1. Reconstructing the Nation, 1863-1877

2. The Term “Reconstruction”
The period immediately following the US Civil War
North set the terms of readmission of the Southern States
The South had to change it’s political, legal, & economic systems

3. The Process began in 1863 President Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln’s 10% plan
Lenient
An attempt to weaken the South
Radical Republicans don’t like his plan
The Wade Davis Bill – much harsher
Lincoln “pocket veto”
Lincoln and Congress deadlocked

4. Lincoln Assassinated
14 April 1865
Ford’s Theater
John Wilkes Booth

5. Andrew Johnson, 1865-1869 A Southern Democrat Tennessee
Seemed like he could work with Congress
Congress wants to remake southern society
Remove the old aristocrats from power
Johnson: a man of humble birth – poor
Resents the southern aristocracy

6. Andrew Johnson was a weak man
He craved acceptance from the southern aristocracy
Stubborn
Drank too much
Racist – white supremacist

7. Andrew Johnson’s political ideas
States rights
Federal government has limited power
States have all powers not listed in the Constitution
Strict Construction
Constitution is limited
Nothing is “implied”

8. Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction
May, 1865 – very lenient Minimal requirements for readmission Former Confederate states comply

9. Southerners took advantage of Johnson’s leniency
Refused to say they were wrong to leave
Some refuse to ratify the 13th Amendment
Mississippi created a militia
Johnson issued 13,500 pardons
Former Confederate politicians and soldiers were elected to high office
The South was being run by same people who ran the Confederacy

10. Johnson did NOTHING for the former slaves
Freedmen did NOT get . . .
the vote – suffrage
civil rights
schools
economic protection
Freedmen subjected to violent attacks

11. The Black Codes ( )
A new set of laws designed to ❶ Control black labor by reestablishing plantation discipline ❷ Limit the freedom of African Americas. These laws applied only to black people

12. No equal justice for the former slaves
Southern courts routinely . . .
☹ disallowed black testimony against whites
☹ acquitted whites charged with violence against blacks.
Southerners don’t guarantee freedmen basic civil rights:
✍ the right to choose their own employment,
✍ the right to assemble and hold meetings,
✍ the right to petition the government,
✍ the right to move from place to place.
Whites reestablish slavery without calling it slavery

13. Radical Republicans want to help former slaves
Pursue their own economic self-interest
“Free Labor”
To compete fairly in the labor market
Choose their employment
Climb the economic ladder

14. New Session of Congress begins
Republicans reverse Johnson’s policies
Representative Thaddeus Stevens
Senator Charles Sumner
The Freedmen’s Bureau Bill
-- February 1866
The Civil Rights Act
– March 1866

15. Helping African Americans
The Freedmen’s Bureau Bill
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
Extends the life of war- time social welfare agency
Help black adjust to freedom
Provide help for former laves
First definition of national citizenship ALL persons are entitled to equal protection under the law

16. Johnson vetoes both bills
Because he’s a stubborn racist
Because of his states rights philosophy
Congress overrides both vetoes
Begins a big fight
President Johnson
Republican-controlled Congress

17. Republicans win the battle . . . .
Johnson is impeached by the House of Representatives
February 24, 1868
Violating the Tenure of Office Act
Senate does not convict/remove him

18. 13th Amendment (1865) Was Emancipation Proclamation “temporary” ?
13th stops states from reinstating slavery
13th means slavery is dead forever.

19. The 14th Amendment (1868)
Defined citizenship – birthright citizenship
Made American-born blacks citizens
Placed civil rights under federal protection
National guarantee of equality before the law
The most significant political act of the Reconstruction period

20. The 15th Amendment (1870) Black suffrage
Guarantee blacks fundamental rights
An act of principle
An act of political expedience
Blacks would vote Republican
An alternative to permanent military occupation