1. Warm-up: Answer in brief paragraph: What was life like for the newly freed African Americans?

2. Reconstruction Politics

3. Three branches of government Legislative, Executive, Judicial Each branch has appointed responsibilities or powers for running the country smoothly The separation of powers was created to keep any one branch from gaining too much power Separation of Powers

5. Presidential Reconstruction Lincoln and Johnson both wanted basically the same thing: o None of which included rights for African Americans other than freedom o Show kindness and charity to Confederate states and get the Union moving forward o Wanted Southern states to ratify the 13 th Amendment to abolish slavery

6. Congressional Reconstruction Wanted African Americans to have rights Northern voters sympathized with the Radicals Radical Republicans believed Presidential Reconstruction was a threat to Congressional authority o Johnson vetoed 29 bills passed by Congress o Congress overrode 15 of his vetoes

7. Advancing Democracy Ideals & Institutions 13 th, 14 th and 15 th Amendments part of program to ensure civil rights for African Americans Freedom, Citizenship and Voting for African Americans advance American ideals of democracy Women also fought for voting rights during Reconstruction but were still unsuccessful.

8. Political Parties Lincoln was a Republican and Johnson was a Democrat, but chosen as running mate (vice-president) because he was a Union sympathizer Johnson favored a government controlled by white citizens and was very prejudice against African Americans o Often refused to compromise o Did not believe in civil rights for African Americans

9. Political Parties in Congress Most Republicans in Congress were moderates o Wanted to restore Southern states to the Union o Keep former Confederates out of government o Give southern African Americans some civil equalities but not the vote (which many Northerners agreed with) Race riots in Memphis and New Orleans pulled congressional republicans together 1866 elections saw many Northerners voting in “radical” republicans Knew strong enforcement was required to make Reconstruction a success and knew Johnson would not cooperate

10. Tenure of Office Act Congress passed act to protect Reconstruction policies and Republican office holders Required Senate approval of a replacement before the President could remove an appointed official Johnson believed it unconstitutional and put it to the test by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (an ally of Radicals) from office House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson because he violated the act, making “scandalous” speeches and bringing Congress “into disgrace”

11. Impeachment To impeach a President, House of Reps bring charges and Senate hold hearings Congress brought 11 charges against Johnson, none with any substance Real Congressional grievances against Johnson: o 1) Johnson was unfair o 2) Johnson governed poorly o 3) Johnson tried to halt Congress’s plan for Reconstruction Trial lasted 8 weeks and Johnson was acquitted in the Senate by 1 vote short of 2/3 majority needed to convict and remove from office

12. Southern Reconstruction Governments Carpetbaggers-Northern Republicans (white and African American) moved to the South to participate in state conventions Scalawags-southern whites who supported the Union cause Reconstruction supporters in the South formed a Republican alliance-a party of progress and civilization o Used political leverage to draft new state constitutions Southern governments tried to improve economic conditions by building railroads and businesses

13. Political Parties in Reconstructed South Republican party became strong in the South because millions of Southern African American men began voting for the first time thanks to the 14 th Amendment Southern Democrats appealed to the small farmers because they pointed out that higher taxes were going to have to be paid to re/build roads and schools

14. Re-admittance to the Union Once Congress approved the new state constitutions, state legislators o Raised taxes to finance new roads, bridges and railroads---rebuild infrastructure o Giving all men the right to vote found many African Americans voting for the first time and holding government office positions for the first time

15. Election of 1868 Radical Republicans nominated Ulysses S. Grant for president o Lacked political experience but was a war hero Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour with running mate Francis Preston Blair who pursued a campaign strategy based on white supremacy o Diminishing democratic win Southern Democrats relied on economic threats to keep African Americans from voting Close race but Grant won because of African Americans voting