Reconstruction

Reconstruction

Reconstruction: the process of readmitting

the former Confederate states into the Union
Lasted from 1865-1877
The South had been devastated by the war
cities, towns, and farms lay in ruins
Many Southerners faced starvation
Banks failed; merchants went bankrupt

While no one could agree on what the best plan for reconstructing the nation would be, Americans
understood the moment as critical and perhaps revolutionary. In this magnificent visual metaphor for
the reconciliation of the North and South, John Lawrence postulates what might result from reunion.
Reconstruction, the print seems to argue, will form a more perfect Union that upholds the ideals of
the American Revolution, most importantly (as seen on a streaming banner near the top) that All
men are born free and equal. John Giles Lawrence, Reconstruction, 1867. Library of Congress.

Presidential
Reconstruction: Lincoln

Primary Source Activity: Lincolns Second Inaugural

The Ten-Percent Plan (1864)

Offered amnesty, or official pardon, to
southerners
Conditions for amnesty:

Southerners had to swear allegiance to the Union

and agree that slavery was illegal
New state governments could be formed once
10% of voters had made these pledges
Lincolns goal was to restore order quickly

Congressional
Reconstruction: Wade-

Davis

Wade Davis Bill (1864)

Congressional Republicans alternative to Lincolns
plan
To be readmitted, a southern state had to

Ban slavery
Have a majority of voters (adult white males) take a
loyalty oath to the USA

Only southerners who swore they had never

supported the Confederacy could vote or hold
office
Lincoln refused to sign the bill into law

Thirteenth
Amendment

The end of the Civil War meant freedom

for African Americans in the South.
One thing Republicans in the White House,
Senate, and House of Representatives could
agree upon was abolishing slavery once and
for all.
January 31, 1865: Lincoln urges Congress to
propose the 13th Amendment
December 18, 1865: The Thirteenth
Amendment is ratified. Slavery is
illegal in the USA.

Freedmens Bureau

March 1865: Congress establishes the

Freedmens Bureau
Provided relief for freed people and certain poor
people in the South
Distributed food, medical care, and legal help
Established 3,000 schools and several
universities
Distributed some land to loyal refugees and
freedmen

A Northern look at the Freedmens Bureau

A Southern look at the Freedmens Bureau

Presidential
Reconstruction: Johnson

A New President
April 14, 1865 Lincoln is assassinated
Vice-President Andrew Johnson becomes President

Democrat
Former slaveholder
Johnson had been placed on the ticket to appeal to
the border states in the election of 1864.

Activity: Biography Andrew Johnson

Presidential
Reconstruction: Johnson

Johnsons Reconstruction Plan

Similar to Lincolns EXCEPT wealthy southerners and former
Confederate officials had to receive a presidential pardon in
order to receive amnesty
His goal was to return the South to the Union as quickly as
possible without African American suffrage; after all, Blacks
couldnt vote in the North either. He felt returning the former
Confederate leaders to power in the South would ensure their
loyalty to the Union.
Believed the act of secession was illegal therefore the
Confederate states had never left the Union. The only decision
was how to readmit, not how to reconstruct.
Johnson granted more than 7000 pardons by 1866. Congress
was shocked.

With the war coming to an end, the question of how to reunite the former Confederate states with the Union
was a divisive one. Lincolns Presidential Reconstruction plans were seen by many, including Radical
Republicans in Congress, to be too tolerant towards what they considered to be traitors. This political
cartoon reflects this viewpoint, showing Lincoln and Johnson happily stitching the Union back together with
little anger towards the South. Joseph E. Baker, The Rail Splitter at Work Repairing the Union, 1865.

Presidential
Reconstruction:

Johnson

Under Johnsons plan, in order for Confederate

states to rejoin the union they must

Write a new state Constitution

Elect state and federal representatives
Repeal the act of secession
Refuse to pay Confederate war debts
Ratify the 13th amendment

Johnson appointed a temporary governor for

each of the former Confederate states. As
1865 ends, he declares Reconstruction over.
Congress does not agree.

Freedom Brought
Changes

Newly freed slaves faced many changes

Married couples could legalize their marriages
and claim their children
Families searched for members who had been
sold away
Freedmens banks were established; African
Americans begin to gain some economic power

Freedom Brought
Changes

Freed people demanded the same political and

economic rights as white citizens
Former slaves wanted their own land to farm
General Sherman attempted to break up large
plantations in Georgia and South Carolina to
give to Freedmen, but white planters protested.
Forty acres and a mule
The US government returned land given to
freedmen back to white landowners
Primary Source Activity: Letter from a Former Slave
Primary Source Activity: Interview with a Former Slave

The South Responds

As new state legislatures took power in the

South, they began passing laws known as
Black Codes to deny civil right to African
Americans.
The three purposes of the Black Codes
1. limit the rights of freed people
2. help planters find workers to replace their
slaves
3. keep freed people at the bottom of the social
and economic order in the South
Primary Source Activity: Black Codes of Mississippi

The South Responds

African Americans organized to oppose the

codes.
Congress viewed the Black Codes as a sign
that Reconstruction was not complete. They
wanted the Federal government to step in and
take control.

Radical Republicans

Black Codes angered many Republicans who

felt the South was returning to its pre-Civil War
ways.
Most Republicans in the Congress were
moderates who hoped the South would not
have to be forced into following the laws
Radical Republicans wanted the federal
government to force change in the South, they
wanted to reconstruct the way of life in the
south, not just re-admit states.

Radical Republicans

Thaddeus Stevens: Led the Radical

Republicans in the House of Representatives
Charles Sumner: Led the Radical Republicans
in the Senate.
They believed the Black Codes were cruel.
They wanted the federal Government
especially Congress - to take over
Reconstruction.
Activity: Biography-Thaddeus Stevens
Primary Source Activity: An Address on Reconstruction by Thaddeus Stevens

The Fight over

Reconstruction

Early 1866 Radical and moderate

Republicans join forces to pass two bills
designed to help freed people.
1. An extension of the Freedmens Bureau
giving more power to Congress to enforce laws
2. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave African
Americans the same legal rights as white
Americans
Johnson vetoed both bills
Congress overrode Johnsons veto
Primary Source Activity: The Civil Rights Act of 1866

Fourteenth
Amendment
(Summer
1866)
Defined all people born in or naturalized to the
United States as citizens.
Guaranteed citizens equal protection under
the law
Said states cannot deprive citizens of life,
liberty, or property without due process of
law.
Banned many former Confederate officials
from holding state or federal office
Made state laws subject to federal court
review

The Mid-Term Election

of 1866

The Fourteenth Amendment was a key issue

Johnson travels the US urging voters to reject
the amendment and vote the Republicans out
Election result:
Republicans won a two-thirds majority in both
houses enough to override a presidential veto
The Fourteenth Amendment is ratified.
Congress now fully controls Reconstruction.

Radical Republicans
Take Charge of
Reconstruction

Congress passes the Reconstruction Acts

Military Reconstruction Act (1867)
The South is divided into five military districts
with a military commander in charge of each
district
The military remains in charge of the South until
the Southern states rejoin the union.

Activity: The Reconstruction Acts Map Activity

Radical Republicans
Take Charge of
Reconstruction

Congress passes the Reconstruction Acts

(contd)
New requirements for Southern states to rejoin
the Union:
New state constitution had to support the
Fourteenth Amendment
African American men had to be given the right
to vote.

Radical Republicans
Take Charge of
Reconstruction

Congress passes the Reconstruction Acts

(contd)
Command of the Army Act - limited the
Presidents power over the army
Tenure of Office Act barred the President from
firing certain federal officials with the Senates
consent
Johnson believed both Acts were
unconstitutional. He fired the Sec. of War, one
of the officials protected by the Tenure of Office
Act, just to prove his point.

Impeachment

Johnson opposed Congressional (Republican)

Reconstruction
Congress passed laws limiting his presidential power.
Johnson broke the law when he fired the Secretary of
War
The House of Representatives voted to impeach the
president.
Impeachment: the process by which the legislative
body brings charges against a public official
The Senate did not convict Johnson, but he was
politically weakened.

Rights of African
Americans Were
Restricted

Sharecropping: an agricultural system

where a landowner allows a farm worker (also
known as a tenant farmer) to rent and use the
land in exchange for a share of the expected
crop production

Primary Source Activity: When We Worked on Shares

Primary Source Activity: Sharecropper Contract

Rights of African
Americans Were Restricted

Sharecropping (contd)
Few African Americans could afford to buy or
rent farms.
They became part of a sharecropping system
providing labor to land owners and sharing
their crops with them
Sharecroppers faced perpetual debt.

Southern
Reconstruction

The Souths New Voters

1867 Under the Military Construction Acts
the military returned to the South and began
to register voters
Who can vote in the South?
Freedmen
White Southerners who had opposed the war;
Southerners who voted Republican (scalawags)
Northerners who had moved south after the war
(carpetbaggers)

Election of 1868

Republican Candidate: Ulysses S. Grant

Appealed to Northern voters
Supported Reconstruction
Supported rights for African
Americans
Slogan: Let us have peace

Election of 1868

Democratic Candidate: Horatio Seymour

Promised to end Reconstruction
Promised to return the South
to its traditional leaders
(white Democrats)

Election of 1868

Hundreds of thousands of African Americans

vote for Grant since he was from the party of
Lincoln
Grant wins a narrow victory in the popular
vote
but an overwhelming electoral college vote.

Fifteenth Amendment

The Fifteenth Amendment gave African

American men the right to vote.
The election of 1868 taught the Republicans
they needed the support of African Americans
voters to stay in power.
They wanted to protect the gains they were
making as more Southern states joined the
Union.
1869 They proposed the Fifteenth Amendment
1870 Fifteenth Amendment ratified, goes into
effect.

With the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, droves of African American men went to the polls to
exercise their newly recognized right to vote. In this Harpers Weekly print, black men of various
occupations wait patiently for their turn as the first voter submits his ballot. Unlike other contemporary
images that depicted African Americans as ignorant, unkempt, and lazy, this print shows these black men
as active citizens. Alfred R. Waud, The First Vote, November 1867. Library of Congress.

The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited discrimination in voting rights on the basis of race, color, or
previous status (i.e. slavery). While the amendment was not all encompassing in that women were not
included, it was an extremely significant ruling in affirming the liberties of African American men. This
print depicts a huge parade held in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 19, 1870, surrounded by portraits of
abolitionists and scenes of African Americans exercising their rights. Thomas Kelly after James C. Beard,
The 15th Amendment. Celebrated May 19th 1870, 1870. Library of Congress,
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr060.html.

Reconstruction
in theSouth
Reconstruction governments help reform
the South
Republicans controlled most Southern
governments but were deeply resented by
white southerners
New state constitutions were the most
progressive in the nation North or South

Guaranteed suffrage to all men regardless of race

Ended imprisonment for debt
Established public schools

Reconstruction
in theSouth
Reconstruction governments help reform
the South
Reconstruction state governments provided
money for many new programs:

Public schools
Hospitals
Anti-discrimination laws
Railroads and bridges

African-Americans
in Public
Office

About one-fifth of the Souths new office

holders were African Americans.
Blacks served in every Southern legislature.
Twenty African Americans served in the US
House; two served in the Senate

The era of Reconstruction witnessed a few moments of true progress. One of those was the election of African
Americans to local, state, and national offices, including both houses of Congress. Pictured here are Hiram Revels
(the first African American Senator) alongside six black representatives, all from the former Confederate states.
Currier & Ives, First Colored Senator and Representatives in the 41st and 42nd Congress of the United States,
1872. Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-17564.

African Americans
in the US
Senate

Hiram Revels

First African American in the Senate

Born free in North Carolina
Attended college in Illinois
Became a Methodist minister
Served as a chaplain in the US Army
Took over the seat once held by Jefferson Davis

African Americans
in the US
Senate

Blanche K. Bruce
Born a slave in Virginia
Became a Republican leader in Mississippi
Served one term in the Senate

Activity: Biography Blanche K. Bruce

The End of
Reconstruction

Whites deeply resented the Southern

Reconstruction governments
Hated a government that had been forced on
them by Yankees
Resented high tax bills
Blames high taxes on corrupt government
Most of all they hated seeing former slaves
voting and holding public office

The End of Reconstruction:

Violence Against African
Americans

The Ku Klux Klan was organized as African

Americans moved into positions of power
Created by a group of white southerners in Tennessee
A secret society opposed to civil rights, particularly
suffrage, for African Americans
Used violence and terror against African Americans

Primary Source Activity: Reconstruction and the KKK

Primary Source Activity: The First-Class Men of Our Town

The White League and the Klan

Worse than Slavery form Harpers
Bazaar

The Ku Klux Klan was just one of a number of vigilante groups that arose after the war to terrorize
African Americans and Republicans throughout the South. The KKK brought violence into the voting
polls, the workplace, and as seen in this Harpers Weekly print the homes of black Americans.
Frank Bellew, Visit of the Ku-Klux, 1872. Wikimedia,
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Visit_of_the_Ku-Klux_1872.jpg.

The End of Reconstruction:

Violence Against African
Americans

Local governments did little to stop the

violence, so Congress passed The
Enforcement Acts in 1870 and 1871.
Made it a federal crime to interfere with
elections by using bribery, force, or terror to
prevent another person from voting
Made it a federal crime to deny citizens equal
protection under the law.

The End of
Reconstruction

The Amnesty Act of 1872

Northerners were losing interest in
Reconstruction and the condition of freed
people
The Amnesty Act of 1872 allowed most former
Confederates to vote once again
Almost immediately, Democrats regained
control of most Southern states

The Disputed Election

of 1876

As Republicans lost power in the Southern

states, in the North they were being blamed
for the severe economic downturn call the
Panic of 1873.

The Disputed Election

of 1876
Rutherford B. Hayes
Republican

Samuel Tilden
Democrat

The Disputed Election

of 1876

Tilden appeared to win, but Hayes supporters

challenged the results.
185 electoral votes were necessary to win the
election
Tilden(D) wins the popular vote and 184
electoral votes
Hayes (R) wins 165 electoral votes.
24 electoral votes remain in dispute.

The Disputed Election

of 1876

The Compromise of 1876

The election is thrown to the House
Hayes is given 20 electoral votes (and the
presidency) in exchange for agreeing to remove
the remaining federal troops from the South.

Reconstruction
Reversed

Freed people viewed education as the way up

and out of poverty
Redeemer governments newly restored
white governments cut funding for public
schools
By 1880, only half of African American children
were attending school

Reconstruction
Reversed

Voting Rights

Poll Tax a tax required as a qualification for voting; put

in place to keep African Americans from voting
Literacy Test - Southern state legislatures employed
literacy tests as part of the voter registration process.
These tests were used to deny suffrage to African
Americans.
Grandfather Clause allowed illiterate whites to vote;
stated that if ones grandfather could vote, then he could
vote.
The Supreme Court upheld the laws saying that the right
to vote was not being denied on account of race, but
literacy.
Primary Source Activity: Alabama Literacy Test
Primary Source Activity: Louisiana Literacy Test-Partner Activity

Reconstruction
Reversed

Drawing a Color Line

Jim Crow Laws legal segregation laws, the forced
separation of whites and African Americans in public
places
Plessy v. Ferguson ruled that segregation was
legal as long as separate but equal facilities were
provided
In reality, facilities for African Americans were
almost always inferior.
Primary Source Activity: MLKing Jr. Center: Jim Crow Laws
Primary Source Activity: Plessy v. Ferguson

Responding to
Segregation

Open Protest

Risked retribution: night visits, beatings,

lynching

Responding to
Segregation

African American Migration

Africa

In 1878, about 200 African Americans chartered a

ship to Liberia in Africa

Northern States

Blacks competed for jobs with European immigrants

Faced discrimination and low wages

Western states and territories

Worked as cowboys and Indian fighters

Buffalo Soldiers
Kansas Exodusters

Responding to
Segregation

Buffalo
Soldiers

In 1866 through an act of Congress, legislation was adopted to create six all African American
army units. The units were identified as the 9th and 10th cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th and
41st infantry regiments. The four infantry units were reorganized in 1868 as the 24th and the
25th infantry. Black soldiers enlisted for five years and received $13.00 a month, far more than
they could have earned in civilian life.

Responding to
Segregation

Kansas Exodusters
Remember John Brown and Bleeding Kansas?
From the Bible Exodus
An escape from the South; Blacks could own
their own land and build their own communities

Responding to
Segregation

Self-Help
African Americans built communities to improve
their lives

Began their own businesses

Established churches
Opened schools and colleges