Meet the new boss; Same as the old boss… Reconstruction Meet the new boss; Same as the old boss…

The presence of Union troops meant freedom for the thousands of slaves in the south after the Civil War These “Freedmen” (and women) were in a precarious position in 1865: The fighting is over They technically have their freedom Where should they go? What should they do? Many are unskilled Vast majority are uneducated (most southern states made it illegal to allow a slave to learn to read or write.

Politics of Reconstruction Lincoln’s 10% plan (1865) Very lenient 10% of the people in a southern state had to take an oath of allegiance—died before carrying it out Johnson’s Plan (1865-1867) Declare secession illegal Ratify the 13th Amendment Congressional Plan (1867-1877) Civil Rights Act of 1866 Freedmen’s Bureau Created 14th Amendment US Army in control of the states until new state constitutions are written No Confederate Leaders could hold public office

Radical Republicans Led by abolitionists Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens-they wanted: Create laws to ensure African-American rights Destroy the political power of former slaveholders Freedmen to have full citizenship and the right to vote Driving force behind the Freedmen’s Bureau Schools, Hospitals, public works Does radical have a negative connotation?

Republican Rule Radical and Moderate Republicans in congress work to create a fresh opportunity for Freedmen 13th, 14th, 15th Amendment Civil Rights Laws The Republican Party in the south stumbles Carpetbaggers northerners who traveled south to help or exploit Scalawags Southerners who left the Democrats to join the Republicans Both are negative words that have been overused to overshadow those anti-racist whites who worked in the south to improve the conditions of the Freedmen Lack of unity between these groups and the Freedmen lead to the Democrats reasserting control of the south in late 1870’s

Effect of the War on the South Union armies caused millions of dollars worth of damage to the southern landscape High inflation 1/5th of the adult white male population dead Malnutrition, illness, Taxes were raised to pay for rebuilding

Broken Promises “40 acres and a mule..” Sharecropping Congress balked at confiscating private property to distribute to freedmen Sharecropping Freedmen rented land and materials for farming In return they gave a “share” of their crops to the landlord This landlord was usually their former owner

The Collapse of Reconstruction Ku Klux Klan Vigilante group who tortured and murdered former slaves in order to maintain white supremacy Also attacked southern whites who tried to help the Freedmen Economic Panic of 1873 The country’s largest bank, Cooke’s Banking Firm, went bankrupt Set off a string of financial failures 5 year depression 3 million people lost their jobs

Election of 1876 Republican Rutherford B. Hayes vs Samuel Tilden Disputed election Hayes makes a deal with the south: put him in office and he will take the Federal Troops out of the south. End of Reconstruction By 1896 all the advances made in the name of equality for the freedmen were reversed and the era of the “Jim Crow” south began until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s