Reconstruction and Its Aftermath

Chapter 17

What To Do????

• Even before the Civil War was over it was debated on what to do with the Southern states.

• Lincoln and some members of Congress had very different ideas…

Lincoln’s 10% Plan• Wanted to encourage Southerners who

supported the Union to take charge of the South

• Punishing the South would serve no useful purpose

• Amnesty to all Confederates, except officers, willing to swear a loyalty oath

• When 10% of the voters took the oath, then the state could form a new government and adopt a new Constitution that banned slavery

• Right to vote to educated AA or those who served in the Army but no equal rights with whites

A rival Plan… The Wade-Davis Bill (July 1864)

• Submitted by Republicans who considered Lincoln’s plan too mild …RADICAL REPUBLICANS

• A majority of whites had to take the loyalty oath• Only white males who had not taken up arms

could vote at state constitutional conventions• Former Confederates denied the right to hold

public office• New Constitution had to ban slavery• LINCOLN REFUSED TO SIGN THIS BILL

The Freedman’s Bureau

• Gov’t agency to help former slaves make the transition to freedom

• Distributed food, clothing and medical services

• Established schools and colleges• Help former slaves acquire land • Provided transportation to fields• Also helped whites loyal to the Union

The Assassination Plot The Assassination of Lincoln

A new president…

• After Lincoln’s assassination, the VP Andrew Johnson (from Tennessee) becomes president

• Johnson was the only Southern senator that supported the Union

• Resented slaveholders• Believed in states rights

Johnson’s Plan…”Restoration”

• Most Southerners granted amnesty once they swore the loyalty oath

• High ranking Confederate officers and wealthy landowners had to apply to Johnson, personally, for amnesty.

• AJ appointed state governors. Only pardoned whites could vote.

• Opposed giving AA equal rights or the right to vote.• “White men alone must run the South”

Restoration

• Constitutional Convention had to denounce secession and abolish slavery

• Had to ratify 13th Amendment (abolished slavery)• By the end of 1865, all states except Texas were

ready to rejoin the Union• Restoration complete- AJ

End of 17-1

Problems in Congress

• In the fall of 1865, most of the Southern states had met Johnson’s requirements and elected representatives to Congress.

• More than a dozen of these had been high-ranking Confederate officials. (AJ had granted 16,500 pardons)

• Congress refused to seat them• We thought we won? What about the AA’s?

Black Codes

• Post CW south passed laws called ‘black codes”

• Aim was to control freed AA and enable plantation owners to exploit AA workers

• Example: Arrest and fine unemployed AA and then make them work off the fine; prevented AA from owning land; prevented AA from voting

Congressional Response

• Challenged black codes and granted new powers to the Freedmens Bureau (special courts for those who violated the rights of AA)

• Passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866– Granted full citizenship to AA– Gave Federal gov’t the right to interfere in state

affairs to protect AA rightsAJ VEOTED BOTH OF THESE but the vetos were

overridden by Congress (first time ever!)

14th Amendment

• Granted full citizenship to anyone born in the United States

• States could not take away a citizen’s “life, liberty, or property” without due process of law and ensured “equal protection”

• Barred prominent Confederates from holding national or state public office unless approved by 2/3 of Congress

• OOOOPPPPS…did not include Native Americans• Southern states had to ratify before re-admittance…by

1868 only TN had

1866 Congressional elections

• The 14th Amendment became a major issue in the 1866 Congressional elections

• AJ urged N&S state legislatures to reject it. • AJ also campaigned vigorously against

Republican candidates• Many Northerners dislike the nastiness of AJ

and were worried about race riots in the South (NO and Memphis)

1866 Congressional elections

• Republicans won a decisive victory increasing their control in both houses of Congress

• Republicans also gained control of every state legislature in the North

• This was their signal to take Reconstruction into their own hands

• Pres. Johnson could do nothing to stop them.• Known as RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION.

RADICAL RECONSTRUCTION

“ we must compel obedience to the Union and demand protection for its humblest citizens”

• RECONSTRUCTION ACT OF 1867- called for new govt’s to be created in the 10 southern states that had not ratified the 14th Amendment (Tenn. was re-admitted into the Union)- Divided the South into 5 military districts under the authority of a military commander until new govt’s were formed- gave AA right to vote and barred former Confederate leaders from holding public office

Readmission to the Union

• Many white Southerners refused to take part in the elections.

• Many of the newly registered AA did• Republicans gained control of Southern state

govt’s• By 1868, seven states had met the

requirements for admission and by 1870 the remaining three (VA, MS,TX) had done so also.

Challenge to Johnson

• Johnson strongly opposed Radical Reconstruction and as president was in control over the military.

• Congress passed several laws to limit his power.

• One of these laws was the Tenure of Office Act which prohibited the President from firing officials without Senate approval

Johnson is Impeached

• Johnson suspended Sec. of War when Congress was not in session.

• When the Senate met, they refused to approve the suspension.

• Johnson fired him and appointed generals that the RR opposed as commanders of the military districts.

• Outraged by Johnson’s actions, the House voted to impeach—formally charge with wrong doing-- him.

Impeachment Trial

• Johnson impeachment trial lasted for three months.

• In May 1868, the Senate cast two votes. • In both votes, the result was 35 to 19 to

convict the President (one vote shy of the 2/3rds majority needed)

• Johnson will stay in office until the end of his term

Election of 1868

• Most Southern states had rejoined the Union• The Republicans chose U.S. Grant, Civil War

hero, as their candidate.• Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour,

former governor of NY.• Grant easily won 214 to 80.• Seen as a vote on the Republican approach to

Reconstruction

The 15th Amendment

• Last piece of Reconstruction legislation• Prohibited states from denying the right to

vote to any male citizen because of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

• Became law 2/1870• Republicans thought that the power of the

ballot box would enable AA to protect themselves in the South…too optimistic

End of 17-2

The South During Reconstruction

• During Reconstruction, the Republican party dominated Southern politics.

• Support for the Republicans came from 3 groups (AA, white Southerners who supported Republican policies and white settlers from the North)

• Dominated state legislatures and Constitutional conventions

African-Americans in Government

• AA played an important role both as voters and elected officials

• 16 AA elected to the House and 2 served in the Senate (Hiram Revels from Mississippi and Blanche K. Bruce also from Mississippi)

Scalawags and Carpetbaggers

• Scalawag- scoundrel or worthless rascal. Term used by the Southerners for Southerners that opposed secession and supported Republican policies during Reconstruction.

• Carpetbaggers- name given to Northerners who moved South following the Civil War and served as Republican leaders and reformers for the South. Called carpet baggers because they arrived with their belongings in cheap suitcases made of carpet.

Resistance to Reconstruction

• Most Southern whites opposed efforts to expand AA rights- can’t leave- won’t rent them land- refused credit- no work- used fear and intimidation

Ku Klux Klan

• Volience against AA and their white supporters became commonplace

• Committed by secret societies organized to prevent freed men and women from exercising their rights and to help whites regain power and control.

• The most terrifying of these societies was the KKK (formed in 1866)

KKK

• Wearing white sheets and hoods, the KKK launched “midnight rides” against AA- burned their homes, churches and schools- murdered too. In Jackson County, FL the KKK murdered 150 people over a three year period- violence increased before elections- also attacked white supporters of Reconstruction

Taking Action Against Violence

• Southerners opposed to terrorism appealed to the federal gov’t to do something about it in 1870

• Congress passed several laws to try to stop the violence.

• These laws had limited success• Most whites refused to testify• Order restored before the 1872 election

Reconstruction Gains

• Despite the violence important gains were made in the South during Reconstruction

• EDUCATION IMPROVED for AA and whites- 50% of whites, 40% of AA in school- establishment of AA colleges

• LAND OWNERSHIP with the help of the Freedmens Bureau- most were sharecroppers (not much better than slavery)

End of 17-3

Changes in the South

• During Grant’s administration many Northerners began losing interest in Reconstruction

• Time for the South to solve its own problems• Southern democrats regaining political and

economic control of the South

Reconstruction Declines

• Several reasons- many of the Radical Republicans were gone (dead, retired, lost elections)- racial prejudice in the North- Southerners protested the “Bayonet rule”

Problems in the Republican Party

• Early 1870’s…reports of corruption within the Grant Administration and in Reconstruction govt’s in the South

• Another group, the Liberal Republicans, split with the party over Reconstruction. They wanted a peaceful reconciliation with Southern whites.

• They ran Horace Greely vs. Grant in the 1872 prez. Election…Grant won

The Amnesty Act

• Passed in 1872, pardoned most former Confederates.

• Nearly all Southern whites could vote and hold office again

• Changed the political balance of power in the South by restoring full rights to people who supported the Democratic Party

• In states where the majority of the population was white, Democrats quickly seized control.

Democrats Regain Power

• In areas where AA were the majority, groups like the KKK used fear and intimidation to keep AA from voting

• In Congress, the Republican Party was rocked by scandal involving bribes and corruption among high-ranking Republican officials

• In the 1872 Congressional election, Democrats gained control of the House and won many seats in the Senate.

THE END OF RECONSTRUCTION• Grant considered a third

term• Republicans nominated

Rutherford B. Hayes (Gov. of Ohio, political reform, honest, moderate views on Reconstruction)

• Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden (Gov. of New York, gained national reputation against fighting political corruption in NYC)

The Election of 1876

• After the election, Tilden appeared to be the winner (250,000 more votes)

• Disputed returns from Louisiana, South Carolina, Oregon and Florida (20 EC votes)

• Tilden was one EC vote shy of winning• January, Congress appointed a special

commission to review the election results• 7 republicans, 7 democrats, 1 independent

The Election of 1876• The Independent resigned and a republican took his place.• After examining the results, the commission decided to

award all 20 EC to Hayes. The vote was 8-7…right down party lines.

• Democrats in Congress threatened to fight the verdict. (TILDEN OR BLOOD!)

• R and D leaders met secretly and hashed out a compromise.• 4 months after the election, Congress confirmed the verdict

of the commission. Hayes was inaugurated two days later.

The Compromise of 1877

• Included various “favors” to the South• More aid to the South• Withdraw all remaining troops from Southern

states• Democrats promised to maintain A-A rights.• The Federal gov’t would no longer attempt to re-

shape Southern society or help southern A-A’s• Reconstruction was over.