Reconstruction The Second Civil War

After Union Won…Three main questions remained Who will now rule The South? Who will rule the Union? What will the status of freed blacks, known as freedman be after the war?

Andrew Johnson, takes over for Lincoln after assassination Johnson’s plan was lenient and minimal All Rebels were pardoned, but wealthy planters were not automatic, had to apply. Rebel states had to form new governments No federal interference in the formation of new government

Who was Andrew Johnson? Identified with poor whites Not a real friend/supporter of African- Americans Wanted to unite poor whites in North and South Originally hostile to wealthy planters, but eventually pardoned and supported them. Role for blacks?: landless and rightless plantation workers…should not compete with poor whites

The Radical Republicans Led by Thaddeus Stevens Were fierce abolitionists in Congress advocating full citizenship and rights for freedmen. Saw Reconstruction as longer and more difficult for southern states re- entry to Union Had a vision of a new and re-invented South

Freedman’s Bureau In charge of helping blacks Mediated between former owners and freed blacks Resented by many whites as “Yankee agitators” telling them how to live

40 Acres and a Mule turns into “Sharecropping” Whites and Johnson wanted blacks back in the fields and subordinate to whites Cotton economy demands cheap and plentiful labor Blacks resisted but were kept subordinate by Black Codes, which stripped blacks of independence and power

What did Blacks want? Independence from white control Land to achieve independence Opportunities outside the fields Voting and Citizenship rights Education

White Reaction Blacks need to be “put back in their place”…make clear who the boss is Whites re-claimed land that had been given to them early in reconstruction Violence…in blacks were murdered in Louisiana alone, thousands throughout the South Black Codes…slavery without chains Ku Klux Klan-vigilante justice

More White Reaction Plessy V. Ferguson Literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation to keep blacks from exercising their new-found votes “Jim Crow” laws legally separating races on buses, public facilities, restaurants, rest rooms, drinking fountains, even separate bibles in courtrooms for blacks and whites

Why did Reconstruction come to an end in 1877? Newly elected blacks accused of corruption, with some good reasons The Lost Cause-romanticizing the war: historical revisionism including a sense that the South’s struggle was noble, Christian, involved loyalty, and leadership…even the North bought into this vision

The End…More Reasons for the ultimate end to Reconstruction… Rapid loss of control of State Legislatures by the Republicans, lead to waning support for Reconstruction. Economic depression of 1873 led to insensitivity to black concerns Fear of Racial mixing, north and south 1877 Election back-room deal: Republicans can have President if Grant promises to end Reconstruction

Legacy of Reconstruction…the negatives Slaves become sharecroppers…slavery without chains…return to subservience and powerlessness Rise of White Supremacist Groups like the Klan…vigilante violence Jim Crowing of South… Disenfranchisement of Blacks until 1965

Some Positives of Reconstruction 13 th, 14 th,15 th amendments re-define citizenship and voting rights for all Americans including blacks Gave hope to blacks for more inclusion later Set the stage for both the legal and moral issues of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s

Perspective on Reconstruction It was easier to change the laws than to change racial attitudes Full equality for blacks may have been asking too much given the South’s attitudes and history North was less racially tolerant or supportive of blacks than we think Political battles, depression, economic interests took precedence over the idea of re-inventing the South.