Reconstruction

Civil War Review HUMAN TOLL: ◈ North lost 364,000 soldiers ◈ South lost 260,000 soldiers ◈ 1 out of 3 southern men were killed or wounded during the war PHYSICAL TOLL: ◈ 9,000 miles of the South’s railroad destroyed ◈ ⅓ livestock killed ◈ Destroyed farmland, farming equipment, buildings, and cities RECONSTRUCTION: the 12 years after the Civil War when Confederate states were brought back to the United States

Key Questions 1.How can we help freedmen? 2.How can we rebuild the South and bring them back into the Union?

1. Reconstruction Leaders Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Radical Republicans

Frederick Douglass ◈ Birth name: Frederick Bailey (changed his name after escaping slavery) ◈ Abolitionist writer and speaker ◈ Fought for constitutional amendments that guaranteed equal voting rights ◈ A powerful voice for human rights and civil liberties for all

“ Slavery is not abolished until the black man has the ballot. While the Legislatures of the South still retain the right to pass laws making any discrimination between black and white, slavery still exists. ◈ Frederick Douglass

Robert E. Lee ◈ Urged Southerners to reconcile with Northerners at the end of the war and reunite as Americans ◆ Some Southerners wanted to continue fighting ◈ Became president of Washington College (now Washington & Lee University)

Abraham Lincoln ◈ 16th President of the United States ◈ Believed secession from the Union was illegal ◈ His plan for Reconstruction was reconciliation ◈ Preservation of the Union was more important than punishing the South ◆ Forgive & forget

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln ◈ He was killed by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC ◈ 5 days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox to end the Civil War ◈ Andrew Johnson became President ◈ After Lincoln’s death, Johnson tried to continue his policies

Radical Republicans ◈ Radical Republicans in Congress opposed Presidents Lincoln & Johnson’s plans for Reconstruction ◈ They created laws and policies to punish the South ◆ Punish, punish, punish

2. Reconstruction Policies and Laws

Radical Republicans in Congress created 2 kinds of policies: 1. Laws helping freedmen 2. Laws that punished the South

Life in the South

Black Codes ◈ As freedmen gained their freedom, Southern states started Black Codes to restrict the rights of freedmen ◈ Examples of Black Codes: ◆ Curfews - could not go out after sunset ◆ Vagrancy - fined a year’s wages for not having a job ◆ Land Restrictions - could only rent homes in rural areas

Carpetbaggers ◈ Northerners who moved to post- war South to profit (make money) from the South ◈ Named “carpetbaggers” because of cheap suitcases made of carpet ◈ Southerners resented Northern carpetbaggers who took advantage of the South during Reconstruction

Scalawags ◈ White Southern Republicans ◈ To be a Southern Republican was seen as being a traitor to the South ◈ Why do you think that was?

Helping Freedmen

New Amendments Amendment: a change to the Constitution ◈ 13th Amendment ◈ 14th Amendment ◈ 15th Amendment

13th Amendment Abolishes slavery in the United States and any of its territories 15th Amendment Ensures all citizens the right to vote regardless of race or color or previous servitude 14th Amendment Grants citizenship to all persons born in the United States and guarantees equal protection under the law (males only)

Radical Republicans believed the US Army should force the South to enforce the 14th and 15th amendments.

Freedmen’s Bureau ◈ Country’s first federal relief agency ◈ Established to _____ freedmen in the South ◈ Gave out meals, medical supplies, and clothing ◈ Set up schools for African Americans ◆ Educated more than 250,000 people

Civil Rights Act of 1866 ◈ African Americans gained civil liberties ◆ Made Black Codes illegal ◆ Authorized the use of federal troops for its enforcement

Punishing the South

Military Reconstruction Act ◈ Divided the South into military districts ◈ Northern soldiers were sent to enforce Reconstruction policies ◈ Southern military leaders could not hold public office ◈ African Americans could hold public office ◈ Northern soldiers supervised the South

3. End of Reconstruction

Compromise of 1877 Reconstruction ended with the Compromise of 1877 ◈ Rutherford B. Hayes elected president by Congress ◈ Southerners agreed to give him the presidency ◆ In return, federal troops were removed from the South ◆ Rights that African Americans had gained were lost through “Jim Crow” laws

“Jim Crow” Laws ◈ Laws that made discrimination against freedmen legal ◈ Characterized by unequal opportunities in: ◆ Housing ◆ Work ◆ Education ◆ Government ◈ Voter discrimination ◆ Poll Tax: a fee for voting ◆ Literacy Test: tests requiring voters to read and write

Segregation ◈ Separation of people by race ◆ Directed primarily at African Americans in the South; however other groups were segregated ◈ Native Americans were not considered citizens until 1924

Plessy vs. Ferguson ◈ Supreme Court case 1896 ◈ Established that “separate but equal” was constitutional ◆ Made segregation legal

Sharecropping ◈ Farming system where white planters rented individual pieces of land to freedmen in return for a large portion of crops ◈ Limited freedmen’s economic freedom

Spread of Terror ◈ Secret Societies - Ku Klux Klan (KKK) ◆ Members wore robes and masks ◆ Pretended to be ghosts of Confederate soldiers coming back for revenge against the enemies of the South

Response to “Jim Crow” Laws African Americans differed in their response to discrimination and Jim Crow Laws

Booker T. Washington ◈ Famous educator (no formal education himself) ◈ Believed equality could be achieved through vocational education; accepted segregation as a temporary situation

W.E.B. DuBois ◈ 1st African American to earn a PhD from Harvard ◈ Rejected Booker T. Washington’s message ◈ Believed in full political, social, and civil rights for African Americans ◈ Founded NAACP