1. Reconstruction: The Nation Reunited

2. Reconstruction
After the Civil War, the South was economically and physically in ruins
The North’s program to help rebuild the South was called Reconstruction

3. Amending the Constitution
Amendments are changes to the Constitution. To amend the Constitution the change:
-Must be proposed by two-thirds of the House and Senate
-Must be ratified, or accepted, by three-fourths of the states
The writers made it difficult to amend the Constitution on purpose so that the change must be wanted by many people

4. Civil War/Reconstruction Amendments (Changes to the Constitution)
13th Amendment: Made slavery in the U.S. illegal, freed the slaves

5. 14th Amendment
Declared that states could not limit the rights of citizens: gave citizenship to former slaves. Southern states had to ratify the 14th Amendment to rejoin the Union
Stated that states can not deny the right to “due process”, meaning that a person can not be deprived of life, liberty, or property without proper legal procedures
Due process is protected under the 5th and 14th Amendments

6. 15th Amendment
Granted suffrage, or the right to vote, to males, including former slaves
This allowed African Americans the opportunity to become involved in politics

7. Voting Rights
Voting Rights were further protected by the Constitution by other amendments:
19th: Granted suffrage to women
23rd: Gave the District of Columbia the right to vote in Presidential elections
24th: Outlawed the use of poll taxes
26th: Set the national voting age at 18

8. Freedman’s Bureau
During Reconstruction, Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau
The Freedman’s Bureau provided :
- food and clothing
- medical care
- schools
to poor black and white people in the South

9. Problems with Reconstruction
Sharecropping:
-Landowners let former slaves use their land to grow crops in return for a share of the crops (as payment)
-Landowners loaned sharecroppers tools and seeds, and sold them food and clothing at very high prices to keep the sharecropper in debt
-Sharecropping replaced slavery in the South

10. Sharecroppers rarely made enough money to pay off their debts and were forced to work year after year trying to repay the debt to the landowner

11. Jim Crow Laws
Southern States began to pass laws that segregated African Americans. These laws were called “Jim Crow” laws
Schools, hospitals, playgrounds, stadiums, and most public places, were segregated using Jim Crow laws

12. The Economics of Reconstruction
During Reconstruction, sharecroppers sold their labor to the landowners. The system however made it almost impossible for the sharecropper to pay off his debts
Sharecroppers also grew a certain amount of crops for their own personal use

13. The Economics of Reconstruction
Most of the railroads and factories in the South were destroyed during the Civil War. Southerners had to purchase many goods that they used to make prior to the war, including food
Southern farms also faced a labor shortage due to many young men being killed during the war

14. Questions???? What was Reconstruction and why was it needed?
What were the three Civil War/Reconstruction Amendments and what did they do?
Who created the Freedman’s Bureau and what was it’s purpose during Reconstruction?
What was sharecropping and why was it similar to slavery?
What is segregation?
What was the purpose of Jim Crow laws in the South?