Chapter 12 Reconstruction

Reconstruction

What is it?

What problems did these groups face after the Civil War?:Former slaves?the North?the South?

Human toll: The North lost 364,000 soldiers; The South lost 260,000 soldiers. 1865-1877, Reconstruction:Reconstruction:

FreedmenFreedmen (freed slaves) were starting out their new lives in a poor region with slow

economic activity. Plantation owners lost slave labor worth $3

billion. Poor white Southerners could not find work

because of new job competition from FreedmenFreedmen.

two thirds of the South’s shipping industry and about 9,000 miles of railroad were destroyed

South after war 1

Lincoln vs. Thaddeus Stevens

Lincoln’s ReconstructionThe 10% Plan• Sooner the nation

reunited, sooner the South could rebuild

• A southern state could form a new government after 10% of its voters swore an oath of loyalty to the Union

• State must abolish slavery

• Could then take part in national government again

• Amnesty or pardons to those who swore their loyalty

The Wade-Davis Bill• Proposed and passed in

1864 by the Republican Congress in response to Lincoln

• Over 50% of white men in each state had to swear loyalty to Union

• Denied the right to vote or hold office to anyone who had volunteered to fight or hold Confederate office

• Lincoln vetoes the bill for being too harsh

Presidential Pardons

Lincoln Assassinated 1865!!!

•Southerner who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil

War.

•Lincoln chose him as his VP to help with the

South’s Reconstruction.

•Supported Lincoln’s Plan

•Engaged in a power struggle with Congress

over who would lead the country through Reconstruction.

•Would be impeached but not removed from

office.

•Southerner who remained loyal to the Union during the Civil

War.

•Lincoln chose him as his VP to help with the

South’s Reconstruction.

•Supported Lincoln’s Plan

•Engaged in a power struggle with Congress

over who would lead the country through Reconstruction.

•Would be impeached but not removed from

office.

Plans compared

See the chart on the next page: “Major Reconstruction Legislation, 1865-1870”

Thaddeus Stevens Charles Summner

•Wanted to see the South punished.

•Advocated political, social and economic equality for the Freedmen.

•Would go after President Johnson through the impeachment process after he vetoes

the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

Thaddeus Stevens, in Congress, Thaddeus Stevens, in Congress, 18661866

“Strip a proud nobility of their bloated estates, send them forth to labor and you

will thus humble the proud traitors.”

Thaddeus Steven, in Congress, Thaddeus Steven, in Congress, 18671867

“I am for Negro suffrage in every rebel state. If it be just, it should not be denied: if it be necessary, it should be adopted: if

it be a punishment of traitors, they deserve it.”

Quotes of Radicals

•Similar to Similar to Slave Slave CodesCodes. .

•Restricted the Restricted the

freedom of movement.freedom of movement.

•Limited their Limited their rightsrights as free people.as free people.

As southern states were restored to the Union under President Johnson’s plan, they began to enact black codes, laws that

restricted freedmen’s rights. The black codes established virtual slavery with provisions such

as these:Curfews: Generally, black people could not gather after

sunset.Vagrancy laws: Freedmen convicted of vagrancy– that is, not

working– could be fined, whipped, or sold for a year’s labor.Labor contracts: Freedmen had to sign agreements in

January for a year of work. Those who quit in the middle of a contract often lost all the wages they had earned.

Land restrictions: Freed people could rent land or homes only in rural areas. This restriction forced them to live on plantations.

Black codes 1

Mississippi Governor, 1866: Mississippi Governor, 1866: “The Negro is free”“The Negro is free”

“Whether we like it or not; we must realize that fact now and

forever. To be free, however, does not make him a citizen or entitle him to social or political equality

with the white man.”Gov of Miss

St. Landry’s Parish, St. Landry’s Parish, Louisiana, 1865Louisiana, 1865

Section 1: Be it ordainedSection 1: Be it ordained by the by the police jury of parish of St. Landry, police jury of parish of St. Landry, That no negro shall be allowed to That no negro shall be allowed to

pass within the limits of said pass within the limits of said parish without a special permit in parish without a special permit in

writing from his employer. writing from his employer. Whoever shall violate this Whoever shall violate this

provision shall pay a fine of $2.50, provision shall pay a fine of $2.50, or in default thereof shall be or in default thereof shall be

forced to work four days on the forced to work four days on the public road or suffer corporeal public road or suffer corporeal

punishment.punishment.

Black codes 2

St. Landry’s Parish, St. Landry’s Parish, Louisiana, 1865Louisiana, 1865

Section 4: Be it further ordainedSection 4: Be it further ordained, ,

No Negroes shall be allowed to No Negroes shall be allowed to congregate in public meetings congregate in public meetings between the hours of sunset to between the hours of sunset to

sunrise and by special permission sunrise and by special permission of the police chief may a public of the police chief may a public

meeting of Negroes occur. meeting of Negroes occur. However, church services are not However, church services are not included in this law. Pay a fine of included in this law. Pay a fine of

$5.00, work 5 days on the road $5.00, work 5 days on the road crew or receive corporeal crew or receive corporeal

punishmentpunishment

Black codes 3

•President Johnson vetoed the Civil

Rights Act of 1866

•Gave $$$$ to Freedmen’s Bureau

for schools and granted citizenship to the Freedmen

•Congress believed Johnson was working

against Reconstruction and overrode his veto.

•Pres. Johnson impeached

•Led to the 14th Amendment

•President Johnson vetoed the Civil

Rights Act of 1866

•Gave $$$$ to Freedmen’s Bureau

for schools and granted citizenship to the Freedmen

•Congress believed Johnson was working

against Reconstruction and overrode his veto.

•Pres. Johnson impeached

•Led to the 14th Amendment

Johnson’s Veto

An inflexible President, 1866: Republican cartoon shows Johnson knocking Blacks of the Freedmen’s Bureau by

his veto.

An inflexible President, 1866: Republican cartoon shows Johnson knocking Blacks of the Freedmen’s Bureau by

his veto.

Impeachment:Impeachment: Bringing charges against the President. Two steps

involved……

1st Step: U. S. House of Representatives hold hearings to decide if there are crimes committed. They then vote on the charges

and if there is a majority, then, charges are brought against the President.

2nd Step: U.S. Senate becomes a courtroom. The President is tried for the charges brought against him. The Chief

Justice of the Supreme Court is the judge. Once trial is completed, Senators must

vote to remove President with a 2/3’s vote.

Impeachment process

Brought up on 11 charges of high crimes and

misdemeanors.

Tenure in Office Act:Tenure in Office Act: Law Congress passed. President can’t fire any of his cabinet members without consulting

Congress.

fired Edwin Stanton

Missed being removed from office by 1 vote

Presidency would suffer as a result of this failed

impeachment. President would be more

of a figure-head. Saved the separation of

powers of 3 branches govt.

•13th AmendmentAbolished slavery

(1865)

•14th Amendment Provided citizenship & equal

protection under the law. (1868)

•15th Amendment Provided the right to vote for all men which included white and

black men. (1870)

revolutionary……..A victory for A victory for democracy!democracy!

““Neither slavery nor involuntary slavery nor involuntary servitudeservitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall shall

exist within the United Statesexist within the United States, or any place subject to their

jurisdiction.”

The CongressCongress shall have power to enforceenforce by appropriate

legislation, the provisions of this article.

14th

““All persons born in the U.S. are citizens of this country and the state they reside in. No state No state shall make or enforce any law shall make or enforce any law

which deprives any person of life, which deprives any person of life, liberty, or property, without due liberty, or property, without due process of lawprocess of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction to

the equal protection of the lawsequal protection of the laws.”

The CongressCongress shall have power to enforceenforce by appropriate

legislation, the provisions of this article.

““The The right of citizensright of citizens of the of the United States to United States to votevote shall not be shall not be denied or abridged by the United denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account States or by any State on account

of race, color, or previous of race, color, or previous condition of servitude”.condition of servitude”.

The The Congress Congress shall have shall have power to power to enforceenforce this article by appropriate this article by appropriate

legislation.legislation.

•Women rights supporters refused to support the 14th Amendment giving African American Men citizenship unless women were added to it.

•Abolitionists would not support women’s rights

Abolitionists vs Women’s rights

The Taste of Freedom Freedom of movement: Enslaved people often walked away from

plantations upon hearing that the Union army was near. Exodusters: moved to Kansas and Texas

Freedom to own land: Proposals to give white-owned land to freed people got little support from the government. Unofficial land redistribution did take place, however.

Freedom to worship: African Americans formed their own churches and started mutual aid societies, debating clubs, drama societies, and trade associations.

Freedom to learn: Between 1865 and 1870, black educators founded 30 African American colleges.

Black Congressmen

First Black Senators and

representatives in the 41st and 42nd Congress.

Senator Hiram Revels, on the

left was elected in 1870 to

replace the seat vacated by

Jefferson Davis.

First Black Senators and

representatives in the 41st and 42nd Congress.

Senator Hiram Revels, on the

left was elected in 1870 to

replace the seat vacated by

Jefferson Davis.

“I felt like a bird out of a cage. Amen. Amen. Amen. I could

hardly ask to feel any better than I did that day…….The week passed off in a blaze of glory “Men are taking their wives and children,

families which had been for a long time broken up are united and oh!

Such happiness. I am glad I am here.”

emancipation

“The end of the war, it come just like that---like you snap

your fingers….Soldiers, all of a sudden, was everywhere---

coming in bunches, crossing and walking and riding.

Everyone was a-singing. We was all walking on golden

clouds. Hallelujah! Everybody went wild. We all felt like heroes, and nobody had made us that way but

ourselves. We was free. Just like that, we was free.”

emancipation

“Right off colored folks started on the move,

recalled a freedman. “They seemed to want to get closer to freedom, so they’d know freedom, so they’d know what it was---like it was a what it was---like it was a

place or a city.”place or a city.”

“Right off colored folks started on the move,

recalled a freedman. “They seemed to want to get closer to freedom, so they’d know freedom, so they’d know what it was---like it was a what it was---like it was a

place or a city.”place or a city.”

emancipation

1865, Congress created the Freedman’s Bureau to help former

slaves get a new start in life. This was the first major relief agency in United

States history.

Bureau’s AccomplishmentsBuilt thousands of schools to educate

Blacks. Former slaves rushed to get an education

for themselves and their children. Education was difficult and dangerous to

gain. Southerners hated the idea that Freedmen would go to school.

Importance of Educ to freedmen

Letter by a Teacher teaching freedmen on Letter by a Teacher teaching freedmen on the importance of education, 1869:the importance of education, 1869:

“It is surprising to me to see the amount of suffering which many of the people endure for

the sake of sending their children to school. Men get very low wages here---from $2.50 to $8.00 month usually, while a first rate hand may get $10.00, and a peck or two of meal per week for

rations-----and a great many men cannot get work at all.

The women take in sewing and washing, go out by day to sour, etc. There is one woman who

supports three children and keeps them at school; she says, “ I don’t care how hard I has to

work, if I can only send Sallie and the boys to school looking respectable.”

Freedmen’s Bureau 2

Freedmen’s Bureau 3

Freedmen’s Bureau 4

Letter for teachers 1

Letter to the Editor of the National EraLetter to the Editor of the National EraCreswell, Texas, November 29, 1867Creswell, Texas, November 29, 1867

W.V. Tunstall, School Board, Houston, TexasW.V. Tunstall, School Board, Houston, Texas

To the Editor:We need immediately 500 teachers for colored

schools in Texas. The colored people in this state cannot supply the demand. There are but a few

white Republicans who can engage in the profession of teaching and Rebels (Southern whites) will not

teach them. Therefore, our only prospect is to get teachers

among the educated colored people of the North or Christian white people who are willing to endure

privations among the heartless whites of the “sunny South.” The late elections have opened the South, I

trust, for the introduction of civilization. Send us teachers…….

Forsyth, Georgia, July 22, 1867Dear Sir,

I write to inform you of a most cowardly outrage that I write to inform you of a most cowardly outrage that took place last Saturday night. took place last Saturday night. Our teacher whom Our teacher whom we have employed here was shot down by a crowd we have employed here was shot down by a crowd of Rebel Ruffians for no other cause than teaching of Rebel Ruffians for no other cause than teaching

school.school. General, this is the second teacher that has General, this is the second teacher that has been assaulted. been assaulted.

The rebels make their brags to kill every Yankee The rebels make their brags to kill every Yankee teacher that they find.teacher that they find. We do not know what we may We do not know what we may do if the military does not assist us. The Freedmen do if the military does not assist us. The Freedmen

are much excited at such an outrage.are much excited at such an outrage.

George H. Clower, William Wilkes, FreedmenGeorge H. Clower, William Wilkes, Freedmen

Once Johnson is impeached,

Congress passes Reconstruction

Act of 1867.

The South would be reconstructed under the Radical Republicans plan.

Republicans would elect Grant as their President

and he would carry out the

Radical Reconstruction.“The Strong

Government”, 1869-1877. Grant

enforcing the Reconstruction Act of 1867 and

“forcing” the South to change.

Military Reconstruction

Each number indicates the Military Districts

New South•Becomes

industrialized•Cities rebuilt

•Railroads•Schools, over

a thousand•Hospitals, 45

in 14 states•Diversify economy.

Funding ReconstructionRebuilding the South’s infrastructure, the public property

and services that a society uses, was one giant business opportunity.

Roads, bridges, canals, railroads, and telegraph lines had to be rebuilt.

Funds were also needed to expand services to southern citizens. Following the North’s example, all southern states created public school systems by 1872.

Congress, private investors, and heavy taxes paid for Reconstruction. Spending by Reconstruction legislatures added another $130 million to southern debt.

South’s Backlash

kkk

During Radical Reconstruction, the Republican Party was a mixture of people who had little in

common except a desire to prosper in the postwar South. This bloc of voters included

freedmen and two other groups: carpetbaggers and scalawags.

Northern Republicans who moved to the postwar South became known as carpetbaggers.

Southerners gave them this insulting nickname, which referred to a type of cheap suitcase made from carpet scraps.

Carpetbaggers were often depicted as greedy men seeking to grab power or make a fast buck.

White southern Republicans were seen as traitors and called scalawags.

This was originally a Scottish word meaning “scrawny cattle.”

Refers to one who is a “scoundrel”, reprobate or unprincipled person.

Some scalawags were former Whigs who had opposed secession.

Some were small farmers who resented the planter class. Many scalawags, but not all, were poor.

Ku Klux Klan refers to a secret society or

an inner circleOrganized in 1867, in Polaski, Tennessee

by Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Represented the ghosts of dead

Confederate soldiers Disrupted

Reconstruction as much as they could.

Opposed Republicans,

Carpetbaggers, Scalawags and

Freedmen.

Ku Klux Klan refers to a secret society or

an inner circleOrganized in 1867, in Polaski, Tennessee

by Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Represented the ghosts of dead

Confederate soldiers Disrupted

Reconstruction as much as they could.

Opposed Republicans,

Carpetbaggers, Scalawags and

Freedmen.KKK

Spreading TerrorSpreading TerrorThe Ku Klux Klan

The Klan sought to eliminate the Republican Party in the South by intimidating voters.

They wanted to keep African Americans as submissive laborers.

They planted burning crosses on the lawns of their victims and tortured, kidnapped, or murdered them.

Prosperous African Americans, carpetbaggers, and scalawags became their victims.

The Federal Response President Grant’s War On

Terrorism. The Enforcement Act of

1870 banned the use of terror, force, or bribery to prevent people from voting.

Other laws banned the KKK and used the military to protect voters and voting places.

As federal troops withdrew from the South, black suffrage all but ended.

Sharecroppers were Freedmen and poor Whites who stayed in

the South and continued to farm.

Freedmen signed a work contract with their former masters

.Picked cotton or whatever crop

the landowner had. Freedmen did not receive “40

acres and a mule”

•Sharecropping is primarily used in farming

•Landowner provided land, tools, animals, house and

charge account at the local store to purchase necessities

•Freedmen provided the labor.

•Sharecropping is based on the “credit” system.

Sharecroppers

Sharecroppers

Advantages Part of a business

ventureRaised their social status

Received 1/3 to 1/2 of crop when

harvestedRaised their self

esteem

DisadvantagesBlacks stay in

SouthSome landowners

refused to honor the contract

Blacks poor and in debt

Economic slavery

1. Poor whites and freedmen have no

jobs, no homes, and no money to buy

land.2. Landowners need laborers and have no

money to pay laborers.

4. Landlord keeps track of the money that

sharecroppers owe him for housing, food

or local store.

5. At harvest time, the sharecropper is

paid.

•Pays off debts.

•If sharecropper owes more to the landlord or store

than his share of the crop is worth;

6. Sharecropper cannot leave the

farm as long as he is in debt to the

landlord.

3. Hire poor whites and freedmen as

laborers

•Sign contracts to work landlord’s land

in exchange for a part of the crop.

Sharecroppers

369369 total electoral votes, need 185185 to win.

164

1876 Election

•Tilden did not receive enough electoral votes.

•Special Commission gives votes to Hayes.

•Hayes wins the election

•Democrats refuse to recognize Hayes

as President

1876 Election

•Tilden did not receive enough electoral votes.

•Special Commission gives votes to Hayes.

•Hayes wins the election

•Democrats refuse to recognize Hayes

as President

*

*Disputed Electoral

votes

The election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877 are referred to as the Corrupt Bargain.The Democrats and Republicans work out a

deal to recognize Hayes as PresidentIn return, President Hayes must end

Reconstruction and pull the Union troops out of the South.

Once this happens, there is no protection for the Freedmen and the South will regain their

states and go back to the way it was.

Rutherford B. HayesRutherford B. Hayes Samuel TildenSamuel Tilden

Agreement between Democrats and Republicans

•Hayes pulls the troops out of the

South.

•Southerners take over their state

governments called “REDEEMERS”

•Successes FreedmenFreedmen would be lost because

Southerners would take over their state

governments.

•Jim CrowJim Crow laws kept Blacks from voting

and becoming equal citizens.

Agreement between Democrats and Republicans

•Hayes pulls the troops out of the

South.

•Southerners take over their state

governments called “REDEEMERS”

•Successes FreedmenFreedmen would be lost because

Southerners would take over their state

governments.

•Jim CrowJim Crow laws kept Blacks from voting

and becoming equal citizens.

Cartoon of Hayes: end of Reconst

Reconstruction EndsThere were five main factors that

contributed to the end of Reconstruction.•Corruption: Reconstruction legislatures & Grant’s administration

symbolized corruption & poor government.

•The economy: Reconstruction legislatures taxed and spent heavily, putting the southern states deeper into debt.

•Violence: As federal troops withdrew from the South, some white Democrats used violence and intimidation to prevent freedmen from voting. This tactic allowed white Southerners to regain control of the state governments.

•The Democrats’ return to power: The pardoned ex-Confederates combined with other white Southerners to form a new bloc of Democratic voters known as the Solid South. They blocked Reconstruction policies.

•The Country: The Civil War was over and many Americans wanted to return to what the country was doing before the war.

Successes and Failures of Reconstruction

Successes Failures

Union is restored. Many white southerners bitter towards US govt & Republicans.South’s economy grows and

new wealth is created in the North.

The South is slow to industrialize.

14th and 15th amendments guarantee Blacks the rights of citizenship, equal protection under the law, and suffrage.

After US troops are withdrawn, southern state governments and terrorist organizations effectively deny Blacks the right to vote.Freedmen’s Bureau and

other organizations help many black families obtain housing, jobs, and schooling.

Many black and white southerners remain caught in a cycle of poverty.

Southern states adopt a system of mandatory education.

Racist attitudes toward African Americans continue, in both the South and the North.

Quote by Frederick Douglass 1

Quote by Frederick Douglass 2