Reconstruction – 1865-1877 How can we bring the nation together as

one Union again? Should the South be punished for

seceding? What avenues would be taken to ensure a

peaceful solution to the problem?

Reconstruction is the rebuilding of the nation.

Southern situation

Reconstruction

• PLAN 1- ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S PLAN

Wanted the South to come into the Union with little punishment. This was called a moderate plan.

*Offered general amnesty to anyone who took an oath to be loyal…no insurrection.

*When 10% of voters in a state took oath- readmitted in the Union.

*States must pass the 13th amendment

*No social or political equality for the African American

*Compensate the slave owner- ? Could we do this?

Reconstruction

• President Andrew Johnson’s Plan for Reconstruction…this plan was like Lincoln’s plan

• Pardon all citizens except former Confederate officers and officials.

• Wealthy Southerners had to apply individually for a pardon.

• Had to ratify the 13th amendment.

Reconstruction

• Radical Republicans lead by Thaddeus Stevens- wanted to punish the South for secession. Wade-Davis Bill – proposal to divide the South into military districts. They blamed the war on these states.

• Leaders of the South were never elected again.

• They wanted the Republican Party to become a powerful institution down South.

• African American – voting rights…more equal…even hold political office.

• Pass the 13th/14th/15th amendments…free, citizens, vote.

Thaddeus Stevens -Republican• He was a member of

the new anti-slavery Republican Party. He was an early opponent to President Johnson and his plan for reconstruction.

Elections of 1866 and 1868• Mid-term election Radical Republicans gain

control in Congress

• 1868 – U.S. Grant “waved the bloody shirt” War Hero, blacks in South who have the right to vote elect him – Republican

• Carpetbag Rule in South – graft, corruption with government officials

• Scalawags – Southern traitors who took advantage of poor whites

Reconstruction

• WADE – DAVIS BILL- this plan was a moderate plan …not as lenient as Lincoln’s and not as severe as the Radical Republican Plan. Lincoln used a pocket veto for this plan.

• Majority of white males in states take an oath to the Union…loyal.

• New state constitutions- no slavery in them.

• No slavery in any state• All Confederate

officials /officers would hold no political office.

Reconstruction• Andrew Johnson – President…February

21,1868 the House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson. The Tenure of Office Act required any government official fired by the President must be approved by Congress. Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton…he was a Radical Republican against Johnson’s ideas. The Senate put Johnson on trail to remove him but fell 1 vote short.

Andrew Johnson• Andrew Johnson- 17th

President of the United States- impeached by Congress. Tenure of Office Act.

Reconstruction• Freedman’s Bureau- federal government help

those down South…for food, housing, train for jobs – most important accomplishment EDUCATION…African Americans and poor whites got this aid.

• “Forty Acres and A Mule” – Northerners believed that former slaves deserved 40 acres of land and a mule to farm…from former plantation owners. This was William Tecumseh Sherman’s plan.

• Civil Rights Act of 1866- African Americans shall be citizens of this country…Amendment 14 to the Constitution.

• Amendment 15… voting shall not be denied on account of color, race, or previous condition.

Who is this man? • A lieutenant general

in the Confederate army. A crude man who made his fortune as a slave trader. He was accused of war crimes during the Civil War. He was said to have killed unarmed black Union army prisoners.

Reconstruction• Black Codes- Southern states down South made

laws to limit the power of the African American…no ownership of land, no ownership of guns…licenses to work. In many Southern towns you may have seen signs that said” If black, stay back” – segregation in areas.

• Ku Klux Klan- ( Nathan Bedford Forrest)- slide before) secret society…against carpetbaggers, African American rights, against the Freedman’s Bureau, against military districts. They wanted the Democrats to regain the South: they were against the Republican Party.

Changes in the South politically? • Blacks now became school superintendents,

sheriffs, mayors, judges, Congressmen.

• Republican Party now is seen in the South.

• Corruption in government with building projects. This became known as Graft.

• Enforcement Acts- Congress made it illegal to stop a black man from voting.

Changes in the South socially? • 1. New public school system- now more children

go to school- even some African Americans- segregate. By 1870 more than 200,000 formerly enslaved people of all ages went to school.

• 2. Racial violence down south.• 3. Many African American head to cities- form

schools, churches, social institutions.• 4. Some states allowed African Americans

ownership of homes…create homes for their families. But very few.

• 5. Legalized African American weddings. • 6. A few African Americans held jobs- trained

jobs.

Ku Klux Klan - • Founded in 1865 by

several confederate army persons. This group resisted reconstruction. They used violence and scare tactics to intimidate the Freedman and Republicans.

Reconstruction

• The South was divided into 5 districts under military rule. Union military soldiers were among the Southern population. Until each state passed the 13, 14, 15 amendments they would not be readmitted and military rule would continue. This plan (Wade-Davis Bill) won out and the Radical Republicans were in charge of American domestic policy. From 1865-1877 the south was under military districts.

The military Districts- Radical Reconstruction

ReconstructionELECTION OF 1876 -- COMPROMISE OF

1877- ended Reconstruction …Rutherford B. Hayes-Republican V. Samuel Tilden- Democrat …somehow the Democratic candidate seemed to win…there was so much election fraud that no one really knew who won the election. So the Republicans made a deal…Hayes won and the troops were pulled from the South…reconstruction was over.

Election Map of 1876 Hayes v. Tilden

Reconstruction• While Northern troops were in the South in

military districts:• A. Many African American’s voted.• B. Many African Americans held public office and

some became leaders in Congress. (Hiram Revels- 1st African American in the Senate - Mississippi)

• C. This made the Republican party powerful down South…this was hated by most white Democrats.

• D. Carpetbaggers – Northerners with money who took advantage of Southerners – graft with gov’t

• E. Scalawags- White Southerners who were considered traitors because they took advantage of poor Southerners – graft with Republican gov’t

RECONSTRUCTION• With the Compromise of 1877 Union troops

were pulled back up North… with the POLL TAX, LITERACY TESTS, GRANDFATHER CLAUSE, African Americans found themselves not being allowed to vote. The government positions they had held for 10 or so years now were taken from them.

Jim Crow Laws in the South• By 1876 Reconstruction is waning in the South

b/c the U.S. government was weary of governing the Southern states with military

• Solid South Democrats gain power after Reconstruction is ended

• States pass Jim Crow Laws that LEGALIZE segregation / separation of the races

• Plessy v. Ferguson – gave segregation a foundation – Supreme Court justified “separate by equal”