1. Reconstruction Ms. Garvin US History 1 Chapter 12

2. Civil War is Over!! Reconstruction: the period of time when the nation needed to come together to rebuild and move on.

3. Freedmen’s Bureau Freedmen’s Bureau created March 1865 to handle the needs of enslaved people who were freed by war as well as other war refugees. Handled any disputes between whites and blacks.

5. Education Set up schools to teach freedmen to read and write. African communities pooled all the resources they had to set up schools. Teachers were mostly northern women; African American and white. Before war the public education system in the South was almost non-existent for both black and white. Now schools popped up to educate both black and white.

6. Lincoln Assassinated Vice President Andrew Johnson takes over. Southern Democrat who bitterly hated the Confederates.

7. Thirteenth Amendment January 1865 Abolished slavery and forced labor throughout the nation.

8. Johnson’s Plan Issued broad amnesty to most former Confederates. Allowed southern states to organize new governments and elect representatives to Congress. Each state was required to abolish slavery and ratify the Thirteenth Amendment. By late fall of 1865, most states met these requirements. Congress met in December 1865 and many Confederate leaders showed as Southern representatives. AWKWARD!!!!!!

9. Drama, Drama, Drama Congress (Union reps) rejected Johnson’s plan. They refused to allow the Southern reps sit in Congress. Then appointed a committee to form a new plan.

10. Black Codes Committee discussed black codes: new laws used by southern states to control African Americans. MS: African Americans could not vote or serve on juries. Not slaves but still treated as second class citizens. Radical Republicans were livid! Two goals: Prevent former Confederates from regaining control over southern politics. Protect the freedmen and guarantee them a right to vote.

11. The Fourteenth Amendment To protect African Americans in the South Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866: Granted citizenship rights to African Americans and guaranteed the civil rights of all people except Native Americans. President Johnson vetoed. Also vetoed bill extending Freedman’s Bureau. Congress voted to overturn the vetoes. Both became law.

12. The Fourteenth Amendment Fourteenth Amendment did not pass until 1868 when Radical Republicans were in control. All people born or naturalized in the United States are citizens. Nor can a state “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person…..the equal protection of the laws.” Any state that denies the vote to any male citizen over the age of 21 will have representation in Congress reduced. Not enforced until 1970s. Became powerful tool for Civil Rights.

13. Radical Reconstruction Election of 1866 once again brings chaos to the South. By 1867 Radical Republicans are in control so Reconstruction takes a more radical turn. Reconstruction Act of 1867: Removed governments of all the southern states that had refused to ratify the Fourteenth Amendments. Imposed military rule on these states, dividing them into five military districts. Each state could enter the Union only after writing a new constitution, ratifying the Fourteenth Amendment, and let African Americans vote.

15. Radical Reconstruction Continued Radically changed the South. In 5 states African Americans outnumbered white voters. Republicans gained control of south and soon 7 “reconstructed” states entered the Union. African Americans for the first time played a role in politics in the South. Elected as sheriffs, mayors, judges, and legislators. 1872-1901: 16 African Americans served in the US House of Representatives. Hiram Revels and Blanche Bruce served in the Senate. Republican Party built its strength from: Scalawags: Southern whites who opposed secession. Freedmen Carpetbaggers: Northern whites who went south to start businesses or pursue politics.

16. Impeachment for Johnson For his constant challenges against his policies President Johnson was not well likes by Radical Republicans. Tried to remove him from office by impeaching him. House voted to impeach him in February 1868: Senate was one vote shy of impeachment.

17. Election of 1868 Ulysses S Grant ran for Republicans. 500,000 African Americans voted. Won by a large margin but much more moderate than Radical Republicans.

18. Fifteenth Amendment Passed by Congress in 1869 Barred all states from denying African American males the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” Did not prevent states from requiring voters to own property or pay a voting tax.

19. The Ku Klux Klan Secret society formed to terrorize African Americans and their white allies. Start with threats: Yell things at your home, burn crosses on your front lawn, threaten to kill you. If that did not stop you from voting or trying to gain some other power they would whip, torture, shoot, or hang you, your family, or your white friends! African Americans and white Republicans were main target. KKK Acts of 1870 and 1871 barred the use of force against voters.

21. Reconstruction’s Conclusion 1870 people start to forget the Civil War. Grant’s in office and surrounded by scandal and corruption. He himself was never the source of corruption but he put friends in positions of power who were corrupt. People blamed him. Still won reelection in 1872. Many In North and South wanted troops removed from South and full amnesty for former Confederates. Slowly but surely Republicans lost power, and rights of African Americans were taken away. KKK and other secret organizations played a large role, by 1877 Democrats controlled much of the South.

22. Election of 1876 Direct cause of the end of Reconstruction. Rutherford B Hayes- OH – Republicans Samuel J. Tilden- NY- Democrats Tilden won popular vote by 250,000 votes. One vote shy of win in Electoral college. Formed a special commission to decided who would election. Commission gave 20 disputed electoral votes to Hayes ultimately giving him the win. BUT, there was an agreement behind this. Hayes said he would end Reconstruction if given the office of President. Took office, removed all federal troops from the South.

24. African Americans Lose Rights With the end of Reconstruction African Americans were out of luck. Southern whites did everything in their power to stop African Americans from voting and gaining any power. From terrorism, to violence, to passing laws stripping them of rights. Some passed laws imposing poll taxes and literacy tests. Barred many from the voting process Grandfather clause was a provision that allowed a voter to avoid a literacy test if his father or grandfather had been eligible to vote on January 1, 1867. Made segregation a legal term. Black laws (aka Jim Crow laws) barred the mixing of races in almost every way. EVERYTHING WAS SEPERATED! BLACKS AND WHITES DID NOT COEXIST IN THE SOUTH! State and local courts in the south consistently upheld these laws.

25. "We regard the Reconstruction Acts (so called) of Congress as usurpations, and unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void." - Democratic Platform