President Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan Pgs. 185-187

Thirteenth Amendment The 13th amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31, 1865. On February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures for approval.

Thirteenth Amendment Prior to the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery remained legal only in Delaware and Kentucky; everywhere else the slaves had been freed by state action and the Emancipation Proclamation.

Thirteenth Amendment The 13th amendment was passed at the end of the Civil War before the Southern states had been restored to the Union and should have easily passed the Congress. Although the Senate passed it in April 1864, the House did not. At that point, Lincoln took an active role to ensure passage through congress. He insisted that passage of the 13th amendment be added to the Republican Party platform for the upcoming Presidential elections.

Lincoln’s Death Lincoln did not live long enough to see the 13 amendment accepted by a majority of states and then become law. The amendment was declared, in a proclamation of Secretary of State William Henry Seward, dated December 18, 1865, to have been ratified by the legislatures of twenty-seven of the then thirty-six states.

Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan Lincoln formed a plan for allowing the Confederate States to rejoin the Union. The plan was carried out by President Andrew Johnson. These states could only be readmitted back into the Union under three conditions: 1) each state declare its secession illegal 2) swear allegiance to the Union 3) ratify the 13th amendment

Lincoln’s Plan = UNFAIR Many Northern states wanted to punish the Confederate states, but Lincoln’s goal was to quickly reunite the country. It was up to President Johnson to see that the country was reunited. This was not an easy task!

Tennessee Returns to the Union By December 1865, most Confederate states, including Tennessee, had accepted the 13th amendment. When Tennessee asked to be allowed back into the Union in 1866, it found a new law made such a return more difficult. Confederate states now had to also accept the 14th amendment.

Fourteenth Amendment The 14th Amendment made blacks citizens of the United States and guaranteed them the same legal rights as whites. In July of 1866, Tennessee Governor William Brownlow convinced Tennessee leaders to accept the 14th Amendment. Under his leadership, Tennessee became a part of the Union in 1866.

Black Codes Many Southern states passed new laws called Black Codes. The black codes made it illegal for former slaves to live in certain areas and to hold certain jobs. African Americans without jobs could be arrested or fined. Black Codes differed from state to state.

Black Codes In most states Blacks were not allowed to vote or travel freely. They could be made to work in the fields without pay if they could not find another job.

Ku Klux Klan Shortly after the war ended secret groups were formed in the South to prevent former slaves from enjoying their new found freedoms. One such group was the Ku Klux Klan or KKK. This group disguised themselves in white robes and hoods. Klan members broke into homes and attacked and killed former slaves. They burned African schools and churches and punished anyone who helped former slaves. It was a time of terror for many people.