CHAPTER 17 RECONSTRUCTION

RECONSTRUCTION Reconstruction = the process of readmitting the former Confederate states to the Union 1865-1877 Lincoln’s main vision for the process was to reunite the nation as quickly and painlessly as possible

FREEDMEN’S BUREAU Organization established by Congress to aid poor southerners Gave relief to freed African-Americans Established more schools and increased efforts to educate freed slaves

TEN PERCENT PLAN Lincoln’s plan Offered southerners amnesty, or official pardon (forgiveness), for all illegal acts supporting the rebellion Southerners had to swear an oath of loyalty to the U.S. and agree that slavery was illegal Many Republicans did not agree because they felt it would take more to restore the Union than a loyalty oath *(Do not copy) – if only ten percent of voters in a state made these pledges, they could be readmitted into the Union

WADE-DAVIS BILL This bill required that the majority of southern males take an oath of loyalty Also required States to ban slavery forever

THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT This amendment to the Constitution made slavery illegal throughout the U.S. Ratified on December 18th, 1865

LINCOLN’S ASSASSINATION April 14th, 1865 Lincoln was shot and killed at Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C. while attending a play with his life His assassin was John Wilkes Booth who was a southerner who opposed Lincoln’s policies VP Andrew Johnson was sworn into office quickly

PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON 17th President; Democrat He was now in charge of Reconstruction Wanted to grant wealthy southerners and former Confederate leaders amnesty through presidential pardons His administration set up new southern governments by allowing elections of state and federal representatives Congress, however, still refused to readmit southern states be cause the representatives of the new governments had been Confederate leaders (nation was still divided)

CHANGES IN SOUTHERN LIFE Social structure of the South changed because African-Americans began to demand the same economic and political rights as whites Life at southern mills was difficult because employees were overworked and suffered from asthma and brown-lung disease Many blacks were elected as representatives to state legislatures in the South

BLACK CODES Southern states passed these laws to limit the freedom and civil rights of African-Americans Southerners felt the codes were justified because the government was intended for white men only Codes required that blacks sign work contracts to replace the labor force that was lost after the ending of slavery Blacks were not allowed to own guns/firearms

CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1866 Johnson determined that the Freedmen’s Bureau was unconstitutional Republicans responded by passing this act which provided African-Americans with the same legal rights as whites

RADICAL REPUBLICANS They wanted the federal government to force change in the South They supported suffrage (the right to vote) for African-American men Thaddeus Stevens, a Pennsylvania Congressman, was the leader

FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT All people born or naturalized within the U.S., except Native Americans, were citizens Citizens were guaranteed equal protection of the laws Republicans proposed this because they wanted to protect the Civil Rights Act from being overturned by the South

RECONSTRUCTION ACTS Passed by Congress in March 1867 Divided the South into five military districts controlled by a military commander

JOHNSON’S IMPEACHMENT Impeachment = process used by a legislative body to bring charges of wrongdoing against a public official Congress passed a law that prevented the president from removing a cabinet official without Senate approval because they knew Johnson did not support their Reconstruction policies House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson in 1868 because he fired a cabinet official without Senate approval; he wasn’t convicted

ELECTION OF 1868 Ulysses S. Grant was voted the 18th president He was a Republican He appealed to many northern voters because he was a war hero and his party was “the party of Lincoln” African-American votes helped him achieve victory

FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT 1869 - Gave African-American men the right to vote Republicans believed this amendment would help their Reconstruction plan because blacks would support the plan as well Women criticized the amendment because it did not give them the right to vote

CARPETBAGGERS White southerners used this term as an insult towards northern-born Republicans who held political offices in the South *(Do not copy) – the rumor is that “carpetbaggers” rushed to the South carrying all their possessions in bags made from carpeting so they could profit off of Reconstruction

HIRAM REVELS First African-American Senator He was elected in 1870 Took over the seat previously held by Jefferson Davis in Mississippi

KU KLUX KLAN Began in 1866 Secret society of white southerners who opposed black suffrage They used violence and terror against African-Americans; in some cases they murdered blacks They gained much power in the South because local governments did little to stop their violence Their actions inspired Congress to make it illegal to interfere with elections or deny citizens equal protection

END OF RECONSTRUCTION In 1872, low-ranking, former Confederate officers were permitted to hold public office Republican Party also began losing power in the North due to scandals in Ulysses S. Grant’s administration Panic of 1873 – severe economic downturn made northerners less concerned with southern racism and more considered with their financial well-being

COMPROMISE OF 1877 Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) was elected the 19th president in 1876 after a dispute over electoral votes Compromise = Democrats agreed to accept Hayes’s victory if all federal troops were removed from the south

REDEEMERS They were Democrats who regained control of state governments in the South They established laws that successfully discriminated against African-Americans

JIM CROW LAWS Segregation = forced separation of whites and blacks in public places Jim Crow laws enforced segregation Poll tax = a special tax that people had to pay so they could vote and many blacks could not afford it Grandfather clause = men whose fathers and grandfathers who could vote before 1867 did not have to pay the tax or take a literacy test – every white man could escape voting restrictions

SHARECROPPING SYSTEM Limited opportunities for blacks to own farms and property Most sharecroppers lived in a cycle of debt = buy goods on credit and then fail to make much money selling their crops

PLESSY V. FERGUSON 1896 – major Supreme Court case Supreme Court ruled that segregation was allowed (constitutional) if “separate-but-equal” facilities were provided for blacks Segregation became widespread across the country in schools, libraries, parks, restaurants, etc. Black facilities were blatantly inferior and unequal