RECONSTRUCTION ERAChapter 8, Section 1

WAR’S END AND IMPACT

•On April 14th, 1865 President Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth.

• Andrew Johnson became president.

• Effects of the war: • U.S. is a global economic power

• Increased migration of African Americans to North and West

• Reaffirming of federal power

PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION

• Reconstruction refers to the era (1865-1877) in which the government sought to address the issue of returning states to the Union, addressing the South’s economy, and what to do about former slaves’ rights.

• Three distinct plans emerged to answer these questions, by three very distinct groups.

• Lincoln’s Plan– 10% Plan

• Johnson’s Plan

• Radical Republicans’ Plan– Wade Davis Bill

PLANS FOR RECONSTRUCTION

• Lincoln’s Plan

• Sympathetic towards Southerners easy to rejoin after the war.

• Radical Republicans’ Plan

• Saw secession and slavery as crimes that require punishment

• Promote African American equality

• Johnson’s Plan

• Bring the states back in as quickly as possible

• Supported states’ rights– dislikes wealthy plantation owners

SAME OLD, SAME OLD

•Many southern states quickly met Johnson’s requirements to rejoin the Union. • Since Johnson did not support African American

equality, most Southerners wanted to pass laws to restrict their freedoms after the Civil War.

• Black codes laws that sought to limit rights of African Americans and keep them landless workers.

• However, the Radical Republicans were dominant in Congress, bringing about many changes to the South.

CONGRESSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION

•Congress passed measures to increase support for African Americans during Reconstruction. • Freedman’s Bureau goal was to provide food, clothing, healthcare and education for both black and white refugees in the South.

• Civil Rights Act of 1866 response to the black codes; federal guarantees of civil rights, superseding state laws.

RECONSTRUCTION LEGISLATION- AMENDMENTS

•Reconstruction amendments:• 13th abolishes slavery and involuntary servitude

• 14th guarantees African Americans citizenship; prohibits states from passing laws to take away citizens’ rights.

• 15th no citizen can be denied the right to vote because of “race, color, or previous servitude.”

RECONSTRUCTION LEGISLATION- OTHER LAWS

•Additional legislation: • Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the Southern states not yet readmitted to the Union into 5 military districts.

• Each was governed by a Union general.

• States had to write a new Constitution that granted suffrage to African Americans and ratify the 14th amendment.

• Enforcement Act made voter intimidation a crime.

ATTEMPT TO IMPEACH JOHNSON

•Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans shared very different views on Reconstruction.

•Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act to limit the President’s power. • When Johnson attempted to fire Edwin Stanton,

Secretary of War, Congress voted to impeach (accuse of wrongdoing) Johnson.

RECONSTRUCTION- PART 2

Chapter 8, Section 2

AFRICAN AMERICANS GAIN POWER

• During Reconstruction, there was a growth of the Republican Party in the South. Why?

• African Americans joined the party that freed them– Republican.

• African Americans were able to hold offices, and Hiram Revels became the first African American senator in 1870.

• Many white southerners had not yet taken the loyalty oath, so often times African Americans represented the majority of voters in a state.

OTHER GROUPS GAIN RECOGNITION

• African Americans were not the only group to welcome the Republican Party.

• Scalawags (poor white southerners who had not been involved in politics before the Civil War) found representation with the Republican Party.

• Groups of white and black northerners moved to the South for two reasons:

• Look for better economic/political opportunities

• Help rebuild the South

• These individuals were known as carpetbaggers because of the carpet-cloth suitcases they carried with them.

REDISTRIBUTION OF LAND

• The biggest economic problems in the South stemmed from uneven distribution of land.

• 90% of southern land was owned by ~1/2 the South’s population.

• African Americans and poor whites were vying for land after the Civil War.

• Thaddeus Stevens had proposed taking land from wealthy planters and giving it to freedman.

• General Sherman’s plan proposed that freedmen would receive “40 acres and a mule”.

A NEW TYPE OF ECONOMY• Three new methods of farming developed during Reconstruction to combat

the loss of capital and land. There were pros and cons to each method.

Pros Cons

Sharecropping- Did not need cash to start- Did not pay for supplies

- Tricked by landowners- Perpetually in debt- Live where told

Share-tenancy- Could choose the crop

planted variety- Did not need cash to start- Purchase own supplies

- Had to pay back portion of sales to landowner

- Live where told

Tenant-farming

- Choose crop- Managed by the farmer- Choice of where to live

- Needed good money-management skills

- High financial risk

VIOLENCE COMES TO THE SOUTH

• Struggle to make a living in the South caused a lot of competition and tension.

• White southerners were angry that Republicans were dominating local politics and due to the federal occupation by Union troops. • They were united over their dislike for African Americans to

have citizenship.

• The Ku Klux Klan started in Tennessee in 1866. • They used scare tactics to intimidate African Americans.

(Hence the need for the Enforcement Acts)

RECONSTRUCTION- PART 3

Chapter 8, Section 3

OTHER ISSUES

• Outside of the South, other problems drew focus from the crises in the South

• Ulysses S. Grant’s presidency was marred by scandal he gave high-ranking positions to untrustworthy acquaintances.

• Grant was seen as unable to target corruption in his own party, and pubic distrust grew.

• The public lost confidence in the government due to the following:

• Failing economy

• Corruption and greed in government

• These problems caused the public to lose focus on the South’s problems.

END OF RECONSTRUCTION

• Supreme Court started chipping away at the rights of African Americans gained in the 1870s.

• Southern whites gained power, by using violence and legal interpretations.

• They adopted a strategy of discrediting black politicians while promoting racial segregation. • The common goal of both white southern Democrats and

Republicans was to regain political standing in Congress.

• These individuals were known as Redeemers because they wanted to ‘redeem’ the South in the eyes of Congress.

END OF RECONSTRUCTION

• The election of 1876 pitted Rutherford B. Hayes against Samuel Tilden. • Tilden won 51% of the popular vote, and carried all the

southern states.

• There was dispute over votes in three of the southern states.

• The dispute between Republicans and southern Democrats facilitated a need for a compromise.

• Compromise of 1877 Hayes elected president in exchange for withdrawal of federal troops from the South. • Reconstruction ended with this compromise.

EFFECTS OF RECONSTRUCTION

•Reconstruction had many positive effects: • South begins using tax money to pay for schools

• South’s economy expands

• African Americans make political, economic and social gains more freedoms.

•Negative effects• Women were not granted the right to vote

• Did not heal sectional tensions between North and South

REVIEW TODAY’S TOPICS1) Which of the new methods of farming gave workers the most independence?

a) Sharecropping b) Share-tenancy c) Tenant-farming d) Slavery

2) What did Southerners pass to limit rights of African-Americans following the war?

a) Enforcement act c) Reconstruction Act of 1867

b) Black codes d) Civil Rights Act of 1866

3) Why were the Enforcement Acts necessary?

a) Groups like the KKK intimidated voters

b) The military generals were not doing their job in the South

c) Slaves were starting riots in the South

d) Andrew Johnson was being impeached

- Ticket-out-the-door: What factors brought Reconstruction to an end?