Reconstruction: 1867-1877

1. What to do with 3.5 to 4 million freed blacks?

a. No landb. No jobsc. No skillsd. No knowledge of how to provide for

themselves

3 Problems

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2. What to do with Southern States?Lincoln Receive them back into the Union, “with

malice toward none.”Radicals Treat them as conquered territory

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3. Constitutional Questiona. Who should control

Reconstruction? Executive or Legislative?

b. If they never legally left the Union, how could they be re-admitted?

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Terms to Form a Government: a. 10% of all those eligible to vote in 1860

took an oath to uphold the Constitution

Lincoln’s Plan

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December 1863 Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction

a. Amnesty to all rebels who would swear allegiance to the United States and obey its laws

b. EXCEPTION: High-ranking Confederate officials and those who mistreated Prisoners of War (POWs)

Lincoln’s Plan

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1. They wanted to break the “slave owning class’s” political power

2. Full citizenship for blacks

Radical Republicans’ Plan

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July 1864 Wade-Davis Bill

a. Congress, not the President, is responsible for Reconstruction

b. 50% of those eligible to vote in 1860 would have to take an oath to uphold the Constitution

c. PLUS: Swear that they had never supported the Confederacy in any way

Radical Republicans’ Plan

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* The Wade-Davis Bill was in every way a method to keep Rebel states out of the Union.

Radical Republicans’ Plan

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Lincoln killed the Wade-Davis Bill with a Pocket Veto

a. Radicals were incensed

b. They believed that the Confederate states had seceded and were now just territories, under Congressional control

c. Congress constitutionally had control over territorial matters

Lincolns’ Response

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*After the 1864 elections, both Arkansas and Louisiana sent representatives to Washington under Lincoln’s plan

Radicals blocked the door and would not let them in

Comparison: Before the War Ends

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• Victorious Lincoln might have gotten his way with Congress

Comparison: After the War Ends

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• The President, however, was shot by John Wilkes Booth in April 1865

• The pro-Confederate Booth consigned the fate of the South to the Radicals by killing the man who would have defended Southern interests!

Comparison: After the War Ends

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Andrew Johnson

17th President of the United States

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1. Came from a poor Irish Protestant immigrant family

2. Worked his way up from the bottom to the top

3. Follower of the teachings of Thomas Jefferson and fellow Irish Protestant, Andrew Jackson

4. Southern Democrat from Tennessee

Andrew Johnson

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1. Disliked cities, manufacturing and banks2. Feared wealth not based in the land3. Southerners considered him a traitor4. Radicals considered him a Southerner

Andrew Johnson

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Johnson wanted to continue Lincoln’s Plan

1. He would declare that secession was illegal

2. Southerners would have to swear allegiance to the Constitution, including the 13th Amendment

3. None of the Confederate War Debt be paid

4. Southern states must ratify the 13th Amendment

Johnson’s Plan

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1. All (10), but one (Texas), set up new state governments

2. December 1865: New Southern representatives came to take their seats in Washington

Southern Response

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The “New” Southern representatives:a. 58 had been in the Confederate Congressb. 6 had been in the Confederate Cabinetc. 4 had been Confederate generals

*Johnson had pardoned them all!!

Southern Representatives

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FIRST Federal Relief Program:1. Set up to give food and clothing to former

slaves and to needy whites

2. Set up 40 hospitals, 4,000 primary schools, 61 Industrial institutions and 74 Teacher schools

3. Blacks flocked to these

schools

Freedmen’s Bureau

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4. Black teachers took heat from local whitesa. Hard to find homesb. Could not get creditc. Students harassed

5. February 1866 Congress voted to enlarge the Freedmen’s Bureau and send more money

6. March 1866 Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill (made blacks citizens, forbade state discriminatory laws)

Freedmen’s Bureau

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Johnson vetoed both bills1. He said that they were unconstitutional

2. He was right!

3. The Constitution did not give Congress the power to pass such laws

4. Johnson and the Radicals went to “war” against one another

5. Radicals believed that Johnson protected white Southerners

Johnson’s Response

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1. Former slaves were excited with new freedom

2. They did not know what to do, though3. No jobs4. Many drifted from town to town5. Many more went back to their plantations

to work

Situation in the South

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• Many whites became frightened of drifters living in the woods

• States pass laws, placing blacks between slavery and freedom

Situation in the South

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1. They varied state to state2. They granted some rights

• Marriage, Property Ownership, Right to Sue in Court, Education

3. They had certain prohibitions:• Curfews (for drifters)• Had to carry permits• Could not serve on juries, bear arms, testify against

whites in court or marry whites

Black Codes

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Black Codes

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• Radical leader in the House

• From Lancaster, Pennsylvania

• Known as the Great Commoner

Radicals Refuse to Recognize the State Governments

• Hated Slavery and Hated Southerners with a passion

• Strongly believed in Black/White equality

Thaddeus Stevens

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Moderate Republicans joined Radicals in the adoption of the 14th Amendment

1. Republicans overrode Johnson’s veto of the extension of the Freedmen’s Bureau

2. Republicans drafted the 14th Amendment to REPLACE the Civil Rights Bill

14th Amendment

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1. All native born or naturalized citizens have equal protection under the law

2. No state could deprive any person their LIFE, LIBERTY, or PROPERTY without DUE PROCESS

3. Voting was still a matter for the states to decide4. If a state barred Blacks from voting, it could lose

seats in the House5. Barred Southerners from Federal or State office

unless it is lifted by 2/3 of Congress

14th Amendment

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1. The North would have been satisfied if the South had accepted the 14th Amendment

2. Johnson thought it was too harsh!3. He advised states to reject the amendment4. All Southern states rejected the

amendment, except Johnson’s Tennessee5. The amendment failed

The South’s Response

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Congressional Election of 1866

– Three parties involved: Republicans, Democrats and Pro-Unionists (Lincoln’s coalition, including Johnson & Seward)

– Radicals win the election of 1866– Many Irish vote Republican because of

Johnson’s botching the Fenian invasion of Canada

– Republicans gain a 2/3 majority to overturn any of Johnson’s vetoes

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First Reconstruction Act

• Radicals divided Southern states (except Tennessee) into 5 military districts:

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First Reconstruction Act

1. Civil courts became military tribunals2. Each district placed under a Major

General

a. New state constitutions would be written

b. Black males would get their votes

3. Before states could reenter the Union, they must ratify the 14th Amendment

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First Reconstruction Act

Johnson vetoed the Act – Congress overrode him; the South was outraged:

1. They had surrendered their armies2. They had admitted secession was wrong3. They had freed their slaves

*They failed to realize that the First Reconstruction act was a reaction to Black codes; twenty thousand troops were sent to the South to maintain order.

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Tenure of Office Act

Congress passed this act in retaliation against Johnson

1. He had removed officers who helped Blacks

2. Johnson’s cabinet members had hired Ex-Confederates

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Tenure of Office Act

1. Radicals tried to lay the groundwork for Johnson’s impeachment

2. This was a blatant attempt to seize power from the President

3. Johnson could not remove a cabinet member he had appointed without getting 2/3 Senate approval

4. Radicals hoped Johnson would break this law and thus commit a high misdemeanor- GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT!

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Impeachment of Johnson

1. Johnson knew the Tenure of Office Act was unconstitutional (it was!)

2. Johnson, nonetheless, fired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton

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Impeachment of Johnson

February 24, 1866: Andrew Johnson became the first President to be impeached

1. The House voted to impeach Johnson2. The case had to go to the Senate3. Johnson’s lawyers easily knocked down the

Tenure of Office Act charge4. Stanton was appointed by LINCOLN, not Johnson5. Johnson did NOT break the law

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Impeachment of Johnson

Johnson was also charged with intemperate language and having brought disgrace, ridicule and contempt on Congress

1. A ridiculous charge2. Charles Sumner’s motives were

political, not legal

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Motives of the Radicals

1. Trying to change the way the Constitution worked2. Wanted to destroy checks & balances3. Wanted to make the Executive Branch

subordinate to the Legislative, like in Great BritainVOTE: 35 to 19 One short of the 2/3 super

majority needed*The Presidency saved, Andrew Johnson later

became a Senator.

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Election of 1868

Republican: Ulysses S. Grant

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Democrat: Horatio Seymour• Grant won 214 to 80 in the electoral vote• Grant won by 310,000 in the popular vote• 500,000 blacks swung the election for

Grant

15th Amendment

Radicals feared Southerners would restrict Black voting, so they passed the 15th Amendment

As a result of the 15th Amendment (passed in 1870), every citizen has the right to vote, no matter that person’s race, color or previous servitude.

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Reconstruction- Why So Long?

1. What states took the 10 years to rejoin?

2. How did plantations survive in the South?

3. What are share cropping and tenant farming?

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Voting in the South

# of White voters in the South during Reconstruction: 660,000

# of Black voters in the South during Reconstruction: 704,000

*10# of Whites would not register*Republicans lined the Blacks up to vote Republican, while

the Democrats lined immigrants up to vote Democratic

*Out of 125 elections, only 16 blacks were elected to Congress

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South Carolina as the Exception

South Carolina is the only state with a majority of blacks in the legislature

1. No black governors in any state2. Very few lieutenant governors3. Two (2) senators4. 14 Congressmen

*Most black politicians were ministers and teachers from the North

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Black Senators?

Two black senators were elected during Reconstruction: Hiram Rhodes Revels and Blanche Bruce

Since then, only four (4) black Senators have been elected, including Barack Obama

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Scalawags

1. White Southerners who turned Republicans2. Some wanted to do so to industrialize in the

North3. Some wanted to stop the return of the

Planters’ power4. Some were corrupt –

wanted power & money

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Carpetbaggers

1. Northerners who moved South to make money and get power

2. Some were legitimate businessmen, teachers and ministers

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Secret Societies

1. Secret societies were created to combat black gains

2. Southerners disliked Union troops in the military South

3. Ku Klux Klan – dressed up as ghosts of Rebel soldiers to scare blacks

4. KKK & Knights of the White Camelia – start to try to destroy the Reconstruction governments

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Secret Societies

5. Secret societies turned to BRUTAL TERRORISM6. Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Grand Wizard, tried

to break up the Klan7. Force Acts of 1870 & 1871 – provided federal

supervision for elections-President could declare martial law to combat the Klan

8. October 1871: President Grant called for Federal protection of elections in nine states

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Election of 1876

Rutherford B. Hayes – RepublicanSamuel Tilden – Democrat

1. Tilden wins the Popular Vote by 220,000

2. The Electoral College vote was 184 to 165: Tilden needed 185 for the majority

3. 20 votes were in dispute (OR, SC, FL and LA)

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Election of 1876

Tilden was ROBBED! He deserved Florida’s four votes

– A Florida commission of 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats voted straight down party lines and gave the four votes to Hayes

– The Compromise of 1877, also known as the “Corrupt Bargain,” resulted

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Compromise of 1877

1. Hayes agreed to take all Union troops out of SC, LA & FL so Democrats could then overthrow Radical Republicans

2. Money to rebuild Railroads in Texas leading to the West Coast (improve bridges, roads, harbors, etc.)

3. One conservative in the Cabinet

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William R. Brock

1. He explains the Northern Perception of INEQUALITY– Literal equality of man was a Radical Abolitionist

Creation– It was emotional, not Rational– Radicals believed Blacks were unequal in

capabilities, but equal in rights

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William R. Brock

Equality demands the protection of the weak against the strong

They needed positive laws to afford the weak rights under the law

The concept of Black equality demands Federal interference with local government

Blacks were unequal in economic life Radical Republican equality would have to be an

ARTIFICIAL creation IMPOSED upon the South

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Three Types of Equality

1. In the eyes of God (in the afterlife)a. but, racial discrimination was still OK on Earth

b. but, so are other types, such as: ethnicity, sex, class, etc.

2. Under the Lawa. but, Anglo-Saxon common law allowed the class/caste

system to be accepted

3. In Opportunitya. Implies inequality in achievementb. Blacks must be given positive aids

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Problems

1. Positive aid aroused hostility in the South2. Positive aid aroused debt in the North

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Inalienable Rights?

Society looked at the atomized man, with INALIENABLE rights Inalienable rights must come from a Creator

and transcend mere political, legal, or social rights

Men could prosper through their own initiative Men may never interfere on others’ inalienable

rights

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Inalienable Rights?

Society saw that Southerners denied inalienable rights to Blacks They have to be ensured by an outside

(Northern) force The rights of individuals were a check upon

the enlargement of government Black Suffrage would allow Blacks to protect

their own rights

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Suffrage

1. The question was, if Blacks needed positive aid to secure those rights, were they worthy of those same rights?

2. When trying to convince Northerners why they should support the 15th Amendment, Radicals had to appeal to the utility of the Black vote against Democrats, rather than appeal to some abstract sense of justice.

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Suffrage

Radicals did not even know if suffrage was an alienable right

Inalienable rights may not be compatible with local self-governments

Given by the direct political sovereign As a right, Radicals could then abandon the

Blacks

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