AP Chapter 17 Reconstruction

Politics of Rebuilding America  Federal govt. became the supreme law of the land  Lincoln’s ultimate goal was the preservation of the Union  Southern economy laid in ruins and they lost their work force

Lincoln and Johnson’s Plan  Lincoln wanted a quick reconstruction process and wanted to treat the south as if they had never left  Lincoln’s Plan- 10% loyalty oath and passage of the 13 th Amend  Johnson’s Plan was a similar but denied some Confederates the right to vote

Radical Republicans Plan  Wanted to punish the South and give equal rights to the slaves  Wade-Davis Bill- 50% loyalty oath before elections could be held but Lincoln pocket-vetoed it  Some called for the redistribution of land  Republicans wanted to punish the southern whites

Freedman’s Bureau  Provided social, economic and educational services for the poorest freed slave  Also provided for protection from the whites  Lasted seven years

Radical Republican Vision  Wanted to remake southern society  Resented the Black Codes that segregated the South  Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave full citizenship rights to the blacks  14 th Amendment- citizenship/due process for the newly freed slaves  Johnson vetoed many of the Republican laws

Congressional Reconstruction  Reconstruction Act- was vetoed by Johnson but overridden divided the South into 5 occupied military zones  States had to adopt new Const. accepting the 14 th Amend and giving voting rights to the slaves  Congress continued to override Johnson’s vetoes

Tenure of Office Act  Said any one appointed by the president with Senate approval could not be removed until the Senate approved a successor  Johnson suspended Sec. of War Edwin Stanton and the Republicans were furious  House voted to impeach but the Senate failed by 1 vote

Election of 1868  Grant (R) vs. Horatio Seymour (D) and Grant won easily  KKK emerged as a strong social force in suppressing blacks rights  15 th Amendment- gave blacks the right to vote  1870 all of the southern states had been readmitted into the union

New Life for African Americans  Some left for a new life while others remained b/c they knew nothing else  Most became poor tenant farmers or sharecroppers  Family ties became strong and the church played an important role  Most lived in small communities together mainly for protection

Southern Politics and Society  Federal troops protected the Republican govt.’s in the South  Blacks saw some rights and won political office while the Republicans were in charge  Union League- helped organize freedman in the southern cities

 Carpetbagger- northerners who moved south for opportunities  Scalawags- southern whites who assisted the northerners  Southerners hated any Republicans  Republican Party gained significant power in the South until 1877

Carpetbaggers

Reconstructing the States  Segregation became common and most civil rights laws were never enforced  Enforcement Act created to end all of the hostility but did little  Gradually Democrats began to seize control of their state governments  Slaughterhouse Cases- S.C. rulings that limited the power of the 14 th and 15 th Amendments

The New South  Only a few plantations survived after the war  Most were divided into several small farms  Southern merchants became the new economic force in the South instead of agriculture

Reconstructing the North  Northern industry boomed after the war  Transcontinental RR was completed at Promontory Point, UT in 1869  Railroads became America’s biggest economic engine  Chinese Exclusion Act passed to limit Chinese immigration (Nativism)

Credit Mobilier Scandal  Corruption involving the Union Pacific RR  Credit Mobilier was a dummy construction company and some Republicans received stock in the company for political loyalty  Tarnished Grant’s presidency

Credit Mobilier Scandal

Liberal Republicans and the Election of 1872  Grant easily defeated Horace Greely (D) for the presidency  Thomas Nast a cartoonists exposed the corruption of Boss Tweed and the Tweed Ring in NYC  Liberal Republicans pushed for free trade and economic growth

The Depression of 1873  Post war boom which led to a severe financial panic  Railroads defaulted on loans, factories closed and unemployment skyrocketed  Many questioned the free market ideology of the country

Election of 1876  Samuel Tilden (D) vs. Rutherford B. Hayes (R) battled for the presidency  Voter fraud, corruption and violence marred the elections  Tilden won the popular vote but was one electoral vote shy

 Hayes refused to concede the election and both disputed the vote totals in FL, SC and LA  Commission was created but was dominated by Republicans and said Hayes was the winner  Southern Democrats were furious and wanted to take up arms

Election of 1876

Compromise of 1877  Hayes would become the President  His 1 st order was to remove the last federal troops from the South  Considered the end of Reconstruction and Republicans lost all power in the Southern states until the 1960s

Restoring White Control  Solid South- solidly voted for the Democratic Party  Southern States passed laws preventing blacks from voting  Poll Tax, Grandfather Clause & Literacy Test were common  Jim Crow Laws and Black Codes segregated society

Conclusion  South hated the North and Republicans  Federal Government proved superior  Blacks are free but still treated as inferiors and slaves