1. Reconstruction & Transition
MS Studies Ch. 6
Reconstruction & Transition

2. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

3. After The War MS went from very wealthy to ruins
Cities, roads, bridges, towns, buildings, all were destroyed
1/3 of white males were killed or injured during the war
400,000 freedmen (former slaves) now existed
Homeless, uneducated, jobless
MS social order was gone
Blacks Free
Whites had hard time accepting them as equal
Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

4. Freed Slaves
Freedmen’s Bureau – created to help slaves find food, shelter, work, & assimilate to freedom.
Rumors stated that every black male would receive 40 acres of land and a mule. This never happens.
Most land confiscated during the war was returned to the owners.
Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

5. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

6. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

7. Presidential Reconstruction
Lincoln’s Plan for Reconstruction
All Southerners, except high ranking Conf. officials, would be pardoned after signing oath of loyalty
10% of people signed oath, they could create a state gov. and be readmitted.
Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction
Same as Lincoln’s except high ranking military & Conf. officials and those owning more than $20,000 worth of property were not pardoned.
Congress wanted tougher requirements & pressured Johnson to add the following.
States must repeal Secession Ordinances
Void their War Debt
Ratify 13th Amendment
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8. Lincoln & Johnson
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9. Constitutional Conv. 1865
William L. Sharkey named temp. Governor by Pres. Johnson
MS was first to hold Conv. & everyone was watching
300 men met on Aug. 14, Most were pre-war leaders
They created a government just like the one before the war.
Blacks were not given voting rights
Most white Mississippians agreed with this Convention.
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10. William Sharkey
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11. Herschel Johnson led the state constitutional convention in 1865
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12. MS’s Post War Government
Benjamin Humphreys elected Governor (Conf. General)
Most elected officials had served in the Confederate Government & refused to grant blacks rights
Legislature passed the Black Codes to control blacks
Black marriages legal, blacks could sue in court.
Interracial marriage illegal, blacks can’t testify against whites
Blacks could rent or lease land in cities or towns
Blacks had to have employment contracts and were arrested if they broke the contract.
Blacks could not carry firearms or weapons, and could not assemble w/o permission
Jailed blacks could be rented out to anyone that paid their jail fine.
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13. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

14. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

15. Benjamin Humphreys
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16. U.S. Congress
U.S. Congress refused to seat MS Representatives & passed the 14th Amendment.
14th Amendment guaranteed all people their rights “white or black”
March 2, 1867 Congress passed the Reconstruction Act.
South divided into 5 Military districts and readmission to the Union was much stricter.
MS was in the 4th district and Major Gen. Edward O. Ord became military governor in MS.
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17. 14th Amendment
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18. Reconstruction Map
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19. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

20. MS During Reconstruction
All eligible males registered to vote regardless of race
MS Politics included
Democrats – White southerners that didn’t support black rights
Republicans – Whites and blacks that supported black rights.
Scalawags – Southerners that supported the Republican Party
Carpetbaggers – northern whites that were Republicans and moved to MS.
The Republican Party used their majority of votes (black & white) to call for a new state constitutional convention
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21. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

22. Carpetbagger
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23. Constitution of 1868
100 delegates. 17 black, 29 scalawags, 25 carpetbaggers, 17 Democrats
They created the states 3rd & most democratic constitution.
Universal Male Suffrage granted
Free Public Education Ages 6-18
No discrimination in public transportation
Property qualification for voting or holding office eliminated.
Property rights granted to women
Disfranchises all person who supported secession and helped Confederacy
Whites had to sign oath stating “all men are created equal”
This constitution failed to ratify due to the disenfranchising clause & equality oath. These were eliminated by Pres. Ulysses S. Grant in 1869 & the Constitution was ratified.
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24. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

25. President Ulysses S. Grant
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26. Primary School in Vicksburg
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27. Freedmen school
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28. Republican Rule Republicans ruled MS
1869 James Alcorn elected governor.
Republicans had majority in legislature
State ratified 14th & 15th amendments & was readmitted to the Union Feb. 23, 1870.
Hiram Revels (black) filled Jefferson Davis’ unexpired Senate term & Adelbert Ames was elected to the other.
Revels is the first black in the U.S. Senate
Ames defeated Alcorn for governor in 1873
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29. James Alcorn
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30. Aldelbert Ames replaced James Alcorn as governor in 1873
Aldelbert Ames replaced James Alcorn as governor in He was Union General in Civil War.
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31. Hiram Revels
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32. Adelbert Ames
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33. Black Political Power
Blacks served as early as 1868 in political roles
1868 Benjamin Montgomery became justice of the peace. Believed to be first black to hold public office in MS
Many blacks served in the MS House and Senate.
A.K. Davis elected Lt. Governor in 1873
John Lynch served as MS’s only black member in the U.S. House of Reps.
Blanche K. Bruce of MS was the first black elected to the U.S. Senate and the first to serve a full term.
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34. John R. Lynch
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35. Blanche K. Bruce
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36. 1st African Americans in Congress
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37. Education Const. of 1868 created free public schools (tax based)
State supported them with funding and elected a state superintendent who appointed county superintendents.
The following was created
University of MS expanded 1871
Alcorn State College (black only) 1877
MS A & M (later MS State)
MS University for Women 1884
Jackson State 1877
Millsaps College 1892
Mississippi College 1892
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38. University of MS
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39. Alcorn College
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40. MS University for Women
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41. Millsaps College
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42. Mississippi College
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43. End of Republican Rule
From the beginning of Reconstruction, white Democrats were trying to regain political power in MS
Those that wanted to return control of the state to the Democrats were called Redeemers
The election of 1875 was the turning point
White Republicans were threatened with violence and becoming a social outcast if they didn’t become Democrat
Blacks were driven from voting poles with violence, or forced to vote Democrat by their employers.
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was the terror group used to intimidate voters.
Democrats won 4 of 6 Congressional seats, and claimed the majority in the State Congress
Republican Senators were later replaced by Democrats
Republican Governor Adelbert Ames was threatened w/ impeachment and resigned.
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44. Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
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45. Ku Klux Klan (KKK)
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46. KKK March on Washington D.C.
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47. Presidential Election of 1876
Dem. Candidate Samuel Tilden & Repub. Candidate Rutherford B. Hayes
No candidate won a majority. Some electoral votes were contested.
Commission was formed to pick a winner.
Southern Democrats used a filibuster (continuous speechmaking to delay action) to slow the commission.
Democrats agreed to stop the filibuster and support Hayes, if Hayes promised to withdraw troops from the South
Hayes won the election & military occupation ended
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48. Rutherford Hayes & Samuel Tilden
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49. Chapter 6 (Reconstruction)

50. Constitution of 1890 MS called Constitutional convention in 1890
MS reapportioned (redrew district lines) to give white majorities power over black populated areas
Met in Jackson in Aug. 1890
One black (Isaiah Montgomery) attended
Constitution said
Voters had to
Register at least 4 months before election
Live in the state for 2 years before voting
Pay a $2 poll tax
Pass Literacy Test. Had to read any section of the state constitution or “understand it when read to them”. This was the understanding clause
Black voters dropped from 142,000 to 8,615
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51. Isaiah Montgomery
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