The Reconstruction Era Notes The Reconstruction Era

What to do now?? The war was over, now the U.S. had to move forward and work to solve problems Many questions: How should the North & South be reunited? What rights should former slaves have? Should former Confederates be punished? How would the South’s economy survive without slavery?

Reconstruction Reconstruction: The term for rebuilding the South and bringing the Southern states back into the Union Period of history that lasted from 1865-1877

Andrew Johnson After Lincoln’s assassination, Andrew Johnson became president Similarities between them: Both believed that once the war was over, it was time to move on (don’t punish South) Differences between them: He was a Democrat He sympathized more with Southerners He didn’t think giving African Americans the right to vote was a good idea Why did Lincoln choose him? He wanted a VP from a different political party to show unity Johnson’s political beliefs would cause him a lot of trouble with a Radical Republican Congress during his presidency

What to do with freedmen? “The freedman (former slave) was free from the individual master but a slave of society. He had neither money, property, nor friends. He was free form the old planation, but he had nothing but the dusty road under his feet. He was turned loose, naked, hungry, and penniless to the open sky.” -Frederick Douglass What is he trying to say in this quote?

Freedmen’s bureau Congress, led by the Republican Party, created the Freedmen’s Bureau to help former slaves Specific things F.B. did to help former slaves: Provided food & medical care Helped improve wages and working conditions Gave away some land for them to start small farms Built free public schools

How would states rejoin the Union? Johnson’s requirements for former Confederate states to rejoin the Union: Rewrite state constitution Elect new state government Repeal (take back) act of secession Cancel war debts Ratify (approve) 13th Amendment **By fall of 1865, every state had met these requirements**

New governments in the south New state governments in the South were still led by mostly wealthy white planters. These governments tried to find ways to resist African American equality.

Black Codes The laws put in place by many Southern state governments that attempted to control former slaves were called black codes. Three main purposes: Limit rights of freedmen Help planters find workers to replace slaves Keep blacks at bottom of social order

14th Amendment The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was also passed, declaring that no state had any right to treat some citizens as less equal to others. “Equal protection under the law” President Johnson did not agree with this Amendment Called for voters to throw Republicans out of the government

Congress limiting Johnson’s power Johnson’s relaxed policies toward the South didn’t sit well with Radical Republicans in Congress. Congress passed 2 laws to limit Johnson’s power. Command of the Army Act: Limited his power over army Tenure of Office Act: Prevented him from firing people working in the government without Congress’ permission

Impeaching a president What does it mean to impeach a president? To charge them with misconduct Who conducts an impeachment trial? The Senate

Impeaching Andrew Johnson Why was Johnson impeached? He broke the Tenure of Office Act—removed his Secretary of War without Congress’ approval. Stanton was a supporter of the Radicals What was the outcome of Johnson’s trial? 35 guilty votes to 19 not guilty votes—one vote short of the 2/3 majority needed to convict and remove him. He lost basically all of his political authority.

Tenant farmers and Sharecropping Tenant Farmer: Farmers who pay rent for the land they work Sharecropping: When planters rent out small plots of land to tenant farmers in exchange for approximately ½ of crops raised A tenant farmer farms on a small plot of land owned by a landowner. As their “rent,” they would have to give the landowner a share of the crops raised on the land

Was sharecropping successful for most freedmen? NO!! In actuality, life was a lot harder for some than when they were slaves—most were in debt.

Voting in the South Congress banned former Confederates from voting in the 1868 election 3 groups were allowed to vote: Freedmen White southerners who had not supported secession (called scalawags) Northerners who moved south after the war (called carpetbaggers)

1868 Presidential Election Ulysses S. Grant won the election because of support from black voters. Defeated his opponent, Horatio Seymour, who wanted to end Reconstruction and return the South back to white voters.

15th Amendment Radical Republicans recognized the need for black votes in order to maintain power. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution was passed, protecting the right of African American men to vote Remember: No women (white or black) could vote at this time

Why Southern whites hated reconstruction New governments/laws had been “forced” on them by Yankees Blamed high tax rates on new leaders Seeing former slaves voting/holding public office

White Terrorism The Ku Klux Klan was the most famous white terrorist organization, formed to remove African Americans from public offices. They would threaten African Americans, and if they ignored their threats, they would kidnap, beat, torture, or even kill them.

Amnesty Amnesty: An official pardon for people who have committed an offense By 1872, most Americans were losing interest in Reconstruction, so the Amnesty Act was passed, allowing former Confederates to vote again.

1876 Election The 1876 election of Rutherford B. Hayes was controversial, and he was only elected on the basis that he would give southern states the “right to control their own affairs.” Within a few months, Reconstruction had ended.

What happened after reconstruction? Spending cuts on education, closing many schools for Black children. Loss of voting rights due to strict laws. Segregation in public places.

methods to prevent black voting Literacy Tests: Take a test to see if you can read before being allowed to vote Rigged to fail Black voters, many of whom had very little education Poll Tax: Have to pay a tax in order to vote High enough that most Blacks couldn’t afford to vote Grandfather Clause: Did not have to pay a tax or take the test if your father/grandfather could vote on January 1, 1867. No Blacks could vote on that date, so it applied only to whites

Segregation Jim Crow Laws were laws enforcing segregation of blacks and whites in the South after the Civil War. Plessy v. Ferguson: Supreme Court case in which it was stated that “separate but equal” was Constitutional

Outcomes of Reconstruction African Americans were free to leave the South and settle in new places The Constitution allowed black men to vote More black children got to go to school The South slowly began to rebuild its economy Segregation spread throughout the South KKK & other groups participated in violent acts Widespread poverty due to sharecropping and limitations on jobs