Lincoln’s 10% Plan “malice toward none, with charity for all” Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction Before the end of the war, Lincoln came up with the 10% plan. As soon as 10% of the voting population took an oath of allegiance to the Union, they would be able to create a new government and be readmitted to the United States

Reconstruction Plans Radical Republicans advocated extending full civil rights to ex-slaves. Conservative Republicans principally wanted to pursue economic development. Both the Radical and Conservative Republicans agreed that African Americans should have legal equality. Texans sought to reestablish the Democratic rule redolent of that before the war. Most urgent, for them, was to find a way to keep a newly freed black population (estimated by scholars to have numbered about 250,000) in subordination.

Wade-Davis Bill 1. The majority of whites have to take an oath not just 10% 2. For the men to be delegates to the constitutional conventions of the states they needed to take an “iron clad” oath that they never aided any Confederate policies 3. All officers above the rank of lieutenant would not be considered a citizen of the United States This bill was pocket vetoed by Lincoln Wade-Davis Manifesto – letters issued in the newspaper by Republicans that criticized Lincoln for being too lenient on the South

13 th Amendment On January 31, Congressed passed the 13 th Amendment to the Constitution. 1. abolished involuntary servitude everywhere in the United States 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this outcome by “appropriate legislation”.

Freedmen’s Bureau The Freedman's Bureau, established in 1865, provided relocation, education and medical relief to newly freed Africans, as well as Southern whites displaced during the Civil War. In 1866 the Freedman's Bureau opened 45 million acres of public lands in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas and Florida to settlers regardless of race. Many freedmen took advantage of the homestead opportunity, creating the first major wave of African- American land ownership. Freedmen Bureau created over 4,000 schools to educate the freedmen (Howard University).

Freedmen Life Life in freedom might still be a matter of what was allowed, not what was right Most freedmen that had good owner stayed with them, however worked as sharecroppers. Major goal was trying to reunite the families that were torn apart by slavery Many freedmen put ads in the paper for help with trying to find their misplaced love ones African Methodist Episcopal – formed in 1877 now allowed what was a secret church to be out in the open

Sherman’s Field Order #15 400,000 acres were set aside in Sea Islands Region for Freedmen However President Johnson ordered them removed from the territory and returned the land to its original owner before the war The lands that were not given back were sold to rich investors in the North

Black Codes White Southerners sought ways to control newly freed African Americans They wrote Black Codes to regulate civil and legal rights, from marriage to the right to hold and sell property In many ways the codes guaranteed African Americans would continue working as farm laborers

14 th Amendment It conferred citizenship on the freedmen and prohibited states from abridging their constitutional “privileges and immunities” Barred any state from taking a person’s life, liberty or property without due process of the law It also banned any Confederate leader from holding any state or federal office. Only Congress with 2/3 of the vote could lift that ban

Andrew Johnson President Johnson supported votes for Black army veterans in 1864 and 1865 By 1866, however, Johnson broke with the moderate Republicans and aligned himself with the Democrats who opposed equality and opposed the Fourteenth Amendment “swing around the circle” – President Johnson went on a tour of the North fighting against the 14 th amendment. This however hurt Johnson in the Congressional vote of Radicals attacked Johnson’s policies, especially his 10% Plan and his veto of the Civil Rights Bill for the Freedmen

Congressional Vote The election of 1866 dramatically changed the balance of power in congress, giving the Radical Republicans enough votes to overcome Johnson's vetoes Though he avoided (by one vote) the Radical Republican attempt to impeach him Johnson remained almost powerless regarding Reconstruction policy

Radical Republicans Led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens, the Radical Republicans wanted the Southern states to be punished for their treasonous behavior They called for harsh punishment of Confederate officers and soldiers and equal rights for Freedmen Thaddeus Stevens- wrote a plan that would give 1/10 th of the lands taken in the war to freedmen and sell the rest to help Union’s veterans’ pension, compensation and payment of federal debt Plan failed in Congress

Radical Republicans Radical Republicans implemented a federal reconstruction plan They used the Army to combat the effect of black codes and enforce new laws that guaranteed rights to African Americans in Southern states Federal reconstruction took the vote away from 10,000 to 15,000 white men who had been Confederate officials or soldiers

Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave rights to freed slaves including the rights to make contracts, sue, witness in court, and own private property President Johnson vetoed the bill saying it would "operate in favor of the colored and against the white race“ Congress overrode the presidential veto in April of 1866 The act declared that all persons born in the U.S. were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude, excluding Indians

Reconstruction Act of 1867 Spilt South into 5 military districts – Confederate leaders designated in the 15 th Amendment were banned from voting in state elections or constitutions – All southern states had to accept the 13 and 14 th amendment – Majority of southern men had to take a oath to come back into the Union

Impeachment of Johnson Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act- which only allowed Congress to dismiss a Cabinet member – 2/3 override. Johnson tried to remove Secretary of War Stanton. With that attempt, the Judiciary Committee in the House started the impeachment process of Johnson However the Senate did not get the necessary vote to remove Johnson from power

Election of 1868 (r) Ulysses S. Grant defeated (D) Horatio Seymour. Grant supported Congressional reconstruction and black suffrage in the South However a lot of African American were not allowed to vote because of Southern Black Codes, most voted for Grant This sparked Congress to write the 15 th Amendment

15 th Amendment Forbade states to deny the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous conditions of servitude” However it did leave open the possibility for states to create countless qualification test to obstruct voting in the future – Poll taxes, literacy test, Grandfather laws

Carpetbaggers Northerners who moved down to the South during the Reconstruction area to buy cheap land and create a business and get involved in politics Scalawags- Southerners who allied themselves with the Republican views on reconstruction Most scalawags were the farmers who did not own slaves and felt that under the Confederacy they could not advance

KU KLUX KLAN (KKK) A terrorist organization that formed in 1866 in Tennessee Used violence against the African Americans to stop the spread of Reconstruction and the 13,14 and 15 th Amendments African Americans who were assigned to Constitutional Conventions were attacked and often times murdered. It hurt the Republican Party in the south and put a fear of involvements in African Americans