1. Essential Question:
What were the success & failures of federal attempts to reconstruct the Union after the Civil War ( )?
Warm-Up Question:
Which reconstruction plan was better: Presidential Plan or Congressional (“Radical Republican”) Plan? Explain

2. Reconstruction ( )
During the era of Reconstruction after the Civil War, the federal government attempted to:
Bring the Southern states back into the Union
Offer protections & rights to newly emancipated slaves
Rebuild the nation & improve the economy after 4 years of fighting

3. The Successes of Reconstruction
Based upon the image below, what was the major success of Reconstruction?

4. Successes of Reconstruction
Through Reconstruction, the national gov’t achieved Lincoln’s original goal: “Preserve the Union”
By 1870, all 11 Confederate states had been re-admitted into the United States
The states’ rights & nullification arguments came to an end

5. America at the Start of the Civil War (1861)
America at the End of Reconstruction (1877)
America at the Start of the Civil War (1861)

6. Successes of Reconstruction
Reconstruction led to the end of slavery & protections for all citizens, including African-Americans:
13th Amendment ended slavery
14th Amendment guaranteed all citizens, regardless of race, equal protection under the law
15th Amendment gave voting rights to African-American men

7. Successes of Reconstruction
Reconstruction was the “golden age” of voting for African-Americans:
With the right to vote, military districts, & federal troops in the South to protect voters, African-Americans were empowered
The first black politicians were elected to state & national offices
Republicans took control of state governments in the South

8. The First African-American Congressmen

9. Successes of Reconstruction
Reconstruction stressed education:
Before the Civil War, it was illegal to teach slaves to read & write
The Freedman’s Bureau created schools for African-Americans
The end of slavery allowed black families to be reunited, marriages to be legally recognized, & black workers to make their own money

10. Successes of Reconstruction
Reconstruction brought economic changes to the South:
The federal gov’t built railroads, roads, hospitals to repair the South
The Civil War lowered the demand for cotton which led to a more diverse Southern economy
Many textile mills were created in the South using paid workers

11. The Failures of Reconstruction
Based upon the image below, what were the major failures of Reconstruction?
“Of course he wants to vote for the Democratic ticket”

12. Failures of Reconstruction
The Civil War ended slavery, but African-Americans had little job training or money for farm land
The federal gov’t proposed seizing plantations, dividing land, & offering slave families “40 acres & a mule”
But the gov’t never enacted this plan (can’t take citizens’ property)
With few options, most ex-slaves returned to the plantation to work

13. Failures of Reconstruction
After the Civil War, slavery was replaced by sharecropping:
White land owners would “rent” parcels of their fields to blacks in exchange for ½ to ¼ of the cotton that they produced
But, former slaves had no money for tools or seeds so they gained loans from the land owner in exchange for more of their cotton (crop lien system)
Sharecropping is also known as “tenant farming”

15. Sharecropping
By the end of 1865, most freedmen had returned to work on the same plantations on which they were previously enslaved

16. Sharecropping family in 1937
Sharecropping remained in place from the 1860s to the 1940s when the Great Depression & World War 2 brought an end to the system
Sharecropping family in 1937

17. Failures of Reconstruction
Southern whites resisted attempts at reconstruction by:
Passing discriminatory laws called black codes
Using violence & intimidation to keep blacks inferior to whites
The inability of the federal gov’t to sustain Reconstruction
Supporting the return of the Democratic Party to state gov’ts

18. Failures of Reconstruction
In some cases, black men would be forced into slavery as punishment for a crime or for not paying back debts
…Passing discriminatory laws called black codes:
These laws restricted African-Americans from serving on juries, testifying against whites in court, marrying whites, or owning land
Black codes kept blacks from being able to have true freedom

19. Failures of Reconstruction
…Using violence & intimidation to keep blacks inferior to whites:
Groups like the Ku Klux Klan attacked blacks who tried to vote or spoke out against black codes; carpetbaggers, & scalawags (whites who voted Republican)
Lynching became common

20. The “Invisible Empire” of the South

21. The Failure of Federal Enforcement

22. Failures of Reconstruction
Credit Mobilier, Whiskey Ring, & Indian Ring scandals
…The inability of the federal gov’t to sustain Reconstruction
Corruption scandals during Grant’s presidency & economic recession in 1873 distracted northerners from Reconstruction
The Supreme Court ruled against civil rights laws designed to protect African-Americans

23. Failures of Reconstruction
…Supporting the return of the Democratic Party to state gov’ts:
The KKK & black codes became successful in limiting black voting
Federal troops & military districts had difficulty protecting blacks
One-by-one, Southern state gov’ts shifted from Republican control to the Democratic Party
These “Redeemer Democrats” hoped to restore the “Old South”

24. The Rise of “Redeemer Democrats” in the South
By 1876, only SC, FL, & LA were controlled by Republicans

25. In 1877, Reconstruction ended:
The Democratic Party returned to power in all 11 Southern states
The only thing protecting blacks were federal troops; but by 1875, Grant had stopped sending reinforcements

26. The “Compromise of 1877”:
In the 1876 election, neither Democrat Tilden nor Republican Hayes won a majority of electoral vote
Democrats in Congress agreed to vote for Hayes if the remaining federal troops were withdrawn from the South

27. 1876 Presidential Election
President Hayes removed federal troops & ended military zones
Reconstruction officially ended in 1877

28. Jim Crow Era (1877 to 1954)
With Reconstruction over, the Jim Crow era began ( )
Jim Crow laws, such as literacy tests (reading requirements) & poll taxes (fees to vote) kept African-Americans from voting
Grandfather clauses allowed poor whites to avoid these laws & vote
In Plessy v Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court said segregation was OK (“separate but equal”)

29. “Jim Crow” South from 1877 to 1954

30. Other Things Happening….
1862 – Pacific Railway Acts – a series of acts that promoted the construction of a transcontinental railroad in the US through funding of government bonds and land grants.
Morrill Land Grant Acts – provided funding for public universities that were meant to provide a focus on agriculture and applied sciences (like engineering)

31. Other Things Happening…
1862 – Homestead Act - an area of public land in the West granted to any US citizen, but had specific requirements:
21 years old or head of household
Had to live on the land for 5 years
Make improvements to the land
Must have never taken up arms against the US (including freed slaves)
Exodusters – Former slaves that moved West in 1879; first migration of blacks after the Civil War.