Reconstruction Notes

Thirteenth Amendment

  • Ratified on December 6, 1865.
  • Prohibited slavery in the United States.

Reconstruction Era (1865-1877)

  • Period following the Union's victory in the Civil War.
  • Aimed to reintegrate the South into the Union and rebuild the nation.

Lincoln's "Ten Percent Plan"

  • A more forgiving and flexible approach to Reconstruction.

Radical Republicans' Stance

  • Favored a more punitive Wade-Davis Bill in Congress.

Andrew Johnson's Presidency (1865-1869)

  • Became president after Lincoln's assassination in 1865.
  • His Reconstruction plan was considered too lenient by Radical Republicans in Congress.
  • Congress implemented a stricter Reconstruction plan, leading to conflict with Johnson.
  • Impeachment proceedings occurred in 1868 due to the strained relationship with Congress.

Lincoln's "Ten Percent Plan" (Detailed)

  • Aimed to be more lenient compared to the Radical Republicans' approach.
  • Outlined in the 1863 Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction.
  • Southern states could rejoin the Union when 10% of the voting population swore loyalty to the Union.
  • Required states to establish new, non-Confederate governments.

Freedmen's Bureau (Established 1865)

  • Staffed by Union army officers.
  • Tasked with protecting black rights in the South.
  • Provided employment, medical care, and education to Southern blacks.

Sharecropping System

  • Emerged after the Civil War, replacing the plantation system.
  • Plantations were divided into small farms rented to freedmen.
  • Rent was paid with a share of the crop, typically half.
  • Offered freedmen some independence but often maintained white control over land and labor.

Black Codes

  • Enacted by Southern state governments under Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction plan.
  • Granted freedmen some basic rights but imposed significant civil restrictions based on race.

Reconstruction Acts of 1867

  • Key legislation during congressional Reconstruction.
  • Invalidated state governments formed under Lincoln's and Johnson's plans.
  • Implemented military occupation of the former Confederacy.
  • Mandated state governments to vote for black suffrage.

Fourteenth Amendment (Ratified July 1868)

  • Ratification was required for ex-Confederate states to rejoin the Union.
  • Guaranteed citizenship rights to all individuals born or naturalized in the United States, regardless of race.
  • Stipulated loss of congressional representation for states denying suffrage to any male citizens.

Radical Republicans

  • Emerged in Congress before the Civil War.
  • Led by Congressman Thaddeus Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner.
  • Advocated for a strict Reconstruction policy to punish the South.
  • Called for expanded civil rights in the South.
  • Aligned with moderate Republicans and remained influential until the mid-1870s.

Thaddeus Stevens

  • Leader of the Radical Republicans in Congress.
  • Eloquent speaker and dedicated legislator advocating for stringent Reconstruction.
  • Strived for social and political equality for Southern blacks.

Fifteenth Amendment (Ratified March 1870)

  • Banned the denial of voting rights based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Charles Sumner

  • Leading Radical Republican senator during the Civil War and Reconstruction.
  • Key figure in the radical faction, advocating for civil rights for blacks.
  • Later led the defection of the Liberal Republicans.

Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871

  • Passed in response to Ku Klux Klan activities.
  • Aimed to protect black suffrage.

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

  • Founded in Tennessee in 1866 and later controlled by Democratic politicians.
  • By 1868, operated in all Southern states, using intimidation to suppress black voters and Republican officials.
  • Experienced a resurgence beginning in 1915.
  • Primarily composed of white native-born Protestants promoting white supremacy.
  • Investigated in 1964 for civil rights violations.

Jim Crow Laws

  • State laws that established segregation in the South from the 1880s to the 1960s.
  • Segregated schools, buses, and public accommodations.
  • Made it difficult or impossible for Southern blacks to vote and often prohibited interracial marriage.

Redemption

  • Term describing the return of Democratic rule in the South.
  • Involved the transition of power from Republican to Democratic state governments.
  • Included the reversal of Republican legislation and the oppression of freedmen.

Hayes-Tilden Compromise

  • Resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election.
  • Republican leaders contested election returns in some states, ensuring Rutherford B. Hayes' victory over Samuel J. Tilden (who won the popular vote).
  • Republicans agreed to end Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops from the remaining occupied Southern states to appease Democrats.