war/civil_war_photos.html Reconstruction Angela Brown

Reconstruction Americans struggled to rebuild the South from Four presidents were involved media_ / American_Civil_War_ Destruction.html

Physical and Human Toll 2/3 of southern shipping destroyed 9000 miles of railroads destroyed Farms, livestock, homes, bridges destroyed Property value dropped 70%. The North had lost 364,000 soldiers including 38,000 African Americans. The South lost 290,000 or 1/5 th of its adult white men. One out of three southern men were killed or wounded.

Southerner’s Hardships The south was made up of three major groups.. –Black Southerners –Plantation owners –Poor white southerners /5/images/2080.jpg

Lincoln’s Plan Lincoln wanted to restore the Union gently. _Nast/Thomas_Nast_Grant_Lee.jpg

Provision One Offered a pardon to nearly all Southerners who pledged an oath of loyalty and accepted the elimination of slavery.

Provision Two Once 10 percent of a Confederate state’s voters had taken a loyalty oath, that state could resume full participation in the union. eefoundation/Confederate_ Cabinet.htm

Lincoln’s Plan It denied pardons of all Confederate military and government officials and to southerners who had killed African American war prisoners. It did not require the new constitutions to give voting rights to black Americans. Nor did it “readmit” southern states to the Union. Lincoln viewed their succession as unconstitutional. freedmen/images/blackworkers.JPG

Radical Republicans Some Republicans criticized Lincoln’s plan as to easy on the South. They wanted to punish the Confederate states and make major changes in the South. Southern_Exiles.htm

Congressional Reconstruction Congress passed its own tough Reconstruction bill, the Wade Davis Act, in July It proposed putting the South under military rule. Lincoln refused to sign it. Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln’s Assassination Lincoln was murdered by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, Vice-President Andrew Johnson became President. A one-time slave owner from the South; with a strong hatred of southern planters. John Wilkes Booth

The Thirteenth Amendment This amendment abolished slavery in the United States. It became law in December net/slavery_pictures.htm

Johnson’s Plan Johnson’s plan was known as Presidential Reconstruction. Johnson followed most of Lincoln’s Reconstruction plan. He offered amnesty and the return of property to all Southerners who would take an oath of loyalty to the Union.

More Generous to the South? States were required to void secession, abolish slavery, and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. It officially denied pardons to all Confederate leaders but Johnson often issued pardons to those who asked him personally. He pardoned 13,000 southerners in

The Freedmen’s Bureau Created by Congress in March 1865 to help black southerners adjust to freedom. It was the first federal relief agency. 250,000 African American students received their first formal education. Largely dismantled in

Black Codes Laws that restricted freedmen’s rights. Curfews (couldn’t gather after sunset) Vagrancy Laws (not working = fined, whipped, sold for a year’s labor) Labor Contracts (sign in January for a year) Limits on women’s rights (forced farm labor) Land restrictions (rent land or homes only in rural areas) /AfricanAmericanFamilyLiveOak400.jpg

The Fourteenth Amendment Outraged over the black codes… The Radicals drafted a constitutional amendment which gave African Americans the rights of citizens. Ratified by the states in

Election of 1866 The Radicals gained control of the House and Senate. They now had the strength to implement their plan. Congress passed the Reconstruction Act of 1867.

Radical Reconstruction It abolished the South’s new state governments and required new state constitutions. It placed them under military rule, five districts were governed by a northern general.

More Restrictions Required all qualified male voters, including African Americans to be allowed to vote. Temporarily barred southerners who had supported the Confederacy from voting. It required southern states to guarantee equal rights to all citizens. It required the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. media_content/m-8877.jpg

The Fifteenth Amendment In 1869, Congress protected African Americans right to vote by passing the Fifteenth Amendment. In 1870, with federal troops stationed across the south, proud African Americans voted…republican. Many whites refused to vote = landslide republican victories and African American office holders.

Carpetbag Government Government in the Southern States was left to “scalawags” and “carpetbaggers”. Carpetbaggers were Northern Republicans who moved to the south. Scalawags were white southern republicans. Cartoon_of_the_Carpetbaggers.html

The Tenure of Office Act This act passed by Congress in March 1867, prohibited the President from removing certain government officials without Senate approval. Johnson ignored the act and removed his secretary of war, Edwin M. Stanton – the only cabinet member who openly sided with the Radicals.

Impeachment In response to Johnson’s violation of the Tenure of Office Act, the House voted to impeach the President in February The Senate narrowly found Johnson not guilty. He was acquitted by one vote.

Election of 1868 The Radical Republicans nominated Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant. The Democrats chose Horatio Seymour, a former governor of New York. http :// GGLD:en&q=Ulysses+S+Grant+pictures horatio-seymour.htm

Did you know? Upon leaving office, President Andrew Johnson won election to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee in He died in July 1875, just months after taking his Senate seat. GGLD,GGLD: ,GGLD:en&q=us+flag+pictures

Reconstruction Ends President Grant won reelection in He tried to pursue the goals of Reconstruction. Government corruption reminded voters of the faults of reconstruction. Legislature taxed and spent heavily. Reconstruction came to symbolize corruption, greed, and poor government.

Solid South As federal troops withdrew from the South, white-dominated southern states blocked many federal Reconstruction policies. Northern voters never fully supported the Radicals’ goal of racial equality the last ex- confederates were pardoned. They joined with other white southerners to form a new bloc of democratic voters called the solid south. They reversed many reforms of the Reconstruction legislatures.

The Election of 1876 Republican Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote to Democrat Samuel Tilden of the solid south. The electoral vote was disputed. /files/images/198.jpg President Hayes

Compromise of 1877 Democrats agreed to give Hayes the Presidency. The new President would remove the remaining federal troops from the South. He would give huge subsidies to Southern railroads. Democrats regained the control of southern politics. This marked the end of Reconstruction. For years historians marked Reconstruction as a dismal failure. The truth is more complex.

Successes of Reconstruction The union was rebuilt and the South was repaired. Economic growth was stimulated in the South and new wealth created in the North. The 14 th and 15 th Amendments were passed. The Freedmen’s Bureau helped black families. Southern States adopted the system of tax- supported, mandatory education practiced in the North.

Failures of Reconstruction Most black southerners remained in a cycle of poverty with little hope of escape. After federal troops withdrew Southern State governments and the Ku Klux Klan denied African Americans the right to vote. Left bitterness toward the federal government and the Republican party by most southerners. Racial attitudes continued in the South and North. Southern economy (agricultural) lagged behind the industrialized North.