Post-War Virginia

Introduction to Reconstruction

The long and bloody Civil War was over in 1865, but the more complicated task of reuniting the nation was only just beginning. When Virginia seceded, it recalled its Congressmen, Senators, and anyone connected with the Federal government from Washington. Though the state and the rest of the South were technically part of the United States after the end of the war, politically and practically, they were still cut off from the rest of the country. Reintegrating Virginia with the Federal government would not be an easy task, especially since it involved accepting new values and new realities that many Virginians were not ready to receive. Reconstruction involved not only a complex political process, but also the tasks of rebuilding lost property, reincorporating the South's economy, and, most substantially, integrating millions of freed slaves into society. Many dreamed that Reconstruction would be the nation's chance to establish a peaceful, biracial democracy, where black and white people could interact freely and equally. Sadly, the reaction of Virginians and other Southerners to Reconstruction efforts, and the North's fading will to fulfill this dream led to more than one hundred years of racial segregation in Virginia.

Destroyed Environment

Virginia faced an array of problems following the Civil War. The most obvious issue concerned how to rebuild the South's infrastructure and environment after four years of total war. Hundreds of thousands of animals died in the war either in battle or to feed armies. By the end of the war, five hundred horses died every day from artillery fire, disease, starvation, and exhaustion, and the war led to a shortage of pork for years. The landscape also saw a massive impact from the conflict. Entire forests were scarred or destroyed by the artillery. Southern agricultural infrastructure was destroyed as soldiers on both sides pulled down fences and other structures for firewood. Craters from massive explosions created small ponds, which bred disease-carrying mosquitos. The outskirts of cities were scarred by miles of trenches, leading to large-scale erosion. Entire cities were destroyed. Richmond, in particular, suffered near-total destruction during the last stages of the war. Almost the entire city was reduced to rubble, either by Union shelling or the Confederate's decision to burn parts of the city during its evacuation. It would take decades for the South's environment to fully heal from the war's destruction. The South's economy would never be as robust as it once had been.

Freed Slaves

The largest problem facing Virginians and other Southerners dealt with how to deal with millions of freed slaves. The United States had managed to end slavery at the cost of 600,000 lives but no one was sure how to integrate them into society. Many asked whether they should be given all the same rights as white citizens. Many Northern states denied basic civil rights to free blacks, including the right to vote, so the scope of the question was national rather than regional. Another question concerned what role freed blacks would play in the economy. Most freed slaves had very few skills, little education, and no property. Some believed that former slaves would have no place in the nation's economy if they were not given land of their own, but taking away the land of white Southerners, especially after denying them their human "property," might incite further unrest. Entrenched racism both in the South and the North led many to balk at the idea of taking property away from whites and giving it to free blacks.

A more important issue was the experience of freed slaves themselves. They had finally gained freedom, but the future might have seemed terrifying to many of them. Could there be any real freedom without economic independence? There was a distinct possibility that, despite their freedom, blacks in the South might not gain some of the most basic human rights. Uncertainty and fear must have troubled many freedmen even as they celebrated their newfound liberty, and their fears were realized as millions of freed slaves entered the labor market in a ruined economy.

Competition for jobs in cities was fierce. Though technically free, many former slaves in rural areas with no structure in place to help them fell into hostile contracts with their former masters that practically reinstated their status as slaves. Immediately after the war, it was still unclear how these former slaves would be integrated into society and whether they would be treated as equals. Many former enslaved people were able to organize and petition the government for equal protection. In June 1865, for example, black residents of Richmond met at the First African Baptist Church and organized a campaign to demand equal rights as citizens.

Freedmen's Bureau

Even before Lee's surrender in April 1865, the Federal government enacted initial plans for reconstruction. One of the earliest institutions created for the purpose of reconstruction was the Freedmen's Bureau. About six weeks before Lee's surrender at Appomattox, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands. The Bureau soon became known as simply the Freedmen's Bureau because it dealt so predominantly with freed slaves. Its major goals were to protect the freedom of former slaves, give them medical care, help them negotiate labor contracts, and set up schools to educate black Americans. They were most successful on this last point. In five years, the Bureau successfully built over 500 schools, which educated more than 500,000 former slaves. Another major goal of the Freedmen's Bureau was to reunite families who had been separated before or during the war. Many walked hundreds of miles only to find themselves in unfamiliar territory with no hope of finding lost family members. Refugees such as these often found assistance when the Freedmen's Bureau did their best to help at least some freed blacks start a new life. Still, most of their efforts met resistance from a backlash of white supremacists in the 1870s. Congress, focused on the fight over Reconstruction, failed to provide the agency with the power it needed to combat the opposition.

Wartime Reconstruction Plans

Philosophies

The issue of how to reintegrate the South and what kind of society the South should become after the war ignited serious debate in the Federal government. Lincoln and more moderate Republicans believed that since secession was illegal, the Southern states were still technically part of the Union. The Federal government did not have to make any special provisions to readmit states; former Confederates needed only to send new representatives to Congress. Lincoln believed it was individuals rather than states that had rebelled, and therefore it was up to the President to enact punishment. Radical Republicans in Congress felt differently. In their opinion, the states had indeed left the Union and were currently in the same status as United States territories. Therefore, it was Congress's prerogative to accept readmission on their terms.

This fundamental philosophical difference reflected even deeper goals for Reconstruction on both sides. Lincoln and other moderates wanted to bring the former Confederacy back into the fold as painlessly and quickly as possible. They did not want to risk the outbreak of more violence, especially prolonged, damaging guerilla warfare. However, radical Republicans in Congress wanted to punish the South. It was their goal to completely destroy the South's planter aristocracy, which they believed had been the cause of the trouble. Other radicals wanted to establish complete equality for freed blacks. They believed that the sacrifices of the war would be wasted if the South did not change.

Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan

Late in 1863, Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction in which he laid out what was known as his Ten Percent Plan. The executive order allowed Confederate states to form a loyal government and petition for readmission so long as ten percent of those who had voted in the Election of 1860 took an oath of allegiance to the Union. With the exception of Confederate leaders, those who took the oath would also receive a pardon. Loyal governments began to form in states on the border with the Union or already under Union control. Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee all responded quickly.

The Wade-Davis Bill

Lincoln's plan failed, however, because Congress refused to recognize the new loyal governments. Radical Republicans felt that Lincoln's plan was far too lenient. They took the authority on themselves to pass a new plan in 1864. Senator Benjamin Franklin Wade of Ohio and Representative Henry Winter Davis of Maryland sponsored the Wade-Davis Bill, which was much stricter than the Ten Percent Plan.

The proposed bill dictated that a majority of white male citizens in each state had to swear allegiance before Congress would even consider readmission. Those who wished to serve on or even vote for delegates to state constitutional conventions had to swear an additional "ironclad" oath that they had never supported the Confederacy. Additionally, Confederate states had to abolish slavery, disavow Confederate debts, and absolve the political rights of Confederate leaders.

Lincoln was furious at the attempt of Congress to take power that he believed belonged to the Presidency. He refused to sign the bill before Congress adjourned at the end of 1864. The stage seemed set for a political standoff between the President and Congress, but Lincoln's assassination soon after the war thrust President Andrew Johnson into power in his place.

President Johnson's Plan

Radical Republicans hoped that Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, would lean more toward their way of thinking concerning Reconstruction. Most people understood that Johnson did not like the South's wealthy elite, and many in Congress were sure that his policies would put them out of power. Nevertheless, Congress and President Johnson soon became locked in one of the most intense struggles between the two governmental branches over the issue of Reconstruction. Though Johnson did want to punish the Southern elite, he largely continued most of Lincoln's policies. In May 1865, he issued a new Proclamation of Amnesty, which pardoned all Southerners except those who owned taxable property over $20,000. The second part of Johnson's plan established loyal governments based on Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan. Johnson named temporary governors in each Confederate state who were tasked with calling a constitutional convention. The conventions would be required to invalidate secession, abolish slavery, and repudiate all Confederate debts before readmission. The delegates attending the conventions, he decided, could only be elected by loyal voters.

Thus, the only major difference between Johnson and Lincoln's plans was that Johnson was harsher on wealthy Confederates. Even in this part of his plan, however, he was far too lenient for the radicals' sake. He routinely gave pardons to wealthy Confederates so long as they humbly asked him for it, stroking his growing ego. Furthermore, Johnson did not share the radicals' dream of a biracial democracy in the South. He did not require, or even advocate, voting rights for blacks.

Southern Intransigence

The result of Johnson's leniency was a number of constitutional conventions that reinstated the old Southern way of life. Freed blacks were given few basic political rights, and wealthy planters maintained control. In December 1865, Congress met for the first time after the war. Republicans were outraged when they saw prominent Confederate leaders present themselves as representatives. Even Alexander Stephens of Georgia, who had served as Vice President of the Confederacy, became a representative along with twelve other major Confederate military officials and six cabinet members. Many Radical Republicans felt that these men should be hanged for treason rather than serving in Congress. Congress denied seats to the former Confederates, prompting a massive struggle for power in the Federal government over Reconstruction.

Evidence of Southern intransigence was prominent in other areas of government as well. The new state constitutions established “black codes” that restricted the civil rights of black Americans. The labor laws included in these codes were remarkably like slavery. Freedmen were forced to sign labor contracts with white employers, which limited their freedom even more. Unemployed "vagrant" blacks could be punished with severe fines. If they were unable to pay, they had to work for white landowners who paid the fine in their place. Southerners had abolished slavery but established policies that recreated Southern society just as it had been, with almost all its injustices. Congress believed that Johnson's plan had failed and began taking steps to take control of Reconstruction.