1. The End of the War and Start of Reconstruction

2. Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address
Four months after the Union victory at Gettysburg, Lincoln traveled to Pennsylvania to dedicate the Gettysburg National Cemetery.
He gave a short, three minute speech, which would go down as one of the most famous in United States history.
Lincoln described the Civil War as a struggle to preserve a nation in which all men are created equal
Lincoln believed America was one nation, not a collection of sovereign states.
Southerners believed that states had freely joined the Union and could freely leave.

3. The End of the Civil War
When the Union won the Civil War the big questions were:
What should Southern states have to do to be readmitted to the Union?
What should happen to southerners who participated in the war effort?
What should happen to the newly emancipated slaves?
Robert E. Lee urged Southerners to come peacefully back to the Union

4. Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction
Lincoln’s plan was to quickly
bring the Southern states
back into the Union, provided
that they swore an oath of allegiance to the Union
Lincoln wanted to implement the 10% Plan, which would require 10% of Southern voters to swear allegiance to the Union and for the states to abolish slavery
Most importantly, Lincoln DID NOT want to punish Southerners for the war

5. “Sic semper tyrannis! (Ever thus to tyrants!) The South is avenged!”
Lincoln’s Death
Just a few days after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated as he watched a play by southerner John Wilkes Booth
The assassination had a rippling effect throughout the North as Radical Republicans were outraged, determined now to harshly punish the South.
Congress (controlled now by Republicans) voted that Southern states would not be immediately admitted back into the Union, and would instead be under military occupation
“Sic semper tyrannis! (Ever thus to tyrants!) The South is avenged!”

6. Johnson Alienates Radical Republicans
President Johnson supported votes for Black army veterans in and 1865
By 1866, however, Johnson broke with the moderate Republicans and aligned himself with the Democrats who opposed equality and opposed the Fourteenth Amendment
Radicals attacked Johnson’s policies, especially his 10% Plan and his veto of the Civil Rights Bill for the Freedmen
President Andrew Johnson

7. Plans for Reconstruction
Led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens, the Radical Republicans wanted the Southern states to be punished for their treasonous behavior
They called for harsh punishment of Confederate officers and soldiers and equal rights for Freedmen

8. Radical Republicans Gain Control of Congress
The election of 1866 dramatically changed the balance of power in congress, giving the Radical Republicans enough votes to overcome Johnson's vetoes
Though he avoided (by one vote) the Radical Republican attempt to impeach him Johnson remained almost powerless regarding Reconstruction policy
“Time Works Wonders” by Thomas Nast

9. Radical Reconstruction
Radical Republicans implemented a federal reconstruction plan
They used the Army to combat the effect of black codes and enforce new laws that guaranteed rights to African Americans in Southern states
Federal reconstruction took the vote away from 10,000 to 15,000 white men who had been Confederate officials or soldiers
Radical Republican Leaders

10. Black Codes
White Southerners sought ways to control newly freed African Americans
They wrote Black Codes to regulate civil and legal rights, from marriage to the right to hold and sell property
In many ways the codes guaranteed African Americans would continue working as farm laborers
African American men who were arrested for vagrancy due to unemployment

11. The Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave rights to freed slaves including the rights to make contracts, sue, witness in court, and own private property
President Johnson vetoed the bill saying it would "operate in favor of the colored and against the white race“
Congress overrode the presidential veto in April of 1866
The act declared that all persons born in the U.S. were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude, excluding Indians
Former Slaves and Wounded Union Veterans Celebrating the Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866

12. The 14th Amendment
In order to ensure permanent change the 14th amendment granted citizenship to African Americans
The amendment also guaranteed the right to due process under the law to African Americans

13. The 15th Amendment Granted African American men suffrage in 1870
This did not guarantee African American men would be allowed access to their local polls
Violence against African Americans at polling places was common
Literacy tests, poll taxes and other voter qualification laws became common
The First Black Voters

14. African Americans Vote
Slowly Southern states held elections in which Freedmen voted
These elections usually produced Republican state governments
For the first time African Americans were elected to local, state and federal offices
Hiram Revels, the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate

15. The End of Radical Reconstruction
Federal Reconstruction ended in with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes to the presidency
A few weeks after taking office Hayes issued an order for the removal of all federal soldiers stationed in the South
The end of Reconstruction led to a drastic reduction of rights for African Americans
President Rutherford Hayes