Reconstruction Era Vocabulary (OpenStax Chapter Notes)

Introduction

• The era after the Civil War (1865–1877) was among the most turbulent and transformative in US history.
• Key developments: one president murdered (Abraham Lincoln) and another impeached (Andrew Johnson); three constitutional amendments added; extensive violence aimed at freed Black people and their supporters.
• Historians label this period as Reconstruction, an ambitious but ultimately faltering effort to remake the South’s racial, economic, and social order.
• Public sentiment ranged from hope for nationwide equality to anguished backlash in the South; cartoons of the era express deep societal distress.

16.1 Restoring the Union

• Learning objectives:
  • Describe Lincoln’s plan to restore the Union at the end of the Civil War.
  • Explain the tenets of Radical Republicanism.
  • Analyze the success or failure of the Thirteenth Amendment.
• End of the Civil War marks the beginning of Reconstruction: former Confederate states reintegrated into the Union.
• Lincoln’s plan (often called the 10% Plan): a generous, non-punitive approach to rapid reconciliation.
  • Pardon for all Southerners except high-ranking Confederate leaders.
  • Requirement that 10% of the 1860 voting population take a binding oath of future allegiance to the United States and emancipation of the enslaved.
  • Upon oath, restored Confederate states would draft new state constitutions.
  • Lincoln’s aim: quick reunification and broader emancipation acceptance; relied on leniency to win moderate Republicans.
• Radical Republicans opposed Lincoln’s plan for being too lenient; urged harsher terms and stronger protections for the newly freed.
• Wade–Davis Bill (February 1864): radical alternative requiring a majority of voters in former Confederate states to take loyalty oaths; proposed harsher terms for re-entry.
  • Lincoln refused to sign; used a pocket veto, arguing no Southern state would meet the criteria and that passage would delay reconstruction.
• The Thirteenth Amendment: abolition of slavery, a top Republican priority by 1864–1865.
  • Passed Senate in April 1864; House concurred in January 1865; ratified by the states in December 1865.
  • First constitutional amendment since 1804; permanently outlawed slavery.
• Lincoln’s assassination: 1865-04-14 (Ford’s Theatre); John Wilkes Booth; Lincoln died the next day, 1865-04-15.
  • Booth’s associates injured Secretary of State William Seward; others failed to complete assassinations.
  • Booth killed by Union troops on 1865-04-26; multiple conspirators convicted and some executed.
• Juneteenth (June 19, 1865): General Gordon Granger’s declaration in Texas that enslaved people were free, enforcing emancipation in the last holdouts.
  • In practice, information traveled slowly; some enslavers withheld news; freedom was fought for and celebrated through Jubilee Day and Emancipation Day.
• Andrew Johnson’s presidency (1865–1869) and Reconstruction
  • Johnson’s background: from poverty in North Carolina, a self-made man; previously a tailor; became a Tennessee politician and senator, then war-time governor of occupied Tennessee.
  • Lincolns’s plan continuity: Johnson aimed to quickly reincorporate the South on lenient terms, healing the nation.
  • Johnson’s contradictions with Radical Republicans: rejected federal voting rights for formerly enslaved people; promoted rapid reintegration over structural reform.
  • Johnson’s May 1865 Amnesty and Reconstruction proclamation: sweeping amnesty with exceptions for Confederate leadership, high-ranking officers, and property over $20,000; intended to restore rights but punish a specific elite.
  • Readmission criteria for Southern states: hold state conventions, repeal secession ordinances, and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment.
  • By 1865–66, some former Confederate leaders sought seats in Congress; Johnson claimed reconstruction was complete, angering Radical Republicans.
• Congressional response and the radical shift in Reconstruction planning
  • Radical Republicans disputed Johnson’s leniency and distrusted Southern governments.
  • They created a joint committee to oversee Reconstruction and gained control of the House in the 1866 elections.
  • This laid the groundwork for a second, more radical phase of Reconstruction.

16.2 Congress and the Remaking of the South, 1865–1866

• Freedmen’s Bureau (March 1865): Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (often just Freedmen’s Bureau)
  • Created to aid nearly newly freed Black people with food, labor contracts, family reunification, and education.
  • Helped establish public schools (e.g., Fisk University; Hampton University; Dillard University) and supported women’s involvement in education.
  • AMA (American Missionary Association) partnered with the Bureau to run schools and promote abolitionist ideals; taught both Black and poor white students.
  • Bureau’s presence provoked resistance and violence in the South; its existence and funding were controversial and faced vetoes.
• Civil rights activism and resistance
  • Black Codes emerged in 1865–66 as Johnson announced an end to Reconstruction; sought to preserve White supremacy and restrict Black rights.
  • Black Codes limited civil participation (voting, juries), restricted bearing arms, and controlled land and labor.
  • Effect: tied labor to the land through contracts; debt bondage; fines for vagrancy; re-enslaving-like conditions under “free labor.”
  • Codes aimed to maintain a free labor system that mirrored the antebellum slave economy.
• Civil Rights Act of 1866
  • Response to Black Codes; guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the law; federal power to intervene in state affairs to protect Black rights.
  • Johnson vetoed the act, but Congress overrode the veto, signaling a shift toward federal protection of civil rights.
• Fourteenth Amendment (1868)
  • Radical Republicans drafted an amendment to address constitutional questions left by Civil War and Civil Rights Act.
  • Provisions included: citizenship to all born or naturalized in the United States; equal protection under state and federal law; repeal of the Three-Fifths Compromise; penalties for states denying suffrage to adult male citizens; protection of public debt and repudiation of Confederate debts; restrictions on officials who engaged in insurrection.
  • The amendment’s ratification was conditional for readmission and reflected a major expansion of national power in protecting rights.
  • Johnson opposed the amendment and launched a political campaign against it (Swing Around the Circle).
• Swing Around the Circle (1866)
  • Johnson’s series of speaking tours to gain support for lenient Reconstruction; public political rhetoric that backfired and damaged his presidency.
  • Critics accused him of drunkenness and undermining constitutional order.
• The Fifteenth Amendment (1870)
  • Radical Republicans pushed to guarantee Black men the right to vot e; ratified in 1870.
  • Text focus: that the right to vote cannot be denied or abridged by race or color.
  • Limitations: excluded literacy tests and poll taxes from the amendment’s language; acknowledged weaknesses but aimed for universal male suffrage.
  • Prominent dissent within the movement: Charles Sumner opposed the amendment due to its failure to address voting qualifications (e.g., literacy/poll taxes).
  • Consequences: expanded Black political participation but did not immediately secure women’s suffrage; sparked debates about gender and racial equality in civil rights.
• Women’s suffrage movements during Reconstruction
  • Frederick Douglass supported Black male suffrage as a priority while advocating for women’s rights; debates over whether to extend suffrage to women immediately.
  • Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) pushed for national recognition of women’s voting rights; eventually faced a split with the movement focusing on different strategies.
  • Minor v. Missouri (1872): Victoria Minor challenged the exclusion of women from suffrage via the 14th Amendment; the Supreme Court (1874) declared that the Constitution did not confer suffrage rights.
  • Western territories often granted women suffrage earlier (Wyoming, 1869) as part of a push to attract settlers.
  • National Organization: NWSA (founded with articles detailing organization and goals) led by Anthony and Stanton; advocated for federal protection of women’s voting rights; provided organizational structure for national advocacy.
  • The NWSA’s structure included articles describing membership, governance, and leadership (e.g., President: Susan B. Anthony).
• Black political achievements and civic life
  • Union Leagues spread through the North and into the South, expanding as centers of Black political mobilization.
  • Black men began to hold public office; by the 1870s, several Black representatives and two Black senators served (e.g., Hiram Revels; Blanche K. Bruce).
  • Beyond Congress, Black politicians served locally as school board members, clerks, sheriffs, and other offices; Reconstruction governments funded rail infrastructure, education, hospitals, and social services.
  • Taxes supported new public goods; land tax provoked Southern resentment as it touched economic foundations.
  • Reforms and backlash: while many reformers pursued social advancement, white Southern hostility grew, including accusations of corruption (often exaggerated) and resistance to federal intervention.
• Opposition and backlash in the South
  • Redeemers: white Southern conservatives who sought to restore prewar social order; saw Reconstruction as a usurpation by the North and Black empowerment.
  • Violence and intimidation by groups like the Ku Klux Klan (founded 1866) and other vigilante groups (e.g., Red Shirts, Knights of the White Camellia, White League) aimed to suppress Black political activity and restore white dominance.
  • The Klan targeted Black voters, Black leaders, and white allies; authorities sometimes underestimated or struggled to counteract the violence.
  • Perpetrators included masked clubs who attacked schools and voters; tactics included arson, beatings, and assassinations, sometimes in collaboration with local white supremacist groups and opportunistic politicians.
  • The Klan’s violence was not monolithic; members had varied motives but common aim was to undermine Reconstruction and return the South to white supremacy.
• Federal response to Klan violence and the end of Reconstruction
  • Enforcement Acts (1870–1871): three laws aimed to suppress Klan violence and protect voting rights by allowing federal prosecution of crimes against freed people and authorizing martial law in areas controlled by the Klan; admissible to suspend habeas corpus in extreme cases.
  • The 1871 Joint Select Committee investigated the Klan; their findings informed federal law.
  • Federal troops were deployed in some areas to suppress Klan activity, including martial law in parts of South Carolina.
  • Despite these measures, violence persisted and federal enforcement waned after 1872, contributing to the eventual collapse of Reconstruction.
• The collapse of Reconstruction and the rise of Redeemers
  • By the mid-1870s, Democratic Redeemers had regained political control across the South; white supremacist policies eroded Black civil rights and reduced political influence.
  • 1873 Economic downturn (Panic of 1873) weakened national support for Reconstruction and distracted attention from Southern politics.
  • Internal Republican rifts: Liberal Republicans advocated reduced federal intervention; corruption scandals (e.g., Whiskey Ring; Credit Mobilier) damaged Republican credibility.
  • The Colfax Massacre (1873) and other local episodes underscored the violence; the 1874 elections saw Republicans lose control of the House.
  • The contested election of 1876 culminated in the Compromise of 1877: Hayes would win the presidency if federal troops were withdrawn and Reconstruction policies were rolled back.
• The Compromise of 1877 and the end of Reconstruction
  • Agreement between Republicans and Democrats: Hayes appointed a southern Democrat to his cabinet; Republicans would control federal patronage in the South; internal improvements (e.g., railroad funding) promised; most importantly, federal troops would be withdrawn from the South.
  • The withdrawal of troops effectively ended Reconstruction and allowed white Southern power to reassert control, giving rise to the Solid South.
  • The long-term implications included the rollback of civil rights gains and the establishment of Jim Crow-era policies that disenfranchised Black voters and entrenched racial segregation.

16.2 Key constitutional and political developments

• Fourteenth Amendment details (summary)
  • Citizenship to all born or naturalized in the United States; equal protection under law; overturning Dred Scott’s citizenship rationale; rolling back Three-Fifths Compromise by counting all persons as full citizens for representation purposes.
  • Provisions about debts and the voiding of Confederate debts; insurrection and rebellion clauses restricting officeholding for those who engaged in insurrection (unless pardoned by two-thirds of Congress).
  • A state ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment could be readmitted to the Union.
• The Fifteenth Amendment details (summary)
  • Prohibits denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude; universal male suffrage (with notable loopholes not addressed in the text, such as literacy tests or poll taxes).
  • Notable debates about whether to include gender suffrage; some leaders argued for extending rights to women, but the amendment did not do so; some argued for piecemeal approaches to women’s suffrage later.
• The Reconstruction Acts (1867) and military rule
  • Reorganized the South into five military districts (except Tennessee, which had been readmitted earlier).
  • Martial law to protect Freedmen and supervise elections; voting rights extended to all Black men of voting age; new state constitutions to align with the Fourteenth Amendment.
  • Johnson vetoed these acts, but Congress overrode the vetoes; by 1870, most Southern states under military rule had ratified the Fourteenth Amendment and been readmitted.
• The impeachment of President Johnson
  • Triggered by Johnson’s repeated vetoes and his removal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton in defiance of the Tenure of Office Act (1867).
  • Johnson’s actions led to impeachment counts in the House; the Senate acquitted Johnson (35–19; one vote short of the two-thirds requirement).
  • The impeachment effectively weakened Johnson and removed his capacity to block Congressional Reconstruction.
• The Ku Klux Klan and federal enforcement
  • The Klan’s violence and terror were central to Southern resistance to Reconstruction.
  • Enforcement Acts targeted intimidation and allowed federal prosecution for crimes against Freedmen; martial law could be declared to suppress Klan activity; habeas corpus suspension preserved.
  • Federal enforcement fluctuated; by the early 1870s, federal power waned, allowing Southern white supremacist groups to reestablish control.

16.3 Radical Reconstruction (1867–1872) and the aftermath

• Radical Reconstruction goals
  • Reconstruct the South through federal authority; end the plantation system; secure voting rights and equal protections for freed people; expand public infrastructure and education.
• The political and social transformation in the South
  • African American communities built political and social networks: Union Leagues, churches, schools, and mutual aid societies.
  • Black politicians at local, state, and national levels (including a Black senator from Mississippi and others) marked a dramatic shift in political life.
  • Reforms included investment in railroads, schools, hospitals, and public services; taxes on land and property funded these initiatives.
• The backlash and the redeemers
  • White Southern resentment intensified as Black communities gained political power and economic opportunities.
  • Violence and intimidation, including Klan activity, deterred Black political participation and undermined Reconstruction programs.
• The end of Reconstruction and its aftermath
  • The contested election of 1876–1877 culminated in the Compromise of 1877; federal troops withdrawn; end of federal enforcement in the South.
  • The Solid South emerged as Democrats maintained power, restricting Black rights and enforcing segregation for decades to come.

16.4 Defining legacies and key figures

• Hiram Rhodes Revels (1870) and Blanche K. Bruce (1875–1881)
  • Revels became the first Black U.S. senator in 1870; later, Bruce served as a U.S. senator from Mississippi.
  • Their presence symbolized a brief window of Black political representation at the national level during Reconstruction.
• Senator Revels on desegregation and social equality (1871 speech)
  • Revels described social equality as a complicated issue; while he supported desegregation in public spaces, he warned against assuming immediate social equality in all aspects (e.g., mixed schools don’t automatically ensure social equality).
• The politics of citizenship and civil rights
  • The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments expanded citizenship rights and voting protections, but many legal and practical barriers persisted.
  • The Civil Rights Act of 1866 and subsequent amendments sought to codify rights; interpretations by courts often limited these protections in practice.
• The role of the NWSA and the push for women’s suffrage
  • The National Woman Suffrage Association organized to secure national protection for women’s voting rights; its constitutional framework articulated the aims and governance of the movement.
  • The split between the NWSA and other suffrage movements reflected tensions between immediate national women's suffrage goals and racial equality priorities.
• The broader historical context
  • Reconstruction’s legacy includes a temporary expansion of civil rights and Black political participation, followed by a long era of disenfranchisement and segregation.
  • The era also sparked ongoing debates about federal versus state power, civil rights, gender equality, and the responsibilities of government to protect vulnerable populations.

16.5 Connections to prior knowledge and real-world relevance

• Foundational principles involved
  • Federalism: roles of federal government vs. states in protecting civil rights.
  • Citizenship and equal protection: how constitutional amendments redefine national identity and rights.
  • Labor and economics: transition from slavery to wage labor; sharecropping and crop-lien systems illustrate economic obstacles to true freedom.
• Real-world relevance
  • Reconstruction set precedents for federal civil rights enforcement and the ongoing struggle to balance security, liberty, and equality.
  • The era’s contested political processes (e.g., impeachment, electoral commissions) illustrate constitutional mechanisms for resolving political crisis.
  • The long-term consequences include the enduring conflict over racial justice, voting rights, and the meaning of citizenship in American democracy.

Summary of key dates and numbers (for quick reference)

• 1865–1877: Reconstruction era timeline.
• 1864: Wade–Davis Bill proposal (majority loyalty requirement) against Lincoln’s plan.
• 1865: Thirteenth Amendment ratified (abolition of slavery) and slavery legally ended; Lincoln assassinated on 1865-04-14; Juneteenth celebrated on 1865-06-19.
• 1866: Civil Rights Act passed and veto overridden; Fourteenth Amendment proposed and eventually ratified; Johnson’s Swing Around the Circle.
• 1867: Reconstruction Acts and military districts established; Johnson vetoes again but overridden.
• 1868: Fifteenth Amendment introduced; U.S. Grant elected president; Black political participation expands.
• 1869: Wyoming grants women suffrage (for Western territories); NWSA forms (Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton).
• 1870: Fifteenth Amendment ratified; Revels becomes first Black U.S. senator (1870).
• 1872: Colfax Massacre and ongoing Union League activity; 13-volume Klan report.
• 1873–1874: Panic and electoral shifts; Civil Rights protections challenged in courts.
• 1876–1877: Contested election, Compromise of 1877; Reconstruction ends; Solid South established.
• 1883: Supreme Court rules Civil Rights Act unconstitutional in part, limiting federal enforcement.

Key terms to remember

• 10% Plan, Wade–Davis Bill, Thirteenth Amendment, Fourteenth Amendment, Fifteenth Amendment, Freedmen’s Bureau, AMA, Black Codes, Union Leagues, KKK, Enforcement Acts, Compromise of 1877, Solid South, Carpetbagger, Scalawag, Colfax Massacre, sharecropping, crop-lien system, emancipation, Juneteenth.

Connections to exam themes

• How Reconstruction attempted to redefine the nation’s commitments to union and liberty after civil war.
• The interaction of legislative action, executive decisions, and judicial interpretations in shaping civil rights.
• The tension between ideals of universal suffrage and the realities of political, social, and economic resistance in the Jim Crow era.