Post War and Reconstruction
War Changes the Nation 360,000 Union solders dead 260,000 confeds dead
Political and Economic Changes Increased federal government authority Northern economy boomed Southern econ devastated No slaves
A Revolution in Warfare Last old fashion war or first modern war Rifle Minie ball Hand grenades and land mines Ironclad ship
Thirteenth Amendment Abolished slavery Ratified in 1865
Lincoln is Assassinated 5 days after confed surrender Fords theater First president assassinated John Wilkes Booth
Politics of Reconstruction Andrew Johnson President Reconstruction lasted 12 yrs Readmitting confederate state back
Lincolns Plan Lenient policy Proclamation of amnesty, ten percent plan Pardon confeds Oath of allegence
Johnsons Plan for Reconstruction Pardoned 13,000 former confeds Tried to break the planters power Congress refused to admit Sothern congressmen Tried to pass Civil Rights Act of 1866
Congressional Reconstruction Overrode presidents veto on Civil Rights Act 1866 Drafted 14th Amendment (cant deny rights) Reconstruction Act of 1867 Divided confed states into 5 districts Forced confeds to ratify 14th amend and give former slaves right to vote to rejoin US
Johnson Impeached Was blocking reconstruction violated tenure of office act Not convicted
Grant elected 1868 election Won by 306,000 votes 500,000 southern African Americans voted 9 of 10 voted to act 15th Amendment
Conditions in postwar south Republican dominated governments elected Small farms ruined Pop. Devastated Public works programs
Politics in Postwar South 3 groups of Republicans Scalawags- white southerners joined for economic Carpetbaggers- northerners who moved south African Americans- 9 out of 10 supported Republicans
Former Slaves improve their lives Founded their own churches 95% illiterate so they went to school
African Americans in Reconstruction Voted and held office 16 African Americans elected to congress Hiram Revels 40 acres and a mule
Sharecropping and Tenant Farming Sharecropping- seeds and land given from land owner Tenant farming- renting land
Opposition to reconstruction Ku Klux Klan (KKK) Wanted to destroy Republicans Block African Americans Killed 20,000 Enforcement Act Amnesty Act
Support for Reconstruction Fades Breakdown in Republican unity Bank failures Panic of 1873, five year depression Supreme court undid political and social changes
Democrats “Redeem” the south Southern Democrats regained control President Hayes elected