This is what perseverance means! It is still apparent that some of you have quit! Now is not the time to give up! This is what perseverance means! Study Session has 6 nights of work Essential Question has 4 sets of questions Research and Review Group has 4 questions Research Group has 4 questions This is the last Presentation! You finish ALL your homework in time, you can take the early exam on June 2,3,4! Why wait? Get your work done early and put the last exam behind you???

Reconstruction under president Johnson After the inauguration of Andrew Johnson, Congress believed that the new President would support their strict Reconstruction Plan. However, President Johnson was sympathetic to the South and provided a very moderate process for the South to be readmitted to the Union. The Southern states quickly met President Johnson’s conditions and proceeded to elected many of the former Confederate leaders! Needless to say, the Northern Congressional leaders were furious, especially the extreme faction of Radical Republicans who led the charge to keep the Southern representatives from even entering into the Congressional buildings. As such, they moved forward to implement an extreme plan for Reconstruction. This group not only wanted to establish the constitutional equality for the African American community, they also wanted to seek retribution from the Southern leaders.

The Civil War – The Aftermath As we move deeper into the Reconstruction Era, keep in mind that prior to the Civil War, the South was an Agrarian society that was controlled (politically) for decades by a small group of rich plantation families. However, following the war, supported by this new extreme approach to Reconstruction, the Northern politicians created an environment by which new social groups were being allowed to reshape Southern society and politics. The old leadership and politicians who were controlled by the rich plantation families had lost their influence which in turn created a vacuum for three new groups to replace them. These new groups were: The Scalawags The Carpetbaggers The assertive African Americans So now, the Southern state governments were made up of a new order of people much different from what the South had been use to.

The scalawags One of these groups to emerge in the South during Reconstruction were the white Southerners who were in support of the new Republican government. Many of these people where non slave-holding farmers and merchants from the South who originally opposed the secession from the Union. This group formed a strong coalition in the South to move forward with reestablishing strong business operations and to rebuild the South economically. This group also established a great amount of influence by working in support of the Northern plan of Reconstruction. However, there were still many white people in the South who opposed the Northern interventions and believed these people who were cooperating with the North were nothing but opportunists and traitors. These white businessmen were referred to as Scalawags, which was a derogatory word used to describe a farm animal of little value or a worthless person.

The carpetbaggers The next group is what is referred to as Carpetbaggers. These were Northerners who came to the South after the war. White Southerners accused some of these new arrivals of trying to take advantage of the situation in an attempt to get rich from the Southern misery. Southerners also noted that these people had moved so quickly to the South following the war that they only had enough time to throw a few clothes in a suitcase or carpetbag. As a result they were called Carpetbaggers. Though some Carpetbaggers undoubtedly lived up to their reputation as corrupt opportunists, many were motivated by a genuine desire for reform and concern for the civil and political rights of freed African Americans. Many were Union soldiers, teachers, religious leaders, merchants and journalists who had come to appreciate the Southern society and genuinely want to help rebuild the new South.

African Americans Finally, the third major group to enter into Southern politics during the Reconstruction Era were the assertive African Americans. Prior to the war, African Americans had no voice in the government or decisions made. However, during Reconstruction, they not only were they allowed to vote, they also ran for office and were elected. African Americans became sheriffs, mayors and legislators in the new state governments. Sixteen African Americans were elected to Congress between 1869 and 1880. For the average African American though, many went back to work on the plantations as Sharecroppers. The idea here was that Sharecroppers would lease the land, would be provided seed, fertilizer and tools in return for working the main plantation. Unfortunately this was an economic trap that could not be broken!

Economic Problems In the first few months after the war, many newly freed African Americans left the plantations. Unfortunately they found that in the free world there were very few employment opportunities. In an attempt to help resolve these issues the Radical Republicans suggested breaking up the big plantations and redistributing the land. However, most Congressmen opposed this idea. These newly freed African Americans soon found out that the only thing they gained in the end was their freedom, since no real opportunities were available. The War therefore had destroyed all Southern way of life; cities, factories. The Southern entire infrastructure was destroyed. Plantations, now with little money to reinvest in their own industry could not afford to pay these newly freed people, and struggled to survive. Yet, despite these hardships, the Southern economy remained dependent on farming at time when it was difficult to maintain.

The End of Reconstruction By the 1870’s the Radical Republicans were losing power and many Northerners grew tried of trying to reform the South. They believed it was time to let the new Southern leadership run their own government, even if it meant that African Americans in the South might lose their rights. The end of Reconstruction came with the election of 1876. The Democrats nominated Sam Tilden and the Republicans nominated Rutherford B. Hayes. Tilden won the popular vote but fell one electoral vote short of winning the election. As the inauguration day drew near a compromise was agreed upon between the Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats would agree to support Hayes if all federal troops were removed from the South (ending the military rule) and that Reconstruction would be ended. And that is what happened and is referred to as the Compromise of 1877!