Chapter 9: Louisiana’s Reconstruction Era On Louisiana’s Journey… © 2005 Clairmont Press

-- What living conditions did surviving Louisianans and former slaves face after the Civil War? What issues had to be resolved regarding Southern states once the Civil War ended? Section 1: After the War

Issues to be Resolved:  The issues that had to be resolved were:  How should the southern states be readmitted to the Union?  What, if any, political and civil rights should be granted to former slaves?  Should the former Confederates be punished for the rebellion?

 What words do I need to know? -- freedmen -- reconstruction -- Black Code -- Freedman’s Bureau Section 1: After the War

 Union General Banks burned much of central Louisiana  Livestock populations decimated  Parish records lost or destroyed  Transportation infrastructure (roads,bridges, levees, and railroads) badly damaged levees Postwar Conditions

 Devastated economy worsened disorder and poverty for former slaves Devastated economy  Freed slaves lacked land and resources to rebuild a prosperous new life  War-torn South struggled to survive Freedmen

 All Northerners didn’t agree on how to rebuild the South  Lincoln’s “10 Percent Plan” allowed states to rejoin union after 10 percent of 1860 voters signed loyalty oath10 Percent Plan  Louisiana’s 1864 Constitution ended slavery, but forbid freedmen from voting  Lincoln’s assassination brought harsher reconstruction conditions to Louisiana Presidential Reconstruction

 President Andrew Johnson readmitted Southern states that approved the 13 th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution President Andrew Johnson  Republican “Radicals” wanted to give the land owned by Confederate officers to the freed slaves  Johnson pardoned former Confederate officers, allowing them to keep their land  Congress nearly voted Johnson out of office Johnson and Reconstruction

 Many former Confederates elected to the Louisiana legislature  The legislators’ doorkeeper, an armless Confederate veteran, manned the door in a Confederate uniform Confederate uniform  Louisianan Republicans were mostly Northerners, former slaves, and free people of color  Governor James M. Wells was a Unionist, who had supported the Union during the war Louisiana’s Postwar Government

 Former slaves sought security, education, and united families  Many freedmen left plantations and sought work in the state’s towns  Black codes limited the freedmen’s movements, actions, and conduct Black codes  Freedmen were made to sign one-year labor contracts or face arrest or public work Black Code

 Established in 1865 by federal governmentfederal government  Provided food, clothing, and basic shelter to needy Southerners and former slaves  Agents around the state handled work contracts between freedmen and planters  Riots in New Orleans in 1866 ended a planned Constitutional Convention, which might have assured the freedmen the right to vote Riots in New Orleans in 1866 Freedmen’s Bureau Click here to return to Main Menu.

 ESSENTIAL QUESTION -- How did military enforcement and policies change the course of Reconstruction? Section 2: Military Reconstruction

 What words do I need to know? -- carpetbagger -- scalawag -- Knights of the White Camellia -- fraud Section 2: Military Reconstruction

 Reconstruction Act of 1867 placed the Southern states under strict military control  States were pressured to approve the 14 th Amendment, guaranteeing voting rights to all males14 th Amendment  Former Confederates could no longer hold office  The state remained under military control for 10 years Radical Reconstruction

 Henry Clay Warmouth, a former Union officer, was elected Republican governor in 1868  He was known as the “Louisiana’s Carpetbagger Governor”  Carpetbaggers described newcomers who moved South with few belongings to make their fortunes Carpetbaggers  Scalawags were local white Unionists who joined the controlling Republicans Carpetbaggers

 Self-described “Conservatives,” mostly former Confederates, sought to regain pre-war political powerpre-war political power  These “Redeemers” resented military control and black elected officials  The Knights of the White Camilla, a masked group, intimidated voters to keep freedmen from voting  Governor Warmouth appointed a board to throw out votes found to be fraudulent (unfair) The Redeemers

 Governor Warmouth was charged with election corruption  William P. Kellogg declared Louisiana’s governor by the federal government  P.B.S. Pinchbeck became acting governor in December 1872, during impeachment hearings against Governor Warmouth P.B.S. Pinchbeck  Pinchbeck was first African American governor of any state The 1872 Election Click here to return to Main Menu.

 ESSENTIAL QUESTION -- How did the Reconstruction years end in Louisiana? Section 3: The Last Years of Reconstruction

 What terms do I need to know? -- anarchy -- The White League -- Colfax Riot Section 3: The Last Years of Reconstruction

 Louisiana came close to anarchy (lawless absence of government) during Reconstruction’s final years  The Colfax Riot of 1873, in Grant Parish, resulted in more than 50 black deathsGrant Parish  The black Republican candidate fought the white Democrat for control of the Sheriff’s office  The 1873 Unification Movement, designed to help blacks and whites share political offices, failed to bring both sides together Violence in Louisiana

 White Louisianans began policies to reclaim control of the state government  The White League (1874) intended to restore political power to white Democrats, with or without violence  Bulldozing (violence and threats to drive Republicans from office) was a tactic used  New Orleans’ “Battle of Liberty Place” in 1874 pitted 4,000 Metropolitan police against 8,000 White League membersBattle of Liberty Place  Federal troops arrived to restore order The White League

 The Republican leadership in Washington, DC agreed to end military Reconstruction  Federal troops removed from Louisiana and rest of South by 1877  Republican Rutherford B. Hayes elected President in 1876Rutherford B. Hayes  National Republicans would no longer keep Louisiana Republicans in power The 1876 Elections Click here to return to Main Menu.

 ESSENTIAL QUESTION -- How did Louisianans survive during Reconstruction? Section 4: Rebuilding Louisiana

 What words do I need to know? -- sharecropping -- credit -- economic plan Section 4: Rebuilding Reconstruction

 Banks reluctant to rebuild the plantation system because planters had no slaves  Slaves had been used as collateral (something of value pledged as security for a loan)  Sharecropping developed: laborers lived on planters’ land in return for a share of the profit when the crop was sold Sharecropping  Crop Lien System: Merchants sold on credit in return for payment at the year’s end  Sharecroppers remained in debt year-round Labor in Louisiana

 Trade centers in parts of Louisiana began to expand  Traveling circuses and riverboat shows filled the waterwayscircuses  Riverboat races provided riverfront dwellers entertainment Riverboat races  Baseball travel teams became popular Baseball travel teams  Volunteer fire departments held socials and parades  African-American churches became community center for many former slaves Rebuilding Lives Click here to return to Main Menu.