Do now

• Imagine for the past 14 years of your life (in 1865) you have been enslaved. You are now Free!!!!! Explain what you would do with your newly found freedom. Would you stay in the South or move North? What kind of job would you try to get? Would you try to find family members that were sold due to slavery. Etc….

Graffiti Artists!

• Read the section assigned to you!• Create a graffiti mural to describe your section• Use symbolism and graphics to describe the main

ideas. • Try to use very little words!! If any!!• This will be completed on chart paper and needs

to be colored!• You will present!

Reconstruction and Transition

After the War• Mississippi faced many challenges after the Civil

War• The state’s cities were severely damaged and

many buildings and stores had been burned• Our previous wealth before the war no longer

existed• Many men returned back home unable to work

due to injury or others just did not return

Freedmen

• 400,000 freedmen faced greater hardships• They were homeless, uneducated, and free for the first time–Many wandered town to town looking for jobs– Searched for family members lost due to

slavery

• New relationships between whites and blacks had to be developed–Blacks feared that old masters would try to

re-enslave them–Whites found it difficult to accept blacks

as free and equal

• Freedmen looked forward to practicing their right to vote and hold a political office• Whites wondered how they would be

treated as well… Would they be punished for their war efforts???? Would they be allowed to vote in new governments?????• The right to own land, vote, and get an education was a freedmen’s way to independence• Congress created the agency the Freedmen’s Bureau which helped former slaves with food, shelter, education, health care, and find jobs

Free Land??????

• Blacks felt that the land that was seized or confiscated during the war would be sold or leased to them• However, President Johnson ordered for all

confiscated land to be returned to its former owners

Presidential Reconstruction• Abraham Lincoln created a plan to rebuild the South and restore the Union before the war was over• Known as Reconstruction, had two simple

steps: – 1. All southerners, except high ranking

Confederates, would be pardoned after taking an oath of loyalty– 2. When 10% of voters took oath, the state

would be permitted to form a legal government and rejoin the Union.

• Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865 at Ford’s Theater

Johnson and Reconstruction• Much like Lincoln, though Johnson expanded the group of

southerners who were not covered by the general pardon• Johnson required that states write new state constitutions that

abolished slavery. • Republicans were disappointed with both plan… they wanted

stronger requirements• Due to pressure from Congress, Johnson added three more

requirements– 1. repeal secession ordinances– 2. Repudiate their war debt– 3. Ratify the 13th Amendment

• Reconstruction began in MS in June 1865• William Sharkey who opposed secession became temporary

governor

Constitutional Convention of 1865

• Mississippi was the first state to hold a constitutional convention to write a new constitution• They made few changes to state government• Most delegates were apart of MS prewar ruling

class• Though the president urged Mississippians to give suffrage to educated blacks and those who owned property, they delegates ignored his request.• They made it clear that they did not want any black participation in MS’s government

Black Codes• When new legislature met, legislators passed four acts

that became known as Black Codes– Placed harsh economic and social restrictions on blacks–Became clear that the Codes were designed to give the state

control over blacks

• First act: Civil Rights Act of 1865, provided two benefits- Legalized marriages and Gave blacks the right to sue in state courts, however it: –Prohibited interracial marriages– Prevented blacks from testifying in court cases with whites– Limited black land ownership

• Could not carry firearms and any other weapons• Blacks could be arrested for assembling with

permission• If they could not pay fine, they were hired out to

anyone who would pay fine for them

•When MS did not ratify the 13th Amendment it troubled the freedmen and angered many northern whites• As a result of these black codes, Congress

refused to seat MS’s Congressional delegates.

•Congress then passed laws designed to weaken the Black Codes and guarantee blacks rights•14th Amendment- made blacks full

citizens of the United States and in the individual states• Could not prohibit any person the right of

life, liberty, or property

Do Now

• Read the article “Reconstruction in Mississippi” • Analyze the article as you read and answer the

following question.

• Analyze the efforts of white defiance in Mississippi during the Reconstruction Era. Justify your claims using evidence from the text.

Congressional reconstruction• When Mississippi and other southern states

refused to ratify the 14th Amendment, Congress took control of Reconstruction• On March 2, 1867, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act. This carved the south into five military districts and set new, strict requirements for restoring the civil government. • Mississippi was placed in the Fourth military district under the control of Major General Edward Ord. • His task was to register all eligible voters. • Out of 160,000 adult males in MS, 137,000 were

qualified to vote.

• The Republican party was formed in MS in 1867 which included white Mississippians who supported Congressional Reconstruction, northern whites, and black leaders. • Scalawags were native whites who supported the Republican party• Carpetbaggers were northern whites who came to the south carrying suitcases made of carpet• The 1868 convention was made up of: 17 blacks, 29 native whites (scalawags), 25 Northern Republicans (carpetbaggers), 17 conservative democrats• Two resolutions to the constitution made in Convention• Provided Universal male suffrage-male citizens any

race & color• System of free public education for all children

between ages 6 & 18

• Conservative democrats in Mississippi objected to the provision of the constitution that stated the disfranchisement of all persons who supported secession or gave aid to Confederacy• Disfranchise means to take the right of vote away

from someone/group• The new constitution failed in 1868 when it went to

the voters because conservative whites refused to vote and organizations like the KKK used violence and intimidation to keep blacks from the polls• The new constitution was ratified in 1869 because it

was submitted without provision of disfranchising former Confederates• With the new constitution, the Republican party now

had control over the states.

• James Alcorn was elected governor• The 15th Amendment was passed and it guaranteed universal male suffrage• Mississippi was readmitted to the Union February 23, 1870• Black participation began in the Republican

party with the election of 17 black delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1868• In 1873, 55 blacks were elected to the House of Representatives and 31 were elected to the Senate in the state. • In 1869, James Lynch was elected Secretary of

the State.

• The major accomplishment of Mississippi’s Reconstruction government was it established a system of tax supported public schools.• In 1877, Mississippi A & M (Mississippi State) was established as a segregated school for whites• The MS University for Women was the

first and oldest public institution for women in the United States

• Conservative Democrats opposed Reconstruction because of the presence of Union troops, Republicans were corrupt, taxes were too high, resisted public schools especially for blacks, carpetbaggers controlled blacks• White democrats considered themselves redeemers, white Mississippians who wanted to return control of state government to native whites• Many white Republicans joined the Democrats

because of threats of economic reprisals and physical abuse and fear of becoming social outcasts• The KKK used intimidation to prevent blacks from

voting or to frighten them into voting for Democratic candidates.

• With the election of November 4th, 1875 the Democrats won four of the six congressional seats• The final blow of Reconstruction was the presidential election of 1876• Hayes(Republican) would become president on the

Compromise of Federal troops would leave the South and the Democrats would take control again in South

• A filibuster is continuous speechmaking to delay action by legislative body• The Democrats agreed to end the filibuster if

Hayes agreed to withdraw all troops from the South• In 1881, 38% of eligible blacks voted in the

governor’s election.

Presidential vs. congressional

• In a Venn Diagram, Compare and Contrast the efforts of Presidential Reconstruction and Congressional Reconstruction•Once you have information in Venn Diagram, create a two paragraph essay. Written properly and the work of a 9th grader. •Do not use improper language, run-ons, choppy sentences, etc….. • Turn in when finished!!!

• Create a dialogue strip of four boxes to display your topic. • Use TEXTUAL EVIDENCE to support your dialogue

strip.• You must color this and it must include

talking!!!!!• CAN NOT USE STICK PEOPLE!!!• Your box should look like the following:

Dialogue Strip

Textual Evidence

Textual Evidence

Textual Evidence

Textual Evidence

• Graphic with dialogue to explain topic

• TE: (Back up the picture with textual evidence)

Constitution of 1890• Mid 1880s- call for a new constitutional

convention• Wanted to replace Constitution of 1868• Did not want to be governed by laws drafted by blacks

and carpetbaggers

• Whites wanted a reapportionment (redrawing of the lines of voting districts)• To give majority white counties more power

• Convention was made up of mostly conservative Democrats and there was only one black delegate… Remember the last convention?? What did it look like???????

• Scheme in constitution to eliminate blacks from political scene• Adult males who wanted to vote had to:• 1. Register at least 4 months before election• 2. Live in the state for two years and in voting

district for one year• 3. Pay an annual poll tax ($2)• 4. Read any section of the state constitution or

understand it when read to them (Understanding Clause)

• Black registered voters dropped from 142,000 to 8,615• 30,000 whites who were poor could not pay

tax were eliminated from voting.

Essay• Pick two of the four Mississippi

Constitutions and analyze the effect of the passing of the constitutions on society. Use textual evidence (from your book and/or notes) to support your claims. • Organize like this: • Introduction• Constitution 1• Constitution 2• Conclusion