Is war necessary to bring about change? Topic 8 Reconstruction

Reconstruction 1865-1877 To many Americans, the most important issue was deciding the fate of the Confederate states after the Civil War. The Constitution provided no guidance on secession or readmission of states. Legislation Provisions Freedman’s Bureau Acts (1865-1866) Create a government agency to provide services to freed slaves and war victims Civil Rights Act of 1866 Grant citizenship to African Americans and outlaw the Black Codes Fourteenth Amendment (1868) Guarantees citizenship to African Americans and prohibits states from passing laws to take away citizens rights Fifteenth Amendment (1870) States that no citizen can be denied the right to vote because of “race, color, or previous servitude”.

Effects of Reconstruction Union is restored. African Americans gain citizenship and voting rights. South’s economy and infrastructure are improved. Southern states establish public school system. Ku Klux Klan and other groups terrorize African Americans. Sharecropping system takes hold in the South. Poll Tax $1.00 to vote Literacy Tests Restrictions on African Americans Voting Rights Grandfather Clauses Violence Property Test

Jim Crow Laws By the end of the 1800’s Jim Crow laws became a way of life in the South. Widespread segregation became a reality. In 1896, a Supreme Court ruling came down that upheld the constitutionality of Jim Crow laws = Plessey V Ferguson As long as states provided “separate but equal” facilities, they did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment.

African American Leaders Seek Reform Booker T. Washington Born a slave Argued that African Americans needed to accommodate themselves to segregation, they should not focus their energies on seeking to overturn Jim Crow laws. Instead, he called for African Americans to “pull themselves up by their own boot straps” by establishing their reputations and working hard. W.E.B. Du Bois Criticized Washington’s approach. Argued that African Americans should demand full and immediate equality, and not limit themselves to vocational education. He did not feel that the right to vote was a privilege but rather it was earned. Ida B. Wells African American women who fought for justice. Bought a local newspaper, renamed it Free Speech, and wrote numerous articles that condemned the mistreatment of African Americans.