Reconstruction: the period of time between 1865-1877, in which the U.S. began to rebuild and readmit the Southern states to the Union

1.Rebuilding the South -The South had to politically, socially, and economically rebuild everything -Political: rebuild government, elect new leaders, punish old leaders State governments had no authority; had to rebuild their government, rewrite their state constitutions, and be readmitted to the United States How will the U.S. punish southern leaders? -Social – power/slaves gone South had to “figure out” how to deal with the new freedmen South had hatred toward Republicans, Northerners, and freed blacks -Economic – plantation slavery gone Currency worthless, transportation destroyed, loss of slave labor

Lincoln wants a quick, painless, “easy” peace with the South “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace.” ~Abraham Lincoln Lincoln wants a quick, painless, “easy” peace with the South

Lincoln’s Plan -Since Lincoln’s motive in fighting the Civil War was to preserve the union, he wanted the South’s return to be quick and easy “With malice toward none, with charity for all” -Created what Southerner’s called the “Ten-Percent Plan” -10% of people in a seceding state take an oath of loyalty to the U.S., rewrite state constitution, apply to be a state again -Pardoned all in the South but high-ranking CSA officials No mention of former slaves Why did Lincoln want a “forgiving peace” with the South? Who would oppose this? Why?

Radical Plan -The Radical Republicans in Congress, led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens, wanted a harsher plan to punish the South Wanted Congress to be responsible for Reconstruction, not the President -The Radical Republicans passed the Wade-Davis Bill of 1864 to put Congress in charge of Reconstruction Put the South under martial law in each state -A majority (51%) of people would have to take an oath of loyalty, add the 13th Amendment to state constitutions, and bar former leaders from holding political office Congress to take care of freedmen Radical Republicans, like Thaddeus Stevens, opposed Lincoln’s plan because they felt it was too forgiving to the rebellious South.

Radical Republicans want to punish the South and protect freedmen “We have turned, or are about to turn, loose four million slaves without a hut to shelter them or a cent in their pockets. ... This Congress is bound to provide for them until they can take care of themselves. If we do not furnish them with homesteads, and hedge them around with protective laws; if we leave them to the legislation of their late masters, we had better have left them in bondage.” ~Thaddeus Stevens, Radical Republican Radical Republicans want to punish the South and protect freedmen

2.Presidential Reconstruction -New president, Andrew Johnson, tries to follow Lincoln’s “Ten Percent” Reconstruction plan with a few additions -10% of state takes oath of allegiance, refuses to pardon Southern leaders, and must add the 13th Amendment to state constitution Abolished slavery but did not mention freedmen’s rights -Congress refuses Johnson’s plan Radical Republicans do not think it is harsh enough -South quickly tries to reorganize under Lincoln/Johnson’s plan while Congress is hammering out details of how to “take over” Once Lincoln is assassinated, his Vice President, now President, Andrew Johnson, is in charge of Reconstruction. He originally wants to punish the South, but he becomes more forgiving.

“The time has arrived when the American people should understand what crime is, and that is should be punished, and its penalties enforced and inflicted…Treason must be made odious…traitors must be punished and impoverished…their social power must be destroyed. I say, as to the leaders, punishment. I say leniency, conciliation, and amnesty to the thousands whom they have misled and deceived.” ~Andrew Johnson Johnson originally wants to punish the South, but he goes back on his word and is lenient to them

3.The South Reorganizes -Johnson allows many of the same “old” Confederate leaders to be elected back to office Pardons CSA officials, allowing them to vote and run for office -Southern Democrats begin rebuilding Southern governments and writing state constitutions under Johnson’s plan -Southern Democrats begin passing laws to limit the freedom of blacks Segregated public facilities, forced to have a job, could not gather in groups -Many free blacks denied most civil rights given to citizens of the U.S. Could not vote, serve on jury -Many people in the North, particularly Radical Republicans, saw little change in the South and began to question the outcome of the war “For we colored people did not know how to be free and the white people did not know how to have a free colored person about them.” ~Houston Holloway

4.Johnson’s Power Struggle w/ Congress -Congress refuses to admit new southern delegates to vote in Congress because they saw no change in the South since before the Civil War -To give free blacks citizenship and prohibit the use of black codes, Congress passes Civil Rights Act of 1866 Johnson vetoes the law -Congress bypasses Johnson by amending the Constitution and adding the 14th Amendment Grants citizenship and equal protection rights to former slaves (all men) -Because so many people are angry with Johnson’s sympathy to the South, Northerners vote for more Radical Republicans in 1866 -Radicals take control of Congress Will have number of votes to override Johnson’s vetoes

5.Congressional Reconstruction -Radical Republicans pass the Reconstruction Act of 1867, putting Congress in control of Reconstruction instead of the President -Johnson vetoes, Congress overrides -Congressional Reconstruction Divide South into 5 military districts and place the south under martial law Protect former slaves by forcing the states to add the 13th and 14th Amendments to the State Constitutions Freedmen vote and run for office (some blacks elected) Ban former CSA leaders from office Much harsher plan; South hates it -Republican Carpetbaggers move South to run for public office -Scalawags (Republicans in the South) try to claim political power Radical Reconstruction in Congress divided the South into five military districts. How did Southerners, most of which had already applied for readmission under President Johnson, feel about this legislation?

6. Life After Slavery -When war was over, slaves were emancipated (freed); many left the plantations Moved to cities for jobs or to the West for land -Some freedmen traveled to look for family that had been separated during slavery -Most freedmen and poor whites did not have the money to buy land, so they became sharecroppers (give part of crop to landowner) or tenant farmers (paid rent to landowners) Still tied to plantations Sharecropping and tenant farming will restore plantations without slave labor Even though sharecropping and tenant farming will replace slavery to restore plantations, cotton prices following the Civil War will plummet. Europe began getting cotton from other nations in the world, lessening their dependence on Southern cotton. As a result, the South finally turns to industry, with tobacco product and textile mills.

~Robert Fitzgerald from Delaware, 1867 7.Freedman’s Bureau -Radical Republicans created the Freedman’s Bureau to help former slaves adjust to life as freedmen Created and funded by Congress over Johnson’s veto -Provided education, food, medicine, clothing, and help to find a job for former slaves of all ages -The organization was never able to really help most former slaves because they needed land -Freedman’s Bureau dies within a few years due to unpopularity and a lack of funding “I came to Virginia one year ago, erected a school, organized and named the Freedman’s Chapel School…have about 60 who have been for several months engaged in the study of arithmetic, writing, etc…their progress has been surprisingly rapid.” ~Robert Fitzgerald from Delaware, 1867

The Freedman's Bureau, established in 1865, provided relocation, education and medical relief to newly freed Africans, as well as Southern whites displaced during the Civil War. In 1866 the Freedman's Bureau opened 45 million acres of public lands in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida to settlers regardless of race. Many freedmen took advantage of the homestead opportunity, creating the first major wave of African-American land ownership.

8.Johnson Impeached -Radical Republicans felt Johnson was not doing his job by enforcing Reconstruction laws, so they try to find ways to impeach Johnson -Radical Republicans pass a law called the Tenure of Office Act President cannot fire people on his Cabinet without Senate approval -Johnson feels this is a trap and a battle of wills, so he tests the legality of the act Johnson fires a Radical Republican from his Cabinet -House of Representatives impeaches Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act First President to be impeached -Johnson was acquitted (found not guilty) in the Senate and was not removed from office A ticket to attend the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson, the first President to ever be impeached in the United States. He was impeached for violating the Tenure of Office Act, when he fired a Radical Republican sympathizer from his Cabinet. He was acquitted, though, because he argued that Lincoln had appointed that Cabinet, not him.

9.Ulysses S. Grant Elected -After his impeachment, Johnson serves out his term with no real effect on policy -Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant is nominated by the Republican Party and wins election easily -After Grant’s election, Congress proposes and the states ratify the 15th Amendment, granting the right to vote to any citizen regardless of their “previous condition of servitude Grant was an excellent General, but he was not a very good politician Suffered from the spoils system Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the 18th President of the United States, following Johnson’s disappointing behavior during Reconstruction.

9.Ulysses S. Grant Elected -People in the North are tired of Reconstruction/Republicans High taxes, the government becoming corrupt -The Republican Party splits over scandals in Grant’s administration -Credit Mobilier Scandal: Railroad companies and government officials in Grant’s Cabinet splitting land profits -Whiskey Ring Scandal: Grant’s cabinet members take bribes so whiskey investors will not have to pay taxes Graft: using government job for personal gain -Panic of 1873 happens when investors cannot cover companies’ debts; economy in sharp decline

10.Election of 1876 -In the 1876 election, Sam Tilden (Democrat) and Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) run for President -Due to unpopularity of the Republican Party, Sam Tilden wins the popular vote, but he is one vote short of Electoral vote House of Reps. will decide the winner -20 Southern Electoral votes disputed due to timing of re-entry to the United States -House gives Republican Hayes all 20 disputed Southern votes -Southern states threaten secession again

11.Compromise of 1877 -Congress makes a deal with the South, known as the Compromise of 1877 Republican Hayes wins the election Northern troops taken out of the South Money given to build railroad through Texas South returns to home rule Southern Democrats regain control of South Reverse Reconstruction laws -When the troops leave the South, the period of Reconstruction ends

~Black Georgia Representative Henry Turner, 1868 12.The “New South” -Southern Democrats begin violating the 14th Amendment by reinstating Black Codes/Jim Crow Laws Strict laws blacks were to follow in the South -Segregation begins and there are no troops in the South to stop it Legal separation of the races -Some former Democrats form the Ku Klux Klan in Tennessee in 1866 political agenda: get Republicans out of power economic agenda: keep blacks from gaining economic status social agenda: restore white supremacy; keep blacks from voting “We have built up your country. We have worked in your fields, and garnered your harvests, for two hundred and fifty years! Do we ask you for compensation….? We are willing to let the dead past bury its dead; but we ask you now for our rights.” ~Black Georgia Representative Henry Turner, 1868

“[The Klan] broke my door open, took me out of bed, took me to the woods and whipped me, ‘Do you think you will ever vote another damned radical ticket?’…I supposed they would kill me anyhow. I said, ‘If there was an election tomorrow, I would vote the radical ticket.’ They set in and whipped me a thousand licks more, with sticks and straps that had buckles on the ends of them.” ~Testimony to the Joint Select Committee to inquire into the Condition of Affairs in the Late Insurrectionary States (Congress)

12.The “New South” -The national government did nothing to stop the decline in freedmen’s freedom Supreme Court says it is up to the states to treat all people equally; no one in South to ensure this -Congress allows the Freedman’s Bureau to expire, believing it fulfilled its purpose -Sharecropping led to a cycle of poverty for freedmen in the South -With segregation and poll taxes, southern leaders ignored the 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution

12.The “New South” -With the textile and tobacco-product industries, and sharecropping/tenant farming restoring plantations, the southern economy eventually emerged stronger than before the war -The South builds better transportation systems Railroads building -Politically, Southern Democrats and whites were still in control, and though they were “free,” blacks were denied citizenship rights Enforced by KKK and Democrats -”Solid South” emerged Democrats return to power