Reconstruction in Georgia

Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy The End of the Civil War When the Union won the Civil War the big questions were: What should Southern states have to do to be readmitted to the Union? What should happen to southerners who participated in the war effort? What should happen to the newly emancipated slaves? Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy http://www.redstone.army.mil/history/integrate/chron2.htm

Reconstruction in GA farms were in ruins homes, railways, bridges,roads were destroyed or in need of repair not enough food banks were closed – Confederate money was worthless the state owed $20,000,000 in war debt 25,000 Georgians had died of wounds or disease – many more were crippled and could not work What were conditions in GA like after the Civil War?

The Freedmen Problems of freedmen (former slaves): homeless hungry uneducated free for the 1st time no property or goods Many former slaves feared re-enslavement Most whites had difficulty treating freedmen as free persons What problems did former slaves face after the war?

The Freedmen’s Bureau Started as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands by U.S. government in 1865 Its job was to help freed slaves and poor whites with basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter The purpose shifted to education Set up 4,000 primary schools Started industrial schools for jobs training Started teacher-training schools Missionaries started schools like Atlanta University, Morehouse College, and Clark College What was the role of the Freedmen’s Bureau?

Reconstruction Plan On March 4, 1865, President Lincoln laid out his approach to Reconstruction in his second inaugural address. He hoped to reunite the nation and it’s people. Lincoln wanted to rebuild and return the south to the Union as soon as possible “Reconstruction” would have two parts: Southerners would be pardoned after taking an oath of allegiance; When 10% of voters had taken the oath, the state could rejoin the Union and form a state government. Analyze Lincoln’s plans for Reconstruction

Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction Lincoln’s plan to reconstruct the south was challenged. Some northerners called “Radical Republicans” thought the south should be more severely punished. The Radical Republicans wanted to make sure the freedmen retained their new rights. Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured and imprisoned.

Views of Reconstruction Republican leaders agreed that slavery had to be permanently destroyed and all forms of Confederate nationalism had to be suppressed Moderates thought this could be accomplished as soon as Confederate armies surrendered and the southern states repealed secession and ratified the 13th Amendment General Lee surrendering to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse http://www.ct.gov/mil/lib/mil/pictures/civilwar/thesurrender.jpg

Plans for Reconstruction Led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens, the Radical Republicans wanted the Southern states to be punished for their treasonous behavior They called for harsh punishment of Confederate officers and soldiers and equal rights for Freedmen http://www.msp.umb.edu/afam/AfAmResearchQuestions.html

Lincoln is assassinated Just six days after the war ended, on April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while watching a play. Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Southerner who was angry at Lincoln. Vice-President Andrew Johnson became president.

Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan In addition to Lincoln’s requirements, President Johnson added a few more. Southern states had to: approve (ratify) the 13th Amendment (outlawing slavery); nullify their ordinances of secession; promise not to repay money borrowed during the war. How did Johnson’s plans differ?

Radical Reconstruction Lincoln’s and the Moderate Republicans’ plan had happened by the end of September 1865 With Lincoln gone, the Radical Republicans implemented a federal reconstruction plan They used the Army to combat the effect of black codes and enforce new laws that guaranteed rights to African Americans in Southern states Federal reconstruction took the vote away from 10,000 to 15,000 white men who had been Confederate officials or soldiers Radical Republican Leaders http://lfa.atu.edu/ssphil/people/ssjw/us2/presrecon.htm

Black Codes Purpose: Guarantee stable labor supply now that blacks were emancipated. Restore pre-emancipation system of race relations. African American men who were arrested for vagrancy due to unemployment http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/civilwar/16/reconstruction1.html

Black Codes White Southerners sought ways to control newly freed African Americans They wrote Black Codes to regulate civil and legal rights, from marriage to the right to hold and sell property In many ways the codes guaranteed African Americans would continue working as farm laborers African American men who were arrested for vagrancy due to unemployment http://history.sandiego.edu/gen/civilwar/16/reconstruction1.html

Congressional Reconstruction Congress was angry about Georgia’s Black Codes, so it passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This law gave: citizenship to all freedmen; the federal government power to intervene any time civil rights were taken from freedmen. What did Congress want to happen instead?

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave rights to freed slaves including the rights to make contracts, sue, witness in court, and own private property President Johnson vetoed the bill saying it would "operate in favor of the colored and against the white race“ Congress overrode the presidential veto in April of 1866 (1st Time EVER!) The act declared that all persons born in the U.S. were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude, excluding Indians Former Slaves and Wounded Union Veterans Celebrating the Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/fimage/gildedage/image.php?id=3490

Johnson and The Radical Republicans Congress was angry at President Johnson for not going along with their Reconstruction policies. As a result, Congress impeached Johnson.

Impeachment Impeachment is the process of charging a public official with a crime. The next step was to try the president in the Senate. By a single vote, Republicans failed to convict Johnson. The only other time a president has been impeached was Bill Clinton.

The 14th Amendment In order to ensure permanent change the 14th amendment granted citizenship to African Americans The amendment also guaranteed the right to due process under the law to African Americans http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2005/june2005/june05leb_img_29.jpg

Congressional Reconstruction Congress required southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment. Georgia and most of the other southern states refused. Congress abolished these states’ governments and put them under military rule. Georgia was ruled by General John Pope. Pope was required to register all male voters – black and white. These voters would elect new representatives to form a new state government.

Constitutional Convention of 1867 Delegates were carpetbaggers (northerners who had moved south), scalawags (southerners who sided with the Republicans), and blacks. Accomplishments of the Convention: A new constitution ensuring civil rights for all citizens; Free public education for all children; Women were allowed to control their own property. Georgia had satisfied Congress, so General Pope and his troops left the state. What did GA have to do to satisfy Congress?

The “Invisible Empire of the South”

Ku Klux Klan In 1866 a group of white southerners created the Ku Klux Klan. Secret organization – originally started as a social club for men returning from the war. They were opposed to African Americans obtaining civil rights, particularly the right to vote. Klan members wore white robes and hoods to hide their identities. The KKK used violence and intimidation to frighten blacks. It is a fact that many Blacks were murdered by members of the Klan. What is the KKK?

Ku Klux Klan As a result, Congress passed “The Georgia Act” and sent troops back to Georgia. The act required Georgia to pass the 15th Amendment giving all males the right to vote.

Nathan Bedford Forrest and the KKK,

The 15th Amendment Granted African American men suffrage in 1870 This did not guarantee African American men would be allowed access to their local polls Violence against African Americans at polling places was common Literacy tests, poll taxes and other voter qualification laws became common The First Black Voters http://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=November&Date=14

African Americans in Politics The election of 1867 was the first time African Americans had voted. Several African Americans were elected to Georgia’s General Assembly. Rev. Henry McNeal Turner was one of the first black men elected in Georgia. The African Americans elected to the General Assembly were expelled in 1868. It was argued by whites that civil rights laws gave blacks the right to vote but not to be elected. Blacks in Reconstruction Politics

Tenant Farming and Sharecropping Landowner provides a house, land, equipment, animals, fertilizer and seeds. The landowner issued credit to the worker to buy medicine, food, clothing and other supplies. The landowner gets a share of the crop and crops to pay any debt owed. Sharecroppers rarely had any cash. Landowner provides house and land. Landowner received a set amount of cash or a portion of the crop at the end of the season. Tenant farmers usually made a small profit.

The End of Reconstruction The African Americans who had been expelled from the General Assembly in 1868 were readmitted by the Georgia Supreme Court in 1870. The Assembly approved the 14th and 15th Amendments. Georgia was readmitted to the Union, again, ending Reconstruction in Georgia. How was GA readmitted to the Union?