APUSH 5 th Block Chapter 22 Ordeal of Reconstruction Freedmen Define Freedom After the Civil War, slaves were freed, but some people still weren't understanding that they were free. Some slaves often found themselves emancipated and then renslaved One NC slave counted that he was freed twelve times. Some slaves weren't sure if they wanted to celebrate their freedom because they weren't free accodring to the Supreme Court or state legislatures. Responses to emancipation varied greatly due to master- slave relationships Loyal slaves resisted their own emancipation while others who were beat on a daily basis rushed to their freedom. Freedmen Define Freedom Once slaves were aware of their freedom, they would place their old shackles on the porch of the big house and announce their freedom. Some newly freed men and women demanded the title Mr. or Mrs. from whites. Thousands of slaves took to the road to find long-lost loved ones and form slave marriages. Others sought work in towns or cities where black protection existed. Church became the main focus for black empowerment and caused the formation of several organizations that helped blacks as well. The Exodusters Freedom Bureau Abolitionists realized that freed blacks would have a hard time in society. African Americans with no education, no money, and nowhere to go would cause problems in society. As a response, abolitionists formed the Freedom Bureau on March 3, The Freedom Bureau was to serve as a welfare agency that provided food, medical care, and edcuation to emancipated slaves. Union general Oliver O. Howard was the head of the bureau as well as the president of Howard University in Washington D.C. Johnson: The Tailor President Born to impoverished parents in North Carolina. Orphaned early. Never attended school, but apprenticed to a tailor at 10. Being ambitious, he taught himself to read. His wife later taught him to write and to do simple arithmetic. Became active in politics in Tennessee Excelled at making speeches Attracted favorable attention from the North during election. Refused to secede from his own state. Political exigency put him into the Vice Presidency. He was very hot headed, contentious, and stubborn. Presidential Reconstruction President Lincoln believed the southern states never really seceded from the union legally. In 1863 Lincoln proposed his 10 percent Reconstruction Plan. Proclamation provoked a sharp reaction in Congress. Republicans feared restoration and later threw the Wade- Davis Bill to the Congress. Required 50% off states voters take the oath of allegiance and demanded safe guards for emancipation. With the controversy about the Wade-Davis Bill differences between the President and Congress prevailed. Andy Johnson sided with Lincoln saying the states did not secede the union. The Baleful Black Codes In order to control the freed blacks, many Southerner states passed Black Codes. These laws were designed to regulate the affairs of the emancipated blacks. The Black Codes varied in severity from state to state. Aimed to ensure a stable and submissive labor force. The Baleful Black Codes cont. Penalties were imposed by the codes on blacks who "jumped" their labor contracts. This committed them to work for the same employer for one year, at small wages. The codes also sought to restore as nearly as possible the pre-emancipation system of race relations. All of the codes forbidded blacks to serve on a jury, rent or lease land, and vote. The Baleful Black Codes cont. The life of an African-American after the Civil War was hardly any different than before the war. The codes imposed a terrible burden on the free blacks, struggling against mistreatment and poverty. With little to offer but their labor, thousands of poor former slaves slipped into the status of sharecroppers farmers. The Black Codes made an ugly impression in the North. ( Had the North really won the war?) Congressional Reconstruction In December 1865, Southern states represented themselves in Congress with former Confederate generals and colonels. This infuriated the Republicans. Republicans enjoyed their supreme rule in congress but now there is a opposing team South would have much more control because of slaves Republican feared that south would take control of congress On December 6, President Johnson announced that Southern state met the condition and union was restored Republican Principles and Programs Veto-proof Congress and unlimited control of reconstruction policy Moderates and radicals still disagreed over things Charles Sumner led the radicals in the Senate He worked for not only black freedom; he worked for racial equality The most powerful radical in the House was Thaddeus Stevens from Pennsylvania He defended for the runaways slaves in court without a fee He wanted to be buried in a black cemetery Devotion to blacks was matched by his hate for the rebellious white southerners Leader of the Joint Committee on Reconstruction because of his sharp mind and his wit Republican Principles and Programs Opposed to a sudden restoration of the southern states because they wanted to keep the south out the union, apply for federal power to bring about a drastic social and economic change in south While the moderates wanted to quicker reconstruction Republicans were aware to the principles of states rights and self- government Preferred policies that restrained the states from reducing citizens rights rather than the policies that directly had the federal government in there individual lives The policies actually showed the influence of both sides even though the moderates had the upper hand Had to agree on the necessity to give blacks the right to vote by 1867, even if the troops had to get involved Reconstruction by the Sword Against a backdrop of vicious and bloody race riots that had erupted in several Southern cities, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act on March 2, This divided the South into five military districts, each commanded by a Union general and policed by union soldiers, about twenty thousand all told. This act fired many confederate soldiers. Congress additionally laid down stringent conditions for the readmission of the seceded states. It also gave freedom to all the slaves. Yet the weren't given land or education at federal expense. They made the South put in their state constitution full suffrage for freed blacks. That still didnt promise the full suffrage so the North decided to put it in the federal constitution. No Women Voters During the Reconstruction-era after the Civil War, three new amendments were passed that pleased many abolitionists for slavery but left out any new rights for women The thirteenth amendment, the fourteenth amendment and the fifteenth amendment Women believed that they should get more rights in society because they felt that they had a huge impact on the Civil War and should be rewarded The struggle for black freedom and the fight for womens rights were basically the same to most women Two of the most famous womens rights advocates were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton Both of these ladies quit working for womens rights at one point and changed their view and began working for the cause of black emancipation No Women Voters The Womans Loyal League gathered over 400,000 signatures to ask that the Congress to pass a law that prohibited slavery, but were very shocked when Frederick Douglas asked Anthony and Stanton to not protest the Fourteenth amendment which again gave women no additional rights and only helped African Americans After losing a battle over the Fifteenth Amendment, it would take another 50 years for women rights advocates to even come close to getting the right to vote again Radical Reconstruction By the late 1800s, African Americans gained ALMOST total freedom. The 14th Amendment basically states that Africans Americans have the same status as women. However during the 1860s, African Americans got the right to vote. The African American women did not gain their right to vote. They were only allowed to attend constitutional conventions and meetings in the newly built black churches. Changes When African Americans gained their right to vote, they took advantage of this. They started to organize political groups. For example, the Union League. This leagues mission was too expand the black community by building black churches and schools and to protect them from white retaliation. White Southerner's Opinions Many white southerners were very hypocritical of this because they believed that people who were once slaves that worked for them should not have the same rights as they do. Especially since many white southerners were being denied from their vote. Former masters were offended when they thought about their old slaves having a position in office. White southerners retaliated by calling the blacks scalawags and carpetbaggers and accused them with wild exaggerations so they could not hold office. Effects Theses changes provided for universal male suffrage. Even though they gained their right to vote, the government had no black governors or state senates at this time. Effort was put into creating adequate public schools Property rights were given to women Founding of the Ku Klux Klan Founded in Tennessee in Also called the Invisible Empire of the South. Is often referred to as the KKK. Most members were against black rights, and African Americans in general. The ways of the KKK The members of the KKK often wore what resembled to most as bed sheets. This hid their identity during their racist activities. Their goal was to induce fear into African Americans, and sometimes cause harm. KKK Fear Tactics In the early stages of the KKKs creation, KKK members would go to peoples houses, (often an African Americans) and would ask for water in an attempt to frighten the victim. This confrontation would sometimes turn violent. Resulted in many deaths of African Americans. Federal Response Congress responded to the KKK recent spurt of violence by passing the Force Acts of 1870 and This stopped most violence, but many of the organizations prolonged their tactics in forms of dancing clubs, missionary societies, and rifle cubs. It seemed as though the damage had already been done prior to the Force Acts of 1870 and 1871. Johnson Walks the Impeachment Plank President Andrew Johnsons many radical agitators were trying vigorously to remove him from office. They were very irritated by Johnsons actions while in office and even falsely accused him of having a harem of dissolute women at the white house. Soon, they wanted him out of office altogether but did so constitutionally. Johnson Walks the Impeachment Plank Tenure of Office Act- required the president to secure the consent of the Senate before he could remove his appointees once theyd been approved by the body. Edwin M. Stanton appeared to be loyal to Johnson but was a spy for radicals. Johnson only increased his oppositions calls for his resignation when he dismissed Stanton. People even said Johnson directed many verbal assaults at Congress. The House of Representatives then soon, voted 126 to 47 to impeach Johnson on high crimes and misdemeanors and violating the Tenure of Office Act. THE PURCHASE OF ALASKA Russia wanted the United States to buy Alaska because they were afraid that they would lose the land to the British without getting any money. They needed it sold before Britain attacked them. WILLIAM SEWARD The civil war delayed the process of buying Alaska, but in 1867 Secretary of State William Seward, signed a treaty with Russia that transferred Alaska to the United States for the bargain price of $7.2 million. People thought that William Seward was ignorant or an uninformed countryman.. They called his purchase Seward Folly or Sewards Icebox. Sewards Folly Even though Alaska was brought by the U.S in 1867, it was not considered a state until 1959, because of low population. They also found out that Alaska was a good purchase because it provided them with gold and oil supply. The Heritage of Reconstruction White southerners thought Reconstruction was worse than war. Resented the upending of their social and racial system, political empowerment of blacks, and the insult of federal intervention in their local affairs. Lincoln, Johnson, and most Republicans had no clear picture at wars end of what federal policy toward the South should be. The Heritage of Reconstruction Republicans acted from a mixture of idealism and political expediency They wanted to protect the freed slaves and to promote the fortunes of the Republican party. Their efforts backfired badly and Reconstruction conferred only fleeting benefits on the blacks and shut down the Republican party in the South for nearly one hundred years. Deep-seated racism, ingrained American resistance to tampering with property rights, and rigid loyalty to the principle of local self-government, combined with spreading indifference in the North to the plight of the blacks was to much of a problem