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Effects of the Civil War - Overview

North

• Returning Soldiers: 800,000 Union soldiers needed jobs.

• Political Issues: Disagreement on how to reintegrate the South into the Union.

South

• Economic Devastation:

  • 2/3 of Southern railroads destroyed.

  • Cities leveled; financial system in ruins.

  • Confederate currency rendered worthless; banks closed.

• Societal Changes:

  • Emergence of a new class: Freedmen.

Environmental Damage

• Farms turned into battlefields, leading to destruction.

• Forests cleared for fortifications.

• Livestock losses due to war or consumption as food.

Reconstruction

Definition

• Reconstruction: The process of rebuilding the physical, political, and social structures of the South post-Civil War.

Lincoln's Plan

• Ten Percent Plan: Southern states could rejoin the Union after 10% of voters swore loyalty.

• Required abolishment of slavery and new government formation with Congressional representation.

• Offered amnesty to loyal Confederates but excluded former leaders.

Johnson's Presidency

Policies and Opposition

• Former Confederates elected to Congress; introduction of "Black Codes" to restrict Freedmen rights (e.g., voting, job opportunities).

• Radical Republicans opposed President Johnson, pushing for Civil Rights Act.

• Reconstruction Act of 1867: Military rule imposed on non-compliant states until the ratification of the 14th Amendment.

Key Amendments

• 13th Amendment (1865): Abolished slavery.

• 14th Amendment (1868): Defined citizenship, protecting rights of all born/naturalized.

• 15th Amendment (1870): Right to vote cannot be denied based on race.

Post-Reconstruction Changes

New Southern Society

• Three main groups: Scalawags (supporting Republicans), Carpetbaggers (Northerners profiting from Reconstruction), and African Americans (gaining political rights).

• Conservatives resisted reforms, forming groups like the KKK to threaten progress.

• Economic Shifts: Rise of sharecropping among Freedmen, leading to cycles of poverty.

Aftermath of Reconstruction

• Loss of faith in Republican leadership due to corruption.

• Disputed Election of 1876: Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction and withdrew troops from the South.

Post-Reconstruction Restrictions

New Laws Enforced

• Voting Barriers: Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses implemented to disenfranchise African Americans.

• Segregation: Established by Jim Crow Laws, enforcing separation in public spaces.

Economic Developments in the New South

• Shift toward industrialization with natural resource utilization.

• Transition into a more diverse economy by 1900.