RECONSTRUCTION PLANS & CONGRESSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION

OBJECTIVES Contrast Lincoln’s plan to reunite the nation with that of the Radical Republicans. Discuss life in the South immediately after the war. Analyze the Reconstruction dispute between President Johnson and Congress. Describe the major features of Congressional Reconstruction.

The Freedman’s Bureau Established by Congress to address the refugee crisis that arose as large #s of Af Ams flocked to Union lines as the war progressed Bureau fed & clothed war refugees in the S. using surplus army supplies Helped enslaved people find work, negotiated labor contracts, set up special courts to deal with grievances Education: provided schools, paid teachers, helped establish colleges for training Af Am teachers Thousands of freed African Americans, known as freedmen, had followed General Sherman and his troops as they marched through Georgia and South Carolina.  To help the freed people get food, Sherman set them up on plantation land along the South Carolina coast *An 1866 sketch depicts newly emancipated slaves drawing wages from the Freedmen's Bureau, which was established in March 1865 to assist in the transition from slavery to freedom. As a result of the refugee crisis, Congress established the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Bureau was to feed and clothe war refugees in the South using army surplus supplies.  It also helped freedmen find work and negotiated pay and hours worked on plantations. The Freedmen’s Bureau made a lasting contribution in education.  The Bureau provided schools, paid teachers, and helped establish colleges for training African American teachers. Many freed African Americans served in the U.S. Cavalry after 1866; most were stationed in the southwestern United States and were called “buffalo soldiers”.

RECONSTRUCTION The nation faced difficult problems after the Civil War. The first issue was how to bring the South back into the Union. War devastated most Southern cities & the South’s economyIn the months after the Civil War, the nation began the effort to rebuild + reunite. The President & Congress had to deal with Reconstruction = rebuilding the South after the Civil War –Had to decide under what terms/conditions the former Confederate states would rejoin the Union Lincoln wanted to make reunion relatively easy. After he died, Congress designed a plan that focused on punishing the South + ensuring that African Americans had the right to vote. These policies increased hostility between the regions. Pressures on the South to reform eased with the Compromise of 1877. Richmond Virginia destruction, Charleston SC (JUST FOUGHT CIVIL WAR)

LINCOLN: PROCLAMATION OF AMNESTY & RECONSTRUCTION 1st plan introduced in 1863 Called for a general amnesty = pardon, to all Southerners who took an oath of loyalty to the U.S. & accepted the Union’s proclamations concerning slavery. After 10% of the state’s voters in the 1860 presidential election had taken the oath, the state could organize a new state gov. WANTED COUNTRY REUNITED AS SOON & PAINLESSLY AS POSSIBLE  LENIENT TOWARDS SOUTH The Radical Republicans in control of Congress disagreed with the plan. Do you think Presidents Lincoln and Johnson were wise in not seeking harsh treatment of the Southern states? Why or why not?

Radical Republican Goals The Radical Republicans had 3 main goals. Prevent the Confederate leaders from returning to power after the war Wanted Republican Party to become powerful in the South. Wanted the federal gov. to help Af. Ams achieve political equality by guaranteeing them the right to vote in the South.

RADICAL REPUBLICANS: WADE-DAVIS BILL (1864) Majority of adult white men in former Confederate state must take oath of loyalty to Union Could then have convention to create new state gov State must: 1. abolish slavery 2. reject all debts the state had taken on as part of Confederacy 3. not allow former gov/military officials the right to vote or hold public office WANTED TO PUNISH THE SOUTH, NOT RECONCILE Radical Republicans led by Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania & Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts The Radical Republicans in Congress, led by Representative Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania and Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, did not want to reconcile with the South. Left: thaddeus Stevens , right: Sumner The Wade-Davis Bill required the majority of adult white men in a former Confederate state to take an oath of allegiance to the Union. The state could then hold a constitutional convention to create a new state government. Each state’s convention would then have to abolish slavery, repudiate all debts the state had acquired as part of the Confederacy, and deprive any former Confederate government officials and military officers the right to vote or hold office. RECONSTRUCTION BATTLE: 1864: Moderate & radical republicans agree on a plan for reconstruction & the Wade-Davis Bill was passed in Congress Lincoln thought the plan was too harsh, so he blocked the bill with a pocket veto. Letting the session of Congress expire without signing the bill. * PRESIDENT LINCOLN POCKET VETOED THE PLAN