R econstru ction

Unit 1/Lecture 1
Reconstruction: a Challenge to the American System
A C hallenge to the A m erican System

I. The post-Civil War era is one of the

most troubling and controversial in Reconstruction
American history because it was a
period of Reconstruction [define term-- The post-Civil War era
before you can reconstruct, you have to is one of the most
troubling and
construct]. This period, therefore, was controversial in
a time of rebuilding--North and South. American history
because it was a period
A. The controversy arose over of Re-construction. It
the question of what, exactly, needed was a time of
recontructing. Clearly there were rebuilding for both the
North and South.
different facets to the problem.

1. Almost everyone on
the need to carry out some sort of
economic reconstruction. The South
Three Kinds of Reconstruction
had endured the devastations of war--
suffered something like a 43% loss of † Economic
real income. Cities, industries,
railroads were destroyed. So too was
the plantation cotton economy, which † Political
could hardly function effectively without
slavery. New economic systems had to
† Social
be found.

a. In due course a Downtown Richmond, VA in 1865

New South would rise from the ashes--

with smaller scale systems of
agriculture, and a new industrial base
built on textiles, steel, shipping, and a
reemphasis on tobacco production. Economic Reconstruction

2. More problematic was The South had

endured the
the question of political reconstruction. devastation of
total war. The
Everybody agreed on the need to bring region suffered
the Confederate states back into their approximately a
43% loss of real
former relations with the rest of the income during
the conflict.
Union, but how? The fundamental
Cities, industries, and railroads had been
destroyed, and the plantation economy
could not function without slavery.
question of secession had never really
been answered in political terms (only
on the battlefield). Did the southern Political Reconstruction
states actually leave the union? Or
Everyone, too, agreed that the South needed
was the union indestructible, as Lincoln to re-
re-enter the Union--
Union--but
but how?
and others said that it was? While this
The question of
seems like a rather pointless, secession had
hypothetical question, it had important never been
consequences in terms of how the answered
politically. It
former Confederate states would be had only been
treated. addressed on
the battlefield.

3. Finally, the most

difficult question dealt with the need for
social reconstruction. Ante Bellum
Southern society had been constructed
on a class system that had as its
Social Reconstruction
bedrock the master-slave relationship.
But what now? In the aftermath of the The most difficult question
war, the two races began the process of reconstruction dealt
with the rearrangement of
of drawing apart--neither race southern society. The
particularly wanted to associate with master-
master-slave relationship
had been embedded in
the other. But what of the future? The southern culture.
question revolved around the status of
the former slaves--now called After the war, the races had drifted apart.
Social reconstruction needed to address racial
"freedmen"--would they continue to tension and inequality.
work the fields? Would they gain the
right to vote, to participate in the
political process? Would they become
equals?

B. This last point illustrates an important truth about reconstruction: Just as

slavery was at the heart of Civil War causation, the status of the freed blacks was also
at the heart of reconstruction. (But, this was hardly a concensus view--Southerners,
and Southern sympathizers, tended to deny the immediacy of the Negro problem.
(Example of Alexander Stephens, The War Between the States.) They claimed to be
perfectly capable of dealing with the problem themselves.) The economic, political, and
social status of the former slaves was the common thread.

II. Assume for a moment that you are the President of the United States. The war is
over. Slavery has been abolished. What are you going to do about the four million
newly freed slaves?

A. Most were unskilled agricultural laborers who had been deliberately kept
illiterate. Should they be left to the tender mercies of the Southerners? Should the
Federal government assume responsibility?
 1. What, at minimum, did free Negroes need to function as independent
citizens? They needed education, and above all, an economic base--Land.

B. What would be the modern approach to this problem? How would the
government respond to a massive dislocation of people? Answer: entitlement
programs, student loans and grants, housing programs, welfare, etc. Were any of these
things done for the former slaves?

1. Yes, on a small scale. before the war ended, Congress established an

organization known as the Freedmen's Bureau, which attempted to provide the basics--
food, clothing, shelter, and jobs. But this was seen only as a wartime exigency--the
Freedmen's Bureau was supposed to expire in March of 1866.

2. Why? Here's the important point: 19th century Americans never

thought of the federal government as a provider. And in deed, the government never
provided services directly to individuals. Any assistance to individuals had to come from
the state or local governments. But there's the problem: should the Freedmen be left to
the tender mercies of the local white southern governments?

a. As it turned out, by March 1866, the only operating state

governments in the South were hostile to the freedmen, and so Congress passed a bill
extending the life of the Freedmen's Bureau. But the new president, Andrew Johnson,
vetoed it.

III. Political reconstruction. Before

anything could be done about the
situation of Freedmen in the South,
political reconstruction of some type
had to take place.
Theories of Reconstruction
† Moderate Northerners (rebellion was the
act of a few disloyal individuals, not states)

A. The various positions: † Radical Republicans (mixed opinions on

reconstruction; e.g. Rep. Thaddeus
Stevens, Sen. Charles Sumner, and the
Compromise position)
1. The Southern States
had all declared that they were out of † Southern Position (the states never left the
the Union, but Lincoln and the other Union)
Northerners claimed that secession
was a myth and that the Union was
indestructible. Moderate Northerners saw the rebellion as the act of a few disloyal men,
rather than the states. Thus, the problem was simply one of establishing loyal
leadership in the state governments.

2. Radical Republicans -- had mixed motives. Some were genuinely

dedicated to working in behalf of freed slaves, others wanted retribution on the South.
Clouding this was the issue of political supremacy.
 a. Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (Penn.): offered a theory that the former
southern states should be treated as if they were “conquered provinces.”

b. Sen. Charles Sumner (Mass.): Another leading Radical, Sumner

argued for his “state suicide theory” that Confederate states reverted to territorial status
when they attempted to secede.

c. The Radicals eventually came to a Compromise position:

Forfeited rights theory--the states continued to exist, but through secession had forfeited
civil and political rights.

3. Southern position was also highly ironic: After the War, claimed that
their States had never left the Union, and that they sould be entitled to full participation.

a. Note the reversal of roles and the role of dogma. What is the
real issue with regard to political reconstruction? At the bottom of this issue is the
matter of Popular Sovereignty – in other words, the right of the people to rule
themselves. But what people? Only the while people or all of the people?

IV. How political reconstruction was

accomplished.
Lincoln’
Lincoln’s Reconstruction
A. Lincoln vs. Radical † Proclamation of
Republicans: Lincoln's proclamation of Amnesty (1863)
amnesty (1863) embodied a simple
plan of reconstruction. As soon as 10% † 10% Rule
of 1860 voters to an oath of allegiance
to the Union, that state could hold an † Union never
election, elect governor, send dissolved
congressional delegation.

1. Lincoln's assassination
played into the hands Radicals. The
South was blamed--thus the long
funeral route to Springfield via New
York. Would Lincoln have gotten his Andrew Johnson’
Johnson’s Reconstruction
way had he lived?
† Destroy the southern
aristocracy
B. Johnson vs. Radical
Republicans. Johnson was † Reestablish the
misunderstood by radicals at first. alliance between the
From Tennessee, he was a unionist, a South and the West
strict constructionist, and an enemy of
the Southern aristocracy. He † Provisional governors
and conditional
denounced the traitors, but he did not amnesty
support the radical program.
 1. Johnson's Program. He wanted to destroy the power of the Southern
aristocracy for the benefit of the poor whites and yeoman farmers. He wanted to
reestablish the political alliance between the South and West--exactly what the Radicals
did not want.

2. In the Summer of
1865, while Congress was not in The Struggle for Political Reconstruction
session, Johnson continued Lincoln's
reconstruction by issuing proclamations † Lincoln vs. Radical Republicans
of amnesty. He appointed provisional
governors and had the oath of † Johnson vs. Radical Republicans
allegiance administered--except to
former Confederate military and † Radical Reconstruction Strengthened
government leaders, and holders of Due to Southern Conduct
property valued at more than $20,000.

3. Subsequent state
conventions were to invalidate
secession ordinances, abolish slavery,
repudiate war debts, and ratify the 13th Amendment.

a. No provision was made for the Freedmen--no civil rights, no

political rights, no economic provisions. Look at the 13th Amendment in the appendix of
your textbook.

C. Was Johnson wrong to

proceed without Congressional
cooperation? What is at issue? The
constitutional principle of Separation of Radical Republicans Strengthened
Powers.
† The conduct of the
post-
post-War South
1. Radicals were strengthened the
strengthened by Southern conduct. Radical
Republicans, like
Examples: Thaddeus Stevens

a. None of the † Congress vs. the

Johnson constitutions provided for Presidency
enfrancisement of the Negroes--
meanwhile, in state after state the black
codes were enacted. The black codes
proved in most places to be nothing
more than an attempt at the economic restoration of slavery.

(1) Freedom was recognized, also marriages, power to

enter contracts, sue and be sued, own property--all legal. But rights were restricted
severely in other ways. Many states passed laws prohibiting slaves from working
anywhere but in the fields or as domestic servants. Vagrancy was outlawed.
Mississippi required Freedmen to sign 12-month labor contracts, and those failing to do
so were arrested and "had their services sold" to the highest bidder. There are many
ways to hold a person in a state of slavery.

b. Worse, in Northern eyes, many former Confederate officers

were elected to Congress--even Alexander Stevens, the vice president of the
Confederacy.

2. Thus, reconstruction became a struggle for supremacy between the

President and Congress. Dec. 1865: Congress refused to seat the former
Confederates. At issue was the principle of Representative Government.

a. This session of Congress was overwhelmingly Republican.

Passed Freedmen's Bureau Bill, which Johnson vetoed. Passed Civil Rights Bill, which
Johnson vetoed, but Congress overrode. A new Freedmen's Bureau Bill was passed.

b. More importantly, a joint committee on reconstruction proposed

the 14th amendment.

(1) Examine the 14th Amendment in your text – note the

significance of the first paragraph, which granted citizenship to the former slaves and
extended equal protection of the laws.

3. Congressional election of 1866. A turning point. Johnson discredited

by "Swing around Circle tour."

D. After the election, the Republicans were in firm control. Radical

Reconstruction followed, which consisted of three main acts:

1. Military Reconstruction
Act (1867): divided Southern states
into 5 military districts with military Program of Radical Reconstruction
governors, tribunals. Tempered by the
Blaine Amendment, with limited Military † Military Reconstruction Act (1867): divided
the South into 5 military districts
control until states had ratified the 14th
Amendment, and granted black
† Command of the Army Act
suffrage.
† Tenure in Office Act: contributed to
a. Was it fair to Johnson’
Johnson’s impeachment
the blacks? The bill offered no property
compensation, extended no money,
education, or protection of laws.

2. The Command of the

Army Act prevented the Commander-in-Chief from removing certain officers from
command..

3. Tenure in Office Act--designed to protect, in part, Sec. of War Edwin M.

Stanton. This act provoked the events that led to Johnson's impeachment.

E. Congress's decision to throw over the Executive reconstruction program and

enact one of its own entailed a struggle for the control of government. This struggle
went to the heart of the concept of Separation of Powers. Which branch of the
government is the most powerful?

1. Note: Congress also clipped the wings of the Supreme Court, by

removing from the Court's jurisdiction, in 1868, all cases having to do with
reconstruction.