Reconstruction and the “New South” Chapter 2 Section 4

Lecture Focus Question How did southern whites attempt to recreate life prior to the Civil War?

Problems for the South Damage 2/3 Southern Shipping Industry 9,000 miles of railroad Farm: land, buildings, machinery, work animals, and 1/3 of livestock Thousands of miles of roads, canals, levees, factories, cities, and ports.

Problems for the South Death 1/5 southern adult white males 260,000 soldiers Countless civilians (women and children)

Problems for the South Competition Black Southerners-homeless, jobless, hungry Plantation Owners-3 billion in slave labor lost + captured or abandoned property. Poor White Southerners-No way to compete with freedmen, taxes are too high.

The Man with the Plan Abraham Lincoln Offered a pardon to any confederate who would take an oath of allegiance to the Union and accept the federal policy on slavery. Denied Pardon to all Confederate military and gov’t. officials who killed African American War Prisoners Allowed each state to hold a convention to create a new state constitution only after 10% of voters in each state had sworn allegiance to the Union

The Man with the Plan States could hold elections and resume full participation in the Union April 14, 1865 Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth at the Ford Theater. V.P. Andrew Johnson is sworn in as President and continues with his own plan for reconstruction.

Reconstruction & Black Codes Reconstruction: period immediately following the Civil War during which Union troops occupied the South as it was being rebuilt Black codes: laws that restricted freedmen’s rights Curfew and vagrancy laws Labor contracts Land restrictions FORCED THEM TO LIVE ON PLANTATIONS!

Reconstruction Act of 1867 Passed after Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 Put South under military rule Temporarily barred Confederacy supporters from voting Required all states to ratify 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments Ended in 1877 when Union troops were pulled out of the South

Govt. Action 13th Amendment: abolished slavery 14th Amendment: guaranteed citizens equal protection under the law 15th Amendment: guaranteed voting rights for all male citizens Freedmen’s Bureau: govt agency that aided newly freed slaves with food, clothes, and medical care

Pair Share What steps did the federal government take to ensure that the South would not rebel again?

Changes in Farming Tenant farming: system of farming in which a person rents land to farm from a planter Freedom to choose which crops to plant Led to greater debt Sharecropping: system of farming in which a farmer tends some portion of a planter’s land and receives a share of the crop at harvest time as payment Led to greater debt

SHARECROPPING AND THE CYCLE OF DEBT Poor whites and freedmen have no jobs, no homes, and no money to buy land. 5. Sharecropper cannot leave the farm as long as he is in debt to the landlord. 2. Poor whites and freedmen sign contracts to work a landlord’s acreage in exchange for a part of the crop. 4. At harvest time, the sharecropper owes more to the landlord than his share of the crop is worth 3. Landlord keeps track of the money that sharecroppers owe him for housing and food. SHARECROPPING AND THE CYCLE OF DEBT

Effects on the South Carpetbaggers: Northern Republicans who moved South to profit from Southern misery Cycle of debt continues Rise of merchants New wealthy class grown out of tenant farming Growth of cities (ex: Atlanta) Most visible black organizations  churches