1. The Trials of Rebuilding a Nation 1865-1877
Reconstruction
The Trials of Rebuilding a Nation

3. ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
The Conspirators
April 14, 1865
Ford’s Theater in Washington D.C.
Shot in the back of the head by a pro-Southern actor named John Wilkes Booth
Lincoln’s VP Andrew Johnson becomes the President (he was a Democrat from Tenn)
Powell Harold Atzerodt O’Laughlin
Booth
J. Surratt M. Surratt Spangler Arnold

4. Reconstruction Policies
Presidential Reconstruction
Congressional Reconstruction
Lincoln’s 10 Percent Plan
10% of voters in the South had to take an oath of allegiance to the U.S.
States had to abolish slavery and have it in their constitution
Former Confederates would be pardoned
Carried out by Andrew Johnson after Lincoln’s assassination
Carried out by the Radical Republicans in Congress
Was against the President’s Reconstruction plan
Wanted the South punished for the Civil War

5. President Andrew Johnson (#17)
Became president after Lincoln died (he was his VP)
Democrat from Tennessee (former Confederate state)
Impeached by Congress under the direction of the Radical Republicans and was not removed (missed it by 2 votes)

6. Bureaus of Refugees, Freedmen, and Land
Bureau of Refugees: help those displaced by the Civil War
Freedmen’s Bureau: created to support the newly freed slaves with education and housing; led to the beginnings of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)
Land: Land was redistributed and offered to freedmen and poor whites- “40 Acres and a Mule”

7. Civil War Amendments
Near the end and after the Civil War a series of amendments to the Constitution were passed dealing with former slaves
13th Amendment- abolished slavery
14th Amendment- granted citizenship and due process to all people born in the United States regardless of race
15th Amendment- gave all African American men the right to vote
Of course, the South found a way to disfranchise black voters (keeping them from voting)

8. The Conditions of Freedmen
Sharecropping
Black Codes
Most freedmen fell back into field labor due to lack of education and other experiences
Sharecropping meant having a very low salary and was a just a step up from slavery
Black codes- “laws” that sought to limit the rights of African Americans
Black codes:
Limited choice of occupation
Prevented from owning land
Arrested for not having a job
Curfews
No interracial marriages

9. Ku Klux Klan
Started in 1865 in Tenn as a fraternity for Confederate veterans
Eventually came to resist the new freedoms and rights of African Americans
Used terror tactics to incite fear
There was resistance to the KKK waged by freed slaves and former Union soldiers

10. South Divided into Military Districts
As part of the Congressional Reconstruction, Southern states were divided into military districts as a way to enforce the reconstruction policies and to protect the freedmen.

11. Election of 1868
Ulysses S. Grant (former Union general) is elected as President of the United States.

12. Election of 1876
Tilden Hayes
Democrat Samuel Tilden won the popular vote over Republican Ruther B. Hayes
Republicans claimed that there was voter fraud 3 Southern states that Tilden won.
When the votes were recounted in these states, Hayes ended up the “winner” in all 3 states.

13. Election of 1876

14. Compromise of 1877
In order to avoid conflict over the Election of 1876, Northern Republicans and Southern Democrats came to an agreement known as the Compromise of 1877.
Republican Hayes would be “given” the Presidency by 1 electoral vote
In return, all remaining federal troops were removed from the Southern states, effectively ENDING RECONSTRUCTION!