start to make workers pay for house, food, etc. Eventually, workers start to owe more money than given. However, can’t leave job if you owe money, continual debt
Grantism: most corrupt years, Grant himself is honest but he’s a bad judge of people in his system, corruption is state, local and federal.
Gold Ring- What money was based on, guys want to find out when gold will be released in system, Grants brother in law tells these men the information, guys want to buy a bunch of gold and then dump it, no one goes to jail or loses job, Grant finds out before anything bad happens
Whiskey Ring- tax is lowered on whiskey during Grant administration, doesn’t tell tax collector (skims off the top), Grant finds out, some members of treasurer go to jail
Civil Service- low, level government jobs (mailman, policeman, firefighter, etc), shouldn’t matter what political party you are because you work for everyone (government), Boss government- non elected officials that run the city,
corrupt jobs: post office, port collectors (collecting taxes but giving some to themselves, then the collectee and then the government), credit mobilier
Yeomen:
Freedmans Beaure:
Black Codes: Restrict the actions of black people,
black people wanted to be with families and legitamte marriages
Stevens: vice president of confederacy is able to go back to congress
Greely: nominated by republicans
Horace Greeley:
Robinson Crusoe: shipwrecked on island, befriends island man, charles sumner stars at him in this story (gets beaten by a cane because he was anti slavery), “dont trust them",beware”
Andersonville: prisoner war camp in georgia, out of touch
Election day comes: Grilles campaign, his wife dies, he becomes depressed, he dies a few days before election
panic (depression) of 1873, happenes about every decade or so, caused by overspeculation, Grant administration gets blamed for depression, they try to cut spending (military), this leads to democrats gaining control of congress, reconstruction starts to diminish
1876: both democrafts and republicans pick reformers,(Republicans pick Hayes (185 electoral votes) Democrats pick Tilden (184 electoral votes)
South carolina, louisiana and flordia are states where the military is still present in
compromise of 1877: informal, ignorant vote is what kept things balanced… (an argument agaisnt blacks and irish), democrats will recognize hayes as president, hayes himself will recognize democratic control in the south, democrats promise to recognize the rights of blacks, issue with speaker of the house… democrats will suport james garfield as speaker of the house (republican), all remaining federal troops will be removed from the south, ends reconstruction
phoner: argues that its not that reconstruction failed, but it lasted as long as it did
legacy for reconstruction: 13th,14th,15th amendment, 12 years long
Arthur: collector of port of New York and somehow becoems President
Hayes can’t do very much, gets rid of alcholol, still in depression,
chinese get sent to south, chinese only last 1 year and they try to leave
alternatives for african americans reading
spanish american war video