RECONSTRUCTION Chapter 12

Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction 1865 – 1877: Period of Reconstruction Lincoln favored a lenient Reconstruction policy December 1863, Lincoln announced his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction Lincoln’s plan angered the Radical Republicans, led by Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner Radicals responded to the Ten-Percent Plan by passing the Wade-Davis Bill Lincoln vetoed the Wade-Davis Bill

Johnson’s Plan Lincoln’s assassination left Andrew Johnson in charge of the Reconstruction controversy May 1865, Johnson announced his plan – Presidential Reconstruction: Each state would have to withdraw its secession Swear allegiance to the Union Annul Confederate war debts Ratify the 13th amendment The Radicals were angry that the plan ignored former slaves in three areas: land, voting rights, and prosecution under the law Southerners supported Johnson’s reconstruction plans The remaining Confederate states quickly agreed to Johnson’s terms Dec. 1865, newly elected Southern legislators arrived in Washington

Presidential Reconstruction Comes to a Standstill Congress refused to admit the newly elected Southern legislators Moderate Republicans sought to push new laws to fix the weaknesses they saw in Johnson’s plan Feb. 1866 – Congress voted to continue and enlarge the Freedman’s Bureau Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866: Gave African Americans citizenship Forbade passing of black codes Black codes restored many of the restrictions of slavery Johnson shocked everyone by vetoing both the Freedman’s Bureau and the Civil Rights Act

Congressional Reconstruction Moderate and Radical Republicans came together against Johnson Congress drafted the 14th Amendment Congress overrode Johnson’s veto on the Civil Rights Act Johnson urged Southerners to reject the 14th Amendment

1868 Congressional Elections Johnson went on tour with Ulysses S. Grant to urge people to support Presidential Reconstruction Race riots in New Orleans and Memphis resulted in over 80 African American deaths Republicans gained 2/3 majority in Congress Radicals and Moderated joined to pass the Reconstruction Act of 1867 Didn’t recognize state governments formed under Lincoln or Johnson’s plans Divided other ten former Confederate states into 5 military districts Voters would elect delegates to draft new state constitutions States needed to guarantee African American men the right to vote and ratify the 14th Amendment to be readmitted to the Union Johnson vetoed the Reconstruction Plan of 1867

Johnson’s Impeachment Radical leaders looked for ways to impeach Johnson March 1867 – Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton The House brought 11 charges of impeachment against Johnson March – May 1868, Johnson’s trial before the Senate

Ulysses S. Grant Elected Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour to run in the 1868 presidential election Republicans nominated Ulysses S. Grant After the election, the Radicals introduced the Fifteenth Amendment Amendment ratified in 1870 Congress passed the Enforcement Act of 1870

Conditions in the Postwar South Congressional Reconstruction reigned supreme – by 1870 all Confederate states had been admitted back to the Union Southern states faced the challenge of physically rebuilding a battle scarred region Economic effects ravaged the South Population was also devastated Republican governments began many public works projects to help To raise money, taxes were raised

Politics in the Postwar South Different groups in the Republican Party in the South often had conflicting goals Democrats called white Southerners who joined the Republicans scalawags Democrats called Northerners who moved to the South after the war carpetbaggers African-Americans made up the largest group of Southern Republicans

Political Differences Conflicting goals among Republican Party members in the South led to disunity in the party Many white Southerners refused to accept blacks’ new status and resisted the idea of equal rights White Southerners also had to accept the day-to-day involvement of Northerners in their lives

Former Slaves Face Many Challenges Many slaves were cautious about testing their new freedoms African Americans began to travel for the first time legally From 1865 – 1870 the African American population of the ten largest Southern cities doubled Many began to search for their family members throughout the country The Freedmen’s Bureau worked to reunite families

Education and Volunteer Groups 1870 – nearly 80% of freed African Americans over the age of 20 were illiterate By 1870, African Americans had spent over $1 million on education Some white Southerners responded violently to African American education After the war, many African Americans founded their own churches, usually Baptist or Methodist African Americans also formed thousands of volunteer organizations

Politics and Laws for African Americans African American involvement in politics grew rapidly African American officeholders still remained the minority in the South Hiram Revels was only one of 16 (of 125) African American Southerners elected to Congress African Americans proposed bills to desegregate transportation African Americans tended to focus more on building up their community than on total integration

Changes in the Southern Economy 1865, General Sherman had promised “40 acres and a mule” to freed slaves who joined his army Thaddeus Stevens called for the government to confiscate plantations and to redistribute part of the land to former slaves 1866 – Homestead Act passed Planters claimed to have the plantation system work, they needed almost complete control over their laborers Planters faced a labor shortage Many former slaves worked in mills or factories

Sharecropping and Tenant Cropping Without their own land, many former slaves were forced to sign contracts with planters Sharecropping became widely used Tenant Farming also became popular Tenant Farming rarely worked in practice

Cotton No Longer King During the war, demand for Southern cotton began to drop The agricultural problems led many to try and diversify the Southern economy Falling cotton prices and mounting debts caused many Southern banks to fail Many whites began to take out frustration on African Americans

Opposition to Reconstruction The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) started in Tennessee in 1866 1868 – 1871, the Klan killed thousands of men, women, and children, and burned schools, churches and property The Klan also wanted to take way the Republicans political power in the South Southern Democrats openly used violence to intimidate Republicans voting in Mississippi, (1875), and Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana (1876)

Further Opposition The Klan also tried to stop African Americans from gaining economic progress Some white Southerners refused to hire or do business with African Americans who were revealed to have voted Republican Congress passed the Enrollment Acts in 1870 and 1871 1882, Supreme Court ruled the 1871 Enforcement Act unconstitutional The Amnesty Act greatly reduced Republican power

Scandals and Money Crises Hurt Republicans Grant had no political experience and hired mostly friends to his cabinet After many scandals, the Liberal Republican Party was formed The Liberal Republicans chose Horace Greeley as their candidate Although Greeley didn’t win, the Party greatly weakened the Radicals’ hold over the Republican Party Corruption in Grant’s administration continued As corruption continued, Grant lost more support, and Northerners were distracted from the problems in the South

Judicial and Popular Support Fades The Panic of 1873 and a currency crisis further distracted Northerners from the South The Supreme Court issued a series of decisions that undermined both the 14th and 15th Amendments Slaughterhouse Cases of 1873 U.S. v. Cruikshank in 1876 U.S. v. Reese As both judicial and public support decreased, Republicans began to back away from their commitment to Reconstruction

Democrats “Redeem” the South 1869 – 1875, period of redemption for Democrats in the South 1876, Republicans chose Rutherford B. Hayes to run for president The Democrats chose Samuel J. Tilden from NY as their candidate Tilden won the popular vote, but fell 1 electoral vote shy of the number needed The House of Representatives held the power to approve election results The Compromise of 1877 granted the Democrats: Withdrawal of federal troops in Louisiana and SC Democrats were given money to build a railroad from Texas to the West Coast Hayes had to appoint a conservative Southerner to his cabinet The Democrats achieved their long-desired goal of home rule The compromise meant the end of Reconstruction

Home Rule and the Legacy of Reconstruction Reconstruction ended without much real progress in the battle against discrimination Radical Republicans made several mistakes in their effort to help former slaves The Thirteenth Amendment was a major success, and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were also very important