RECONSTRUCTION AMERICA

RECONSTRUCTION: AN INTRODUCTION What is “Reconstruction?” What challenges would exist?

LINCOLN’S PLAN April 8 th, 1865: April 14 th, 1865: That means: The basic idea:

RECONSTRUCTION BEGINS Lincoln’s Plan: The Specifics  10% Plan: Once 10% of a state’s citizens pledged loyalty to the U.S. that state could begin the reconstruction process.  Never believed the South had actually seceded: he believed they were just in rebellion BUT THEN…he is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth and his vice president, Andrew Johnson takes over

JOHNSON TAKES OVER His plan is in existence: April January 1867 Ideas he continues from Lincoln: Wants to go easy on the South Abolition of slavery His own ideas: States would have to pay their own war debt States had to ratify 13 th Amendment (abolishes slavery) Pardon some generals and confederate officials

BUT MANY PROBLEMS IN THE SOUTH REMAIN… Prior to the Civil War  Slavery  Agricultural Economy  Uneven distribution of wealth  Social hierarchy  Wealthy Planters  Landowners  Poor whites  Slaves During Reconstruction  Sharecropping and Tenant Farming  Agricultural Economy  Uneven distribution of wealth  Social hierarchy  Rich whites  Poor whites  Blacks

SHARECROPPING AND TENANT FARMING Sharecropping: was when a former slave signed on to work for a landowner in exchange for part of the crop at harvest time. Then they would always owe more in housing and food then they made off the crop, so the would have to stay and sign another contract because they were in debt. Tenant Farming: a step up from sharecropping because they rent their own parcel of land from the landowner but still they remain in debt Why it was a problem: because it looks just like slavery and the blacks are always tied to the land

RACISM IN THE SOUTH Growth of the KKK- the KKK is started during Reconstruction Main goal: to prevent African Americans from voting Why did they exist at this point? Slavery had always made African Americans beneath whites in society- now that slavery is gone, African Americans are equal in society to poor whites.

RACISM IN THE SOUTH Black Codes: Any law that was only for African Americans Jim Crow Laws: segregation (separation) laws in the south

CONGRESS STEPS IN Congress argues: Johnson failed his job in creating a Reconstruction plan that would change the South Led by: Thaddeus and Charles Sumner, the Republicans in Congress are going to write their own Reconstruction Plan Reconstruction Acts of 1866: Congress takes over Reconstruction with this law- major parts include: making sure the South pay’s for their part of the Civil War- THEY WANT REVENGE ON THE SOUTH Johnson’s Response: vetoes the Reconstruction Acts, but Congress overrides the veto and so this new Reconstruction plan goes into effect

A COMPARISON OF THE PLANS… Presidential Reconstruction Lincoln: 10% Never believed south seceded Johnson: States had to pay own war debt Ratify the 13 Amendment Pardoned some generals Radical Republicans (Congressional) Shared with Lincoln: Not pardon any generals or officials Shared with Johnson: Believed the South seceded OWN IDEAS: Divided the south into 5 military districts Each district was led by a major general Ratify the 14 th Amendment

SUCCESSES OF RECONSTRUCTION Reunification: all the states end up rejoining the United States by the end of Reconstruction Civil Rights Amendments 13 th : abolishes slavery (gets rid of slavery) 14 th : make African Americans citizens 15 th : give African American men the right to vote Public Schools established for all Americans (public school is a free education)

FAILURES OF RECONSTRUCTION Violations in the South of ALL the Civil Rights Amendments 13 th : abolition of slavery Sharecropping and tenant farming 14 th : make African Americans citizens Black codes and Jim Crow laws 15 th : African American men can vote KKK Poll Taxes- pay to be able to vote Literacy tests- prove that you could read and write in order vote Grandfather clauses- said that if your ancestor couldn’t vote by January 1 st 1865, neither could you. PROBLEM: NO African American had been given the right to vote by January 1 st, 1865

FAILURES OF RECONSTRUCTION Poverty in South Division of country by political parties North: Republican South: Democrat-majority of the South 3 groups of Republican voters in the South: Carpetbaggers-Northerners who move South Scalawags- Native born Southerners who are Republican Blacks- make up the largest group of Republicans in the South

JOHNSON AS PRESIDENT Democrat from Tennessee: Congress didn’t trust him Key Vetoes: Civil Rights Act, Reconstruction Acts, and the Freedman’s Bureau (an agency that was set up to help the African Americans after the war) Impeached for: violating the Tenure of Office Act- removed a member of his cabinet with Congress’s approval- only one vote short of removing Johnson from office

PUBLIC OPINION OF JOHNSON…

ULYSSES S. GRANT TAKES OVER… Problems: America is still divided during Reconstruction Uses the spoils system: to appoint his cabinet and other officials- led to a lot of corruption during his presidency. Whiskey Ring- members of Grant’s cabinet accepting bribes to allow companies to not pay the whiskey excise tax Credit Mobilier- members of Grant’s cabinet accepting bribes when credit mobilier was overcharging the U.S. government Biggest success came with the Enforcement Acts: limit the activity of KKK during Grant’s term

THE END OF RECONSTRUCTION Election of 1876: an election between Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) and Samuel Tilden (Democrat)- the results are unclear….Tilden got more votes BUT he didn’t get the amount required by the Constitution to be named president. The decision goes to the House of Representatives Hayes-Tilden Compromise: Democrats in Congress allowed Hayes to be named president as long as Hayes agreed to remove all troops from the South.

FINAL THOUGHTS Which reconstruction plan do you think was the best? Do you think that things would have been different if Lincoln hadn’t of died? What do you think the WORST part about Reconstruction was? What questions do you still have?