The South was in ruins & the people of the nation agreed that the South’s economy & society needed rebuilding. This period of rebuilding is called Reconstruction. It also refers to the various plans for accomplishing the rebuilding.

Before the war even ended, Lincoln offered the first plan for reconstruction. Lincoln’s plan was called the ten percent plan. 10% of southern voters had to take an oath of loyalty to the U.S. States had to form a new government. States’ constitutions had to ban slavery.

The Freedman’s Bureau was a government agency created to help former slaves. The Freedman's Bureau helped to: Distribute food and clothing Provided for medical services Established schools Helped freed people to acquire land Offered free transportation to the countryside Helped obtain fair wages

Some laws allowed local officials to arrest and fine unemployed African-Americans and make them work for white employers to pay off their fines. Some laws banned African-Americans from owning or renting farms. One law allowed whites to take orphaned African-Americans children as unpaid apprentices.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866: Granted full citizenship to African-Americans. The law overturned the Black Codes.

Divided the southern states into 5 military districts. Guaranteed African-Americans the right to vote in state elections. Prevented former confederate leaders from holding political office.

In 1868, Congress passed the 15 th amendment which prohibited states from denying the right to vote to any male citizen based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

-Some Southern whites supported Republican policy throughout Reconstruction. Many were non-slaveholding farmers or business leaders who opposed secession in the first place. Former Confederates despised (hated) these people for siding with the Republicans and called scalawags; meaning scoundrel (or worthless rascal).

-Many northern white who moved to the South also supported the Republicans and called them carpetbaggers because they often arrived with all their belongings in cheap suitcases made of carpet fabric. - Although some carpetbaggers were greedy and took advantage of the South, many were soldiers, lawyers, doctors, teachers who wanted to reshape Southern society (for the better without taking advantage).

-Most Southerners opposed efforts to expand African- American rights. -Plantation owners tried to maintain control over freed people. -Many plantation owners told the African- Americans they could not leave the plantations. -Most white land owners refused to rent land to freedmen. -Store owners refused them credit. -Employers refused to give them work (jobs).

-Violence against African-Americans and their white supporters became commonplace during Reconstruction (meaning, it happened all the time). -The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) launched midnight rides against the African-Americans burning their homes, churches, & schools. -Klan violence increased before elections to keep African-Americans from voting. -The Klan also attacked white supporters of Reconstruction.

The most common form of farm work for freed individuals was sharecropping. In this system, the landowner rented a plot of land to a sharecropper along with a crude shack, some seeds and tools, and perhaps, a mule. In return, a sharecropper shared a percentage of their crop with the landowner. After paying the landowner, the sharecropper had little left to sell. Sometimes there was barely enough to feed their families. For many, sharecropping was no better than slavery.

In the election of 1876, Tilden (Democrat) and Hayes (Republican) ran for president. Although Tilden won the popular vote, there was no clear winner of the disputed electoral votes. A special Congressional commission decided the fate of the election. This led to… The Compromise of 1877

A deal was made. Rutherford B. Hayes (the Republican candidate) would become president, but he would have to do favors for the south including: Giving aid to the region (money, grants) Withdrawing all the remaining troops from the Southern States.

Reconstruction Policies S oldiers from the North supervised the South. C arpetbaggers from the North took advantage of the South during Reconstruction. R ights for African Americans were gained as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which also authorized the use of federal troops for its enforcement. E stablished the Freedman's Bureau to aid former enslaved African Americans in the South. A frican Americans could hold public office. (they were elected). M ilitary leaders from the South could not hold office. These policies made some in the South want to... SCREAM!!!