Reconstruction

Admission of States During the Gilded Age

Reconstruction (1865 – 1877)

Plan for Reconstruction Re-admit states that had seceded during the Civil War Help the southern black community to integrate into southern society and exercise public participation and full citizenship rights Help to rebuild the devastated South There were several proposed plans for Reconstruction, creating massive disagreement and controversy

President Lincoln’s Plan 10% Plan (Radical Republicans rejected!) Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (December 8, 1863) Replace majority rule with “loyal rule” in the South. Pardon to all but the highest ranking military and civilian Confederate officers. Conditions for Union re-admission of formerly Confederate states: 10% of the voting population who had voted to secede in the 1860 election must take an oath of loyalty to the Union Then, the state could form a government and send Senators and Representative to Congress

President Johnson’s Plan (10%+) Offered amnesty upon simple oath to all except: Confederate civil, legislative, judicial, diplomatic and military officers Those who betrayed the union cause (interfering with union supply lines, spying) Those Confederates with property equaling over $20,000 However, ANY of these “excepted” classes could apply to Johnson personally for a pardon In new constitutions, they must accept minimum conditions repudiating slavery (ratify the 13th Amendment) Named provisional governors in Confederate states and called them to oversee elections for constitutional conventions. 1. Disenfranchised certain leading Confederates. 2. Pardoned planters/aristocrats; brought them back to political power to control state organizations. EFFECTS? 3. Radical Republicans were outraged that the southern elite were back in power in the South!

Growing Alarm for Radical Republicans Many Southern state constitutions fell short of minimum requirements. Johnson granted 13,500 special pardons (“white men alone must rule the south”) Revival of southern defiance BLACK CODES Also known as“Jim Crow” laws, with similarities to pre-Civil War slave codes

Congressional Reconstruction Ex-confederate states quickly agreed to Johnson’s terms 6 out 7 Confederate states set up constitutions and sent senators and congressman – congress (controlled by radical and moderate Republicans) refused to admit the southern legislators 1866 – Congress passes: “Freedmen’s Bureau Act” – expanding the programs offered by Reconstruction governments in the South “Civil Rights Act of 1866” – forbade states to pass discriminatory laws that restricted African Americans’ lives or freedoms (like the Black Codes) President Johnson vetoed both acts Angered, Republicans overrode the President’s veto, passed the 14th Amendment, and by 1867, had issued their own plan for Reconstruction. 1868 - Johnson impeached (for violating Tenure of Office Act), but Senate voted not to convict. That same year, Ulysses S. Grant was elected President.

Radical Plan for Readmission (1867) Johnson vetoed, Congress overrode his veto Nullified Lincoln’s and Johnson’s plans Civil authorities in the Confederate states were subject to military supervision. Required new state constitutions, including black suffrage and ratification of the 13th and 14th Amendments. In March, 1867, Congress passed an act that authorized the military to enroll eligible black voters and begin the process of constitution making.

Freedmen’s Bureau (1865) Expanded in 1866 Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands Many former northern abolitionists came south to help southern freedmen (missionaries, teachers, social workers) Northern businessmen went south to invest in the rebuilding process Some Northerners went to fill legislative and judicial offices that many southerners no longer qualified for. Called “carpetbaggers” by white southern Democrats (those who “robbed” the defeated South and “got rich from other people’s misery”).

14th Amendment Ratified in July, 1868. Provide a constitutional guarantee of the rights and security of freed people Stated that “all persons born or naturalized in the U.S” would have full citizenship rights and privileges Expressly intended to nullify the Dred Scott decision Southern states would be punished for denying the right to vote to black citizens

15th Amendment Ratified in 1870. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Women’s rights groups were furious that they were not granted the vote as well

African Americans Make Gains in the South With the help of the Freedmen’s Bureau and Northern missionaries, African Americans launched cooperative community efforts to establish: Churches – which continued as centers for the black community Public schools – 5 – 10% of slaves had been literate prior to the establishment of the Freedmen’s Bureau. By 1875 – 30%, by 1890 – 65% Black colleges - By 1890, 12,000 black students were enrolled in college, including 2,400 pursuing advanced degrees The southern black community began to vote in record numbers - 9 out of 10 voted for Grant in the 1868 election (500,000 votes – Grant won by only 300,000 votes!)

African Americans Run for and Win Public Office 600+ black Southerners were elected governor, mayor, school trustee, etc. Out of 125 Southerners elected to Congress, 14 African Americans were elected to the House and 2 to the Senate during Congressional Reconstruction

Establishment of Historically Black Colleges in the South