In 1865 the South lay in Ruin

1/5 of the South’s male population had been killed

Southern Cities were in Shambles

Businesses and Factories Destroyed

Much of the South’s Transportation System was Destroyed

Reconstruction The United States Attempts to Rebuild after the Civil War

The South in Ruin By May of 1865 the last Confederate forces had surrendered to the Union army. One fifth of the Southern male population dies during the war. Farms and plantations were in desperate shape as a result of the “total war” and from neglect The South’s transportation system was almost entirely destroyed.

Many Questions to Answer How will the former slave transition into free society? How will the South react to free African Americans in their society? What is the status of the Confederate states? How will southern states be brought back into the Union? Should the Confederate states be forgiven or punished?

Johnson takes over as President Andrew Johnson was a slave owning Democratic Senator from Tennessee who sided with the Union. Chosen to be Lincoln’s V.P. to get democratic votes in the 1864 election

Johnson is Lenient on the South Against the wishes of the Republican Congress, Johnson pardoned almost every planter and former Confederate leader who applied. Many states just reelected prewar leaders including 9 Confederate generals, two cabinet members and the vice president of the Confederacy (all were rejected by Congress). By the time Congress reconvenes in 1865, Johnson had readmitted all Confederate states but Texas.

13 th and 14 th Amendments 13 th : Slavery (involuntary servitude) will not be allowed in any U.S. territory 14 th : Citizenship extended to African Americans. No state shall deny any citizen life, liberty, or property w/out due process

15 th Amendment No one shall be denied the right to vote based on skin color Of course southern states found many ways to get around this amendment

Republican Reconstruction Plan Military commanders placed in charge of Confederate states States had to write new constitutions, which had to be approved by Congress

. Republican Reconstruction Plan All states trying to get back into the Union had to ratify 14 th Amendment States had to guarantee freedom to vote to all adult males

Johnson’s Impeachment (1868) Republicans impeach Andrew Johnson His conviction fails by one vote

Republican Governments in the South Carpetbaggers: Northerners who moved to the South and gained political appointments Scalawags: Southerners who worked with the Republicans and supported Reconstruction

Democrats Regain Control Democrats incited white Southerners against African Americans They also accused Republican governments of corruption and greed

Democrats Regain Control Southerners rig elections to help Democrats win, and set up “black codes” to keep African Americans in a slave-like condition.

Democrats Regain Control In the election of 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes is given the presidency as part of a deal: Reconstruction ends, and troops are removed from the South

Life After Slavery The newly freed slaves or “Freedmen” now had freedom, but no food, shelter, job or other necessities of life. What do you think about the “Freedmen”?

Freedmen Assignment

The “New” South Investing helps the South develop some infrastructure and industry The South remains agricultural Tennant farmers: have to pay rent on the land they farm

The “New” South Sharecroppers: pay a large portion of their crop as rent African Americans lose most rights that they had gained

Sharecropping

Changes for African Americans Among challenges, African Americans flocked to schools and colleges. Despite poverty for many freedmen, some opened businesses and farmed their own land.

Southern Resistance to Reconstruction Many in the South did not want to see the equality of blacks. Since individual laws were up to the states, states were able to pass laws that helped to discriminate against freedman.

Black Codes Laws passed to preserve the unequal relationship between whites and blacks in the South. Designed to keep freedmen in a slavelike condition, and give planters a supply of cheap labor.

The Ku Klux Klan Group of White citizens that terrorized African Americans and Whites loyal to the U.S. Government or sympathetic to Freedmen. Often local officials would not prosecute their violent crimes.

Reconstruction’s Legacy If the Civil War was fought over State’s Rights, Reconstruction showed that idea had failed. Southern states resented government control for 10 years after the war, and continued for much of the next century. Intensified hostilities of White southerners towards the government. Women and Native Americans were disappointed in being left out of rights passed on to freedmen.

Let’s Revisit: How is the former slave transitioning into free society? How did the South react to free African Americans in their society? What is the status of the Confederate states post Reconstruction? Were the Confederate states be forgiven or punished?