Unit 1: Reconstruction

A. Reconstruction Defined 1. Reconstruction: the period of rebuilding the South and readmitting Southern states into the Union following the Civil War

B. Reconstruction Plans 1. Lincoln & The “10%” Plan ●A) 10 % of voters in a Southern state must take an oath of loyalty to the Union ●B) State could then create a new state constitution that was required to ban slavery ●C) Amnesty: forgiveness of crimes ○Offered to most Southerners except top Confederate leaders

B. Reconstruction Plans 2. Radical Republicans A) Definition: Group of Republicans that thought Lincoln was too soft in his approach to dealing with the South Leader: Thaddeus Stevens (PA)

B. Reconstruction Plans - Radicals B) The Wade-Davis Bill 1) Majority of white Southerners in a state must pledge loyalty to the Union 2) Create a new state constitution that banned slavery 3) Former Confederate soldiers could not vote or hold political office Lincoln used the “pocket-veto” to stop this plan

Lincoln’s Assassination Actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln at Ford’s Theater Vice-President Andrew Johnson became the President Johnson was from the south, but supported the Union during the war

B. Reconstruction Plans 3. President Johnson’s Plan A) Amnesty for Southerns that took an oath of loyalty Confederate leaders could only receive amnesty if they appealed to the President B) States must outlaw slavery in state constitution C) States must ratify the 13th Amendment Abolished slavery

C. Radicals in Control 1. Civil Rights Act (1866) A. Passed by Congress to combat black codes Black Codes - laws passed in Southern states to try to control freedmen and freedwomen Johnson vetoed the bill claiming that Congress was interfering with state’s rights and that not all states were represented in Congress Congress overrode the President’s veto

C. Radicals in Control 2. The 14th Amendment (1868) A) Citizenship for African-Americans B) Equal protection of the laws for all citizens

C. Radicals in Control 3. The 15th Amendment (1869) A) State and Federal government could not deny the right to vote based on race

C. Radicals in Control 4. The Reconstruction Acts (1867) A) Divided Southern states that did not pass the 14th Amendment into military districts until new state governments were created that did pass the 14th Amendment

D. Johnson Impeached 1. Impeach - to formally charge an elected official with wrongdoing 2. Impeachment Process: A) House of Representatives - Impeach B) Senate - conducts a trial Removed from office if found guilty

D. Johnson Impeached 3. Why was Johnson Impeached? A) Radicals passed the Tenure of Office Act Required the POTUS to get Congressional permission before removing Cabinet members Technically was unconstitutional B) Johnson fired Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton Stanton was a Radical Republican C) Senate voted that Johnson was not guilty

E. Life in the South 1. The Freedmen’s Bureau A) Organization created by Lincoln & Congress to help freed slaves adjust to life after slavery Greatest contribution was the creation of schools, colleges and universities

E. Life in the South 2. Carpetbaggers and Scalawags A) Carpetbaggers: White Northerners who moved to the South during Reconstruction Some were corrupt and dishonest but most had good intentions of helping rebuild the South B) Scalawags: Former Confederates that joined the Republican Party Mostly business owners

E. Life in the South 3. Sharecropping A) Sharecropping: system of farming in which a farmer works land for an owner and receives a % of the crop as payment Most sharecroppers were freed slaves B) Why Sharecropping? - Scarcity Former plantation owners had land but no workers Freed slaves mostly did not own land, had little education and mostly lacked other skills

E. Life in the South 4. The economics of the “New South” A) An emphasis on increased industrialization as a way to rebuilt the South Iron & Steel, Tobacco, Cotton & Textiles

E. Life in the South 5. Voting Restrictions for Freedmen A) Literacy Tests B) Poll Taxes C) Grandfather Clauses

E. Life in the South 6. Segregation & Violence A) Separation or isolation of races Legalized in public in Southern states by “Jim Crow” laws Upheld by the US Supreme Court in Plessy v. Ferguson B) Ku Klux Klan Secret group that used violence to intimidate African-Americans and whites that supported them Lynching - method of public hanging used by the KKK

F. The Election of Reconstruction Ends

1. What is the Electoral College & how do you win? A) What is it? The official method of electing the President B) How do you win? Each state has an assigned # of electoral votes based on their state’s representation in the US Congress # of Reps (population) + # of Senators (2) = # of Electoral Votes Candidates win electoral votes by winning the popular vote of a state Popular Vote: votes cast by individual voters 538 total electoral votes 270 Electoral Votes needed to win the election

F. The Election of Reconstruction Ends 2. The Election of 1876 A) Tilden (Democrat) narrowly won the popular vote B) Electoral vote was disputed in 3 Southern states C) Commission was created by Congress to determine a winner D) Hayes (Republican) declared the winner Republicans agree to withdraw soldiers from the South