“Out of the Ashes”: Reconstruction 1865-1877

Questions of reconstruction Who will direct it? The South, the President or Congress? How will the states be readmitted? What will happen to former Confederates? What will happen to the 4 million former slaves?

The South Cities in ruins. Economy destroyed by war and inflation.

End of the War Lincoln Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth April 14, 1865 Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President.

Andrew Johnson

Radical republicans Believe freedmen should be able to vote and hold office

Freedmen Formalize marriages Try to find lost family Some move to the North Churches become primary institutions that support and tie communities together However, freedom does not mean equal rights.

Freedmen’s Bureau Designed to help freedmen settle To provide food, clothing, medical care and education to freedmen Ends in 1872

The Veto If congress passes a bill (new law), the President must approve it by signing it. A president may veto (reject) the new law. Congress can overrule a Presidential veto with a 2/3 majority vote

Presidential Reconstruction 1865-1866 Lincoln never recognizes Southern states as leaving the Union 10 percent plan Congress wants stricter rules for readmission

Wade-Davis Bill Response to 10 percent plan Passed by Congress Requires 50 percent of states voters to take oath of allegiance Lincoln “pocket vetoes” the bill

Black Codes Trap freedmen in forced labor contracts Forbid African-Americans from serving on juries Harsh sentences for small or fabricated crimes. Help establish sharecropping system

Sharecropping Tenant works land and pays rent to land owner Landowners often take advantage of freedmen Many tenant farmers, especially African- Americans, become indebted to landowners. Way of reestablishing old slave system structure

Reconstruction Amendments Thirteenth Amendment (1865) - Abolishes slavery Fourteenth Amendment (1866) - Gives state and federal citizenship to African-Americans (but not the vote) Fifteenth Amendment (1870) - Gives African- American men the right to vote.

Congressional reconstruction 1867-1877 More radical Want to counter Black Codes Congress fears representative power of readmitted Southern states By 1866, Johnson has pardoned 13,000 former Confederates who are now taking control of state governments.

Radical Reconstruction African-Americans elected to state and federal government positions Referred to by Southerners as “radical regimes” Help create new state constitutions establish public schools, public works, and new tax systems. Also secure property rights for women.

Radical Reconstruction Reconstruction Act (1867) - Divides South into five military districts, each commanded by a general Military will enforce new laws States must ratify Fourteenth Amendment Freedmen must be allowed to vote

Johnson vs Congress Johnson frequently vetoes bills passed by Congress Congress then overrides veto In 1868, Congress impeaches Johnson Johnson later acquitted

Ulysses S. Grant Elected President 1868

Ku Klux Klan Established in 1866 Response to Reconstruction policies Use threats and violence to oppress freedmen

End of Reconstruction Ends in 1877 with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) Compromise of 1877 South becomes mostly Democrat Many accomplishments of Reconstruction reversed in South by 1890’s.