During & After the Civil War we had to determine: 1.How to integrate 4 million newly freed African Americans into national life 2.The process on how to re-admit the defeated Confederate states to the U.S.

Lincoln’s Policies: The 10% Plan  Lincoln had never been anti- southern and he planned early for a swift and moderate Reconstruction process.  In his words, Lincoln promised “malice toward none; with charity for all.”  In his “proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction” issued in 1863, Lincoln proposed the following:

Lincoln’s Policies: The 10% Plan  Full presidential pardons would be granted to most southerners who (1) took an oath of allegiance to the Union and the U.S. Constitution; and (2) accepted the emancipation of slaves.  A state government could be reestablished and accepted as legitimate by the U.S. president as soon as at least 10 percent of the voters in that state took the loyalty oath.  What this meant in practice: Each southern state would be required to rewrite its state constitution to eliminate the existence of slavery.

Lincoln’s Policies: the 13 th Amendment & the Freedmen’s Bureau, 1865  January 31 st : the 13 th Amendment abolished involuntary servitude everywhere in the US, and Declared Congress shall have power to enforce the law through “appropriate legislation.”  March: Freedmen’s Bureau kind of early welfare agency. food shelter, and medical aid for those made destitute by the war Applied to both blacks (mainly freed slaves) and homeless whites. authority to resettle freed blacks on confiscated farmlands in the South. Frustrated by President Johnson; pardoned Confederate owners of confiscated lands; courts gave land to original owners

The Meanings of Freedom  Black southerners entered into life after slavery with hope and circumspection. Moving from place to place just to exercise the human right of mobility Searched for family members who had been previously sold. Husbands and wives who belonged to different masters established homes together Parents asserted their right to raise their own children. Many took measures to minimize contact with whites.

African Americans’ Search for Independence and Land  Abandoned slave quarters and moved to distant corners of the land they worked.  Established small all-black settlements.  The secret churches of slavery came into the open. Mostly Methodist and Baptist denominations  Left employers they felt were “bad” in search of “good” work.  Wanted to be self-sufficient farmers and settle the land given to them by General Sherman and improve it.  But...how much of a chance would whites give to blacks?

Thomas Nast’s Political Cartoons  How did Northern attitudes towards freed African Americans change during Reconstruction?  Cartoon #1 Published in 1865, end of the war Describe the African American man in this cartoon. Why is he on crutches? What is Columbia (white woman) asking for? What is the message of this cartoon? Based on the cartoon, would you say Thomas Nast supported or opposed equal rights for freedmen?

Thomas Nast’s Political Cartoons  How did Northern attitudes towards freed African Americans change during Reconstruction?  Cartoon #2 Published in 1874, well into Reconstruction, after Freedmen’s Bureau lost funding and shut down Describe the African Americans in this cartoon. Positive or Negative image? What is Columbia trying to do? What is the message of this cartoon?

What is Sharecropping? Textbook Version  Without their own land, freed African Americans, as well as poor white farmers, could not grow crops to sell or to use to feed their families. Therefore, economic necessity forced many former slaves and impoverished whites to become sharecroppers. In the system of sharecropping, landowners divided their land and assigned each head of household a few acres, along with seed and tools. Sharecroppers kept a small share of their crops and gave the rest to the landowners. In theory, “croppers” who saved a little might even rent land for cash and keep all their harvest in a system known as tenant farming.

Complicate your thinking!  The “Cropper” Contract  In pairs, read the contract and answer the guiding questions.  Findings?  Discussion: Did the textbook give an accurate portrayal of life under sharecropping? How did the contract expand or challenge the description in the textbook?

Rise of the Sharecropping System  Sharecropping proved to be a disaster: Owners and merchants developed a monopoly of control over the agricultural economy Sharecroppers found themselves riveted into ever-increasing debt.  In a sense, sharecropping had evolved into a new form of servitude.