Unit 3- Industrialization of the United States Lesson 3.1 – The Reconstructed Nation HVS11QUS/HES11QUS US History and Government Regents Prep Mr. Oberhaus

Plans for Reconstruction The effort to rebuild the Southern States and restore the Union became known as Reconstruction. This was a period that lasted from 1865 – Reconstruction required the rebuilding of the nation’s economy as well as it’s government. With so much at stake, rival political factions with competing plans for the future waged bitter battles in Washington, DC.

Lincoln’s Plan President Lincoln had begun planning for Reconstruction of South long before the war was coming to an end. He believed that the South never actually left the Union. – He planned to pardon all Southerners who swore loyalty to the United States – He would recognize the new state governments in the South when 10% of the population who voted in 1860 took oaths of loyalty and when the states abolished slavery – He wanted to heal the nation quickly. Lincoln’s plans were not seen through due to his assassination in April 1865.

Andrew Johnson’s Plan Vice President Andrew Johnson succeeded to the Presidency upon Lincoln’s assassination. He planned to follow Lincoln’s plan. Johnson recognized four southern state government band planned to readmit all of them however, he got in major battles with the Radical Republicans in Congress. Johnson was impeached by Congress due to these political battles. He was found not guilty by 1 vote and remained in office but his political power was weakened.

Radical Republicans The Radical Republicans wanted to punish the south for the civil war. – Their goals were to – Divide the South into 5 military districts controlled by the US Army. New State Constitutions would be drawn up. – States would be required to grant Black males the right to vote – Southern states were required to ratify the 14 th Amendment which included provisions banning Confederate Officials from holding political office

Southern State Governments Southern political leaders who were Democrats; resented the Northern Republicans forced reconstruction and the fact that blacks could now vote and even hold office. White democratic southerners labeled any Southern White who held office in these new governments as Scalawags. They also labeled Northern Whites who came to the South to participate in government as a Carpetbagger. Southern Democrats used violence to keep blacks from taking part in government.

New Constitutional Amendments 13 th Amendment – 1865 Abolished Slavery in the United States 14 th Amendment – 1868 Declared that all native born or naturalized people including blacks were citizens. It forbade states from depriving all rights and privileges of citizenship with out due process of law and granted equal protection to all. Limited Confederate Officials from holding government jobs. 15 th Amendment – 1870 Declared that states could not prevent citizens from voting because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

President Ulysses S. Grant Republican and the victorious Northern General became President in Grant was a great military leader but not a politician. During his administration there were many scandals. Although Grant was not involved in any of them his leadership was shown to be weak. – Credit Mobilier Scandal – Railroad officials stole money and then bribed members of Congress to block investigations – Salary Grab – Congress voted itself a 50% pay raise and added two year of back pay. Public outcry forced repeal of this act – Whiskey Ring – Whiskey distillers paid graft to federal tax collectors rather than pay tax on their liquor.

End of Reconstruction Grant’s political problems weakened the Republican Party in the South. By the early 1870’s most southern whites were again allowed to vote and they all voted Democratic. The Republican party remained strong in the North and Midwest as it’s focused shifted to business and farming issues.

Election of 1876 The Democrats ran Samuel J. Tilden the governor of New York against Republican Rutherford B. Hayes the governor of Ohio. Tilden won the popular vote but in the Electoral College the voting was disputed. A special election committee gave the election to Hayes. The Democrats promised not to dispute the commissions findings if; – Hayes promised to withdraw all federal troops from the South – Hayes nominated at least 1 southerner to his cabinet – Hayes supported federal spending to improve conditions in the south. This was known as the Compromise of The North gave up their political victory in the south and largely restored the power of Southerners who led the country into Civil War.

Reconstruction Time Line 1865 – Civil War ends, Lincoln assassinated, 13 th Amendment ratified – First Reconstruction Act passed – President Johnson impeached and found not guilty by 1 vote, 14 th Amendment ratified – 15 th Amendment ratified – Grant re-elected, Confederate Officials are pardoned – Hayes elected President and Reconstruction comes to an end.

White Control of the South After President Hayes withdrew Federal troops as promised, white southern democrats eliminated any political advances made by blacks during reconstruction. – Black Codes – A continuation of the Slave Codes which tried to keep blacks in conditions close to slavery. – Secret Societies – The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) used fear, intimidation, and violence to keep blacks from participating in government. – Poll Taxes – Southern states imposed a tax on anyone wanting to vote. This prevented blacks from voting because of their inability to pay the tax.

White Control of the South Literacy Tests – Many states required citizens to demonstrate that they could read and write in order to vote. The Freedmen’s Bureau created by Congress in 1865 tried to help freed blacks gain an education. Grandfather Clauses – Poll taxes and literacy tests effected many whites. Southern officials passed laws that states if an individual was eligible to vote in 1866 or 1867 then they could vote with passing the test or paying the tax. Most blacks could not vote in 1866 or Jim Crow Laws – Southern Laws that established legal segregation by forcing blacks to use separate facilities

Jim Crow Laws Became firmly established in Southern States after Reconstruction Required the separation of blacks and whites in schools, parks, public building, and public transportation Declared legal by the Supreme Court in Plessy vs Ferguson 1896 Battled against by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Supreme Court Response The Supreme Court chose not to get involved in White Control of the South. – In the 1883 Civil Rights Cases the court ruled that the 13 th Amendment did in fact abolish slavery but did not prohibit discrimination and that the 14 th Amendment prohibited discrimination by the federal government but not by individuals or state governments. – In 1896, the Plessy vs Ferguson decision stated that segregation was legal as long as blacks had separate but equal facilities. Separate but equal will be overturned in 1954