The Development of Reconstruction

Policy 8-5.1

A View of Charleston after the Civil War, 1865

http://www.ducksters.com/history/civil_war/reconstruction.php

During the periods of Reconstruction, industrial expansion, and the Progressive Movement,
South Carolina searched for ways to revitalize its economy while holding on to its traditions. To
understand South Carolinas experience as not only part of the South but also as a part of the
United States, we must analyze the development of Reconstruction policy and how it affected
South Carolina. This includes the effects of presidential and congressional plans for
Reconstruction, the black codes and the Freedmens Bureau.
The Reconstruction policies of the federal government affected society and politics in South
Carolina after the Civil War. South Carolina faced several problems after the Civil War including
rebuilding its economy. The federal government did not believe it was responsible for
rebuilding economies of Confederate states after the Civil War. Instead, the federal
government believed that the individual states and local governments should be responsible for
creating a new economy or rebuilding their previous economy.

Federal Reconstruction policies did not include the rebuilding of towns, factories, farms, or
transportation systems.
The Freedmens Bureau, formally known as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned
Lands was created by Congress before the end of the Civil War. The Freedmens Bureau was
created to be a first resort of assistance to everyone affected by the war, including whites, as
well as freedmen. The Freedmens Bureau was under the control of the US Army and provided
medical care, food, clothing, education, and some protection from hostile whites who were
angry about the results of the war. The Freedmens Bureau helped many freedmen find jobs
and created courts to protect illiterate workers. The bureau was also charged with distributing
lands to freedmen that had been confiscated by the federal government or abandoned during
the war. After distributing the lands, the bureau then had to take the lands back because
President Johnson pardoned the white land owners and returned their land to them. Congress
did not step in and protect the land rights of freedmen because they did not want to take away
the constitutional rights of southern whites.
"Guest Post by Elizabeth
Anderson on Race in American
Politics." Understanding
Society. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 June
2014.

1. Examine the political

cartoon. Was the creator of
this political cartoon a
supporter of the Freedmens
Bureau? Why or why not?

Most African Americans did not receive land from the Freedmens Bureau. Instead of receiving
land and becoming economically independent, most African Americans established
sharecropping relationships with white landowners with the help of the Freedmens Bureau.
The sharecropping relationship was beneficial for white landowners who had lost their
workforce as a result of the war. Unfortunately, for African Americans, the sharecropping
relationship left them in a system of continual debt and dependence, once again, on the white
landowner. Sharecropping was also an option for poor landless whites who were in a similar

situation as the newly freed blacks. Sharecropping did help to rebuild the economy of South
Carolina.
The Freedmens Bureaus greatest accomplishment was the establishment of over 1,000
schools throughout the South.
Plans for Reconstruction were already being created before the war ended. Lincolns main
purpose in his Reconstruction plans was to end the war as quickly as possible and reunite the
Union. Lincoln only required 10% of the population to swear allegiance to the United States
before they could write a new constitution and send representatives to Congress. By creating
such an easy plan, Lincoln hoped to persuade the Confederate states to surrender and end the
war. Lincoln also required states to recognize the end of slavery. Lincoln was assassinated a
week after the end of the Civil War, but his plan for Reconstruction was carried on by new
president Andrew Johnson.
Thomas Nast. Emancipation.
Philadelphia: S. Bott, 1865.
Wood engraving. Library of Congress.

2. How does the image to the left

show the changes created by the 13th
Amendment?

Andrew Johnson continued Lincolns plan but did make a few additions including ratifying the
13th Amendment and humiliating the southern elite by requiring them to individually ask him
for a pardon. Johnson quickly granted pardons to those who asked.
Congress also created a plan for Reconstruction, but their primary purpose was to protect
newly freed slaves and Republican power. The Republicans were the ones who had freed the
slaves and by protecting the slaves rights, they could ensure they were protecting Republican
power.
In the months after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Congress was not in session.
This allowed legislatures in several southern states, including South Carolina, to pass Black

Codes and elect former Confederates to Congress. Once Congress was back in session, they
refused to admit the Southern Congressmen into Congress.
Reconstruction policy changed as violence against freedmen increased and President Johnson
vetoed Congress extension of the Freedmens Bureau. President Johnson also opposed the
14th Amendment which gave all men equal rights and protection under the law. Due to the
violence and opposition of the President, the Radical Republicans won a majority of seats in
Congress in 1866. The Radical Republicans then passed a congressional plan for Reconstruction
that called for military occupation of the former Confederacy and also split the Confederacy
into five military districts. South Carolina was in the second military district. Each district was
assigned a military governor and the army enforced all policies and rules.
Congress wanted to strip President Johnson of his power and impeached him so he could not
undermine their efforts. He was not removed from office, but his power was taken away. The
Union Army was then used to enforce the Radical Reconstruction policy and enforce the 13th,
14th, and 15th Amendments.
The 13th Amendment made slavery illegal in the United States. In order for southern states to
from new governments they had to assure the Radical Republican Congress that they would
follow and enforce the 13th Amendment. The 13th Amendment freed all slaves in the United
States and changed the social standing of African Americans. Many African Americans, now
known as freedmen, worked to find their families and build communities with churches that
could serve as a network for the African American community. Freedmen also worked to claim
equal citizenship, get and education, and become as independent as possible.
Although the 13th Amendment greatly changed the lives of African Americans, white society
remained fairly stable. The planter elite lost their work force through the 13 th Amendment, but
as with most whites, they supported the Black Codes and refused to recognize the rights of the
freedmen. Whites and African Americans kept their distance from each other and African
Americans left white churches and created churches of their own. The freedmen also left the
slave cabins and built communities of their own away from the plantations and white
communities. The activities of the freedmen bothered the whites and many whites feared
retaliation by their former slaves which led to anxiety among the white population. This anxiety
and fear became apparent in the creation of terrorist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. The
purpose of the Ku Klux Klan was to keep African Americans in their place politically, socially, and
economically.
The 14th Amendment was created and passed to protect the political and social rights of
freedmen. The amendment was to protect the African Americans from the intimidation and
fear caused by the whites and the Ku Klux Klan. The 14th Amendment overturned the Dred

"Was The KKK Was the

Terrorist Wing of the Democrat
Party?" SodaHead. N.p., n.d.
Web. 18 June 2014.

3. In the cartoon, it alludes to

the terrorism of the KKK being
worse than slavery. Do you
think this is true? Why or why
not?

Scott decision because it recognized African American citizenship and gave them equal
protection of the law. The amendment also ensured due process to all African Americans. The
14th amendment also required 2/3 of Congress to vote to grant amnesty to ex-Confederates
before they could hold public office.
The 15th Amendment was passed to guarantee that all men regardless of race or previous
condition of servitude could vote. This amendment was created as a way to ensure that
Republicans held on to power in the South. As long as freedmen were guaranteed the right to
vote, they would vote Republican since that was the party that gave them freedom.
South Carolina refused to ratify or approve the 14th and 15th Amendments. The military
governor of District 2 required South Carolina to write a new state constitution that would
recognize the 14th and 15th amendments. This constitution is commonly referred to as the
Constitution of 1868.