Lesson 18.1: Rebuilding the Union

Essential Question What was Reconstruction and how was it an important step in the African-American struggle for civil rights?

Vocabulary Radical Republicans – Congressmen who after the war favored creating a new order in the South and giving African Americans full citizenship and voting rights. Reconstruction – The process the U.S. government used to readmit the Confederate states to the Union. Freedmen’s Bureau – A federal agency set up to help former slaves after the Civil War.

Vocabulary 4. Andrew Johnson – Democratic Vice President to Abraham Lincoln who became President when Lincoln was assassinated. 5. Black Code – a law passed by southern states limiting the freedom of former slaves. Civil Rights – rights granted to all citizens of the United States 14th Amendment – amendment added to the Constitution in 1868 that made all persons born or naturalized in the United States – including slaves – citizens of the country.

Focus Questions What was Reconstruction? What were President Johnson’s Reconstruction policies? What policies of new Southern state governments angered Congress? How did Congress deal with the Southern states? How did the Radical Republicans wish to reorganize the South? What were the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1866?

Focus Questions What was the effect of opposition to Civil Rights legislation? What did the 14th Amendment ensure, and how did it limit the power of southern states? What were the provisions of the Reconstruction Act of 1867? What groups controlled the drafting of new state constitutions in the South in 1865? What did the new state constitutions provide? Why was President Johnson impeached, and what was the verdict in the impeachment?

What We Already Know At Lincoln’s urging, Congress had adopted the Thirteenth Amendment, banning slavery in every state. Mayflower Compact = self rule

What we Already Know Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address called for “malice toward none, with charity for all,” in hopes that Northerners would resist the desire to punish the South. Mayflower Compact = self rule

What We Already Know Lincoln’s assassination ended all hope of an easy return of the seceded states to the Union. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Reconstruction Begins The issue in 1865 was building a new Southern society not based on slavery. http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction Mayflower Compact = self rule

Reconstruction Begins The process the federal government used to readmit the Confederate states to the Union was known as Reconstruction. Reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1877. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction had three basic parts: 1. a general pardon for all officials of the Confederacy. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan 2. The ten percent plan said that once 10% of a state’s voters in the 1860 election took a pledge of loyalty to the Union, that state could then hold elections and send representatives back to Congress.

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan 3. To assist former slaves, the president established the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Bureau was to set up schools and hospitals for African Americans and distribute food, clothes and fuel throughout the South. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Andrew Johnson As Lincoln’s Vice President, Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln. He was a Tennessee Democrat who hated secession. He was a former slaveholder and a stubborn, unyielding man. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Reconstruction Like Lincoln, Johnson believed that Reconstruction was the responsibility of the president and not Congress. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Johnson’s Plan Johnson modeled his Reconstruction on that of Lincoln’s plan. However, he was a little harsher on the Southern aristocracy (wealthy) and did not support the Freedmen’s Bureau. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Johnson’s Plan Under Johnson’s plan: 1. state governments must ratify the Thirteenth Amendment and must recognize the supreme power of the federal government over the states. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Johnson’s Plan Johnson offered amnesty (an official pardon) to most white Southerners if they pledged loyalty to the United States. large plantation owners, top military officers, and ex-Confederate leaders had to apply for amnesty to Johnson personally. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Reconstruction Brings Conflict Neither presidents’ Reconstruction plan would have required the Southern states to make any significant changes other than to recognize the freedom of African American slaves. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Reconstruction Brings Conflict Although the former slaves were made free by the Thirteenth Amendment, their everyday lives had not changed very much. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Rebuilding Brings Conflict New Southern state governments seemed very much like the old ones. Some states flatly refused to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment.

Rebuilding Brings Conflict The Southern states passed black codes, which limited the freedom of former slaves. Examples: written proof of employment, no guns, no meeting in unsupervised groups.

Rebuilding Brings Conflict Such laws made many people in the North suspect that white Southerners were trying to bring back the “old South.”

Rebuilding Brings Conflict When Congress met in December 1865, many of the Southern representatives had been Confederate leaders only months before. Congress refused to seat Southern representatives until a committee studied conditions in the South state by state. Lewis E. Parsons Alabama

Radical Republicans Radical Republicans led by Pennsylvania congressman Thaddeus Stevens and Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner demanded full and equal citizenship for African Americans. They wanted President Johnson to know that Reconstruction was the job of Congress and not the president.

Radical Republicans Radical Republicans wanted to destroy the South’s old ruling class . . . Mayflower Compact = self rule

Rebuilding Brings Conflict were angry and frustrated. They wanted to remake the South into a place of small farms, free schools, respect for labor, and political equality for all citizens. They blamed Johnson’s lenient Reconstruction Plan for this situation. The Radical Republicans in Congress

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 Congress passed The Civil Rights Act of 1866 . It stated that all persons born in the United States (except Native Americans) were citizens, and all citizens were entitled to equal rights regardless of their race. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 Johnson vetoed the bill – ‘too much power to the national government.’ Johnson was opposed to making African Americans full citizens, because it would “. . operate against the white race.” Congress voted to override Johnson’s veto. 2/3 of the House and Senate voted for the bill and it became a law. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Fourteenth Amendment Republicans were not satisfied with passing laws that ensured equal rights, because laws could be overturned. They wanted equality to be protected by the Constitution itself. To achieve this goal, Congress proposed the Fourteenth Amendment in 1866. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Fourteenth Amendment Ensured all people born in the United States were citizens and all citizens were to be granted equal protection. It declared any state that kept African Americans from voting would lose representatives in Congress. This meant southern states would have less power if they refused to comply with the Constitution. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Fourteenth Amendment Johnson refused to support the amendment, and all former Confederate states except Tennessee rejected it. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Fourteenth Amendment This rejection outraged even moderate Republicans, who agreed to join forces with Thaddeus Stevens and the Radicals. Together, they passed the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 The South would be divided into five military districts, each run by an army commander. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 Members of the ruling class before the war lost their voting rights. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 To reenter the Union, Southern states would have to: 1. Approve new state constitutions that gave the vote to all adult men, including African Americans. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 Each state would also have to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment. Mayflower Compact = self rule

The New Southern Governments In 1867, Southern voters chose delegates to draft their new state constitutions. ¾’s of the Republican delegates were: - poor white farmers called “Scalawags” (scoundrels) who went along with Radical Reconstruction. - African American free men who were ministers, teachers, or skilled workers. ¼ of the Republican delegates were: - White Northerners who rushed to the South to help. “Carpetbaggers” called this because they used a cloth satchel as a suitcase. They were seen as opportunists trying to gain wealth or political power.

The New Southern Governments The new constitutions written by these delegates: Set up public schools Gave the vote to all adult males By 1870, voters in all the Southern states approved their new constitutions. The former Confederate states were able to rejoin the Union and allowed to send representatives to Congress.

Johnson Is Impeached President Johnson fought against many of Congress’s reform efforts during Radical Reconstruction. Johnson chose people friendly to ex-Confederates to serve as military commanders in the South. 1867 – Tenure of Office Act prohibited a president from firing government officials without Senate approval. Johnson ignored the act and fired his secretary of state.

After several weeks of testimony, the Senators voted. Johnson Is Impeached In February 1868, the House of Representatives voted to impeach the president. They formally accused him of improper conduct while in office. The case moved to the Senate for a trial. After several weeks of testimony, the Senators voted. In the end, President Johnson was acquitted (found not guilty) by a single vote!