Reconstruction Era 1865-1877

Before and After the Civil War Before the war, slaves had been: After the war, freed slaves: mistreated struggled to survive because they had no place to go separated from family members had no jobs, money, or education provided with food, shelter, and clothing had no guarantee of food, shelter, or clothing

Reconstruction The time after the Civil War was known as the Reconstruction Era. It was a time of rebuilding and coming back together for the United States. President Johnson worked to carry out fair treatment for the South, while enforcing the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery.

Lincoln is Assassinated After being shot by John Wilkes Booth, President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865 in Washington, DC. Until that time, no U.S. President had ever been assassinated.

A New President Vice President Andrew Johnson became the new President. The former senator from Tennessee intended to carry out Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction. One of the first steps toward reconstruction was ending slavery throughout the country. The Thirteenth (13th) Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States, took effect of December 18, 1865.

President Andrew Johnson

13th Amendment Abolished Slavery – The 13th Amendment to the Constitution made slavery illegal in all states in the United States of America. It gave freedom to those who had been enslaved. It did not give them the same rights as all Americans.

Black Codes Under Johnson’s plan, Southern states were free to pass laws call black codes. Black codes were laws that denied African American men the right to vote or act as jurors in a trial. Black people also could not own guns, take certain jobs, or own land. African Americans who were out of work might be fined or arrested. The laws had the effect of making an African American’s life much the same as it had been under slavery.

Slaves Codes and Black Codes Slave Codes (before the Civil War) Black Codes (after the Civil War) Slaves couldn’t gather together in groups Blacks couldn’t vote Slaves couldn’t buy or sell goods Blacks couldn’t own property or work in certain businesses Slaves couldn’t leave the master’s property Blacks couldn’t travel freely Slaves couldn’t learn to read or write Blacks could be forced to work in fields without pay

Freedmen’s Bureau The Freedmen’s Bureau was established by the government to help the 4 million freedmen, or former slaves, after the war. The Freedmen’s Bureau: Provided shelter in refugee camps gave food and supplies to freed slaves built hospitals and schools hired black and white teachers from the North and the South to teach in schools built for freed slaves Helped reunite enslaved families that had been separated

Freedman’s Bureau The Freedman’s Bureau created a new economy based on employers and employees, or on free labor. African Americans could leave a job if they did not like it. It created contracts, which are written, legal agreements between two parties. Former slaves now got paid to work.

African Americans Elected For the first time in U.S. history, African Americans became elected officials. In Mississippi, two African Americans were elected United States Senators. 1870 - Hiram R. Revels, a minister and a teacher, was elected to the Senate. 1874 – Blanche K. Bruce, a former slave, was elected to the Senate. Twenty other African Americans from the South were also elected to the House of Representatives.

Changes Many white Southerners did not like the changes brought by Reconstruction. Some whites resented the new state governments. Some were angered by Northerners who moved south to start businesses. These Northerners were called carpetbaggers.

KKK Southerners continued to rebel against the changes of Reconstruction. They found ways to keep African Americans from their rights by running for political office and writing new state laws such as the Black Codes. Many joined hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. The goal of the KKK was to restore white control over the lives of African Americans. The KKK used violence against African Americans and anyone else who helped them. They burned schools and homes, and attacked blacks for trying to vote.

New Amendments Before being readmitted into the Union, former Confederate states had to accept two new amendments. 1868 – 14th Amendment 1870 – 15th Amendment

14th Amendment The 14th Amendment made African Americans citizens and protected people born in the U.S. from state laws that tried to take away the rights of a citizen.

15th Amendment The 15th Amendment protected the right to vote for ALL men over the age of 21, regardless of skin color.

Reconstruction Ends By 1870 all of the former Confederate states had met the requirements of Reconstruction, and they were readmitted to the Union. Many Northerners were tired of having their taxes used to help rebuild the South. In 1877, the remaining federal troops were withdrawn from the South. Reconstruction had some successes. A public school system was established and many industries were expanded.

Jim Crow Laws To fight the new rights of African Americans, Southern lawmakers made state and local laws call Jim Crow laws. The name “Jim Crow” came from an African American character that was a singer and a dancer. Jim Crow laws segregated the lives of African Americans and white people. Blacks had separate businesses, train cars, and hotels. Whites tried to prevent blacks from voting in several ways. They set up voting booths far from black communities, They changed the location of booths without informing blacks. Some states required a poll tax, or a payment, in order to vote. In some places, blacks were forced to take a reading test before voting. A “grandfather clause” was added to some state constitutions that said that men could vote only if their father or grandfather had voted before 1867.

Sharecropping African Americans were freed, but they did not have land or jobs. Many former slaves went back to work on farms and plantations. Many blacks as well as whites became trapped in a system called sharecropping. Workers rented the land from landowners. They paid for their rent with a portion of their crop. A landowner gave workers a cabin, mules, tools, and seed. The worker then farmed the land. At harvest time the crops were harvested and sold. The landowner gave a part of the profit to the sharecropper. Often the sharecropper had no money or very little money left over.

Sharecropping (continued) Sharecropping gave landowners the help they needed to work the fields. It gave former slaves work for pay. It was a hard way to make a living because when crops failed, both landowners and workers went into debt. Even in good times, most workers’ shares were very small if they got anything at all. Usually the costs of sharecropping were so high that the workers stayed in debt.

After the Reconstruction Era Slavery ended with the 13th Amendment. The federal government had established its power over individual states. The 14th and 15th Amendments provided a constitutional basis for equal rights, but it would take a long time for these rights to be recognized. The nation continued expanding westward and building a strong economy. The South, continued to rely on an agricultural economy, and it remained the poorest section of the country.