Reconstruction

Reconstruction

OThe effort to rebuild the Southern states and restore the Union after the Civil War was known as Reconstruction.

O It required rebuilding the nation’s economy and government

OThere were competing plans that led to bitter battles in Washington.

Reconstruction

O Lincoln’s PlanO Pardon’s to Southerners who

swore oaths of loyalty to the United States

O Recognition of the new Southern state governments with 10 percent of those who had voted in the 1860 election took the oaths and when states adopted new constitutions abolishing slavery

O His assassination meant he could not carry out his plan

Reconstruction

O Johnson’s PlanO Johnson planned to follow the broad

plan’s of Lincoln and he recognized 4 Southern states and prepared to readmit others

O The problem was Radical Republican’s controlled Congress and wanted harsher terms for Reconstruction that would punish the South

O Johnson’s efforts to block their plans led to his impeachment

O Although he was acquitted it hurt his political power

Radical ReconstructionO The division of the South into 5

military districts controlled by the US Army, while new constitutions and governments were being set up

O The requirement of the new state governments to grant African American males the right to vote

O The requirement of Southern states to ratify the 14th Amendment, which prevented many former Confederates from holding office

State Governments O Southerners who had held office before

the Civil War, largely Democrats, tried to reassert their control of local and state governments

O They wanted to limit the freedom and movement of former slaves

O When Reconstruction began, they were barred from holding office and voting

O Republicans headed the new state governments

O In many cases, African Americans won election to office

State GovernmentsO Many Southerners resented the

federal government’s involvement and the new Reconstruction governments

O They branded the whites involved as scalawags

O The Republican Northerners who came to the south to take part in Reconstruction were called carpetbaggers

New Constitutional Amendments

O 13th Amendment – abolished slavery in the United States

O 14th Amendment1. declared that all native-born or naturalized

people were citizens2. Forbade states from making laws that

deprive people of their rights particularly to due process and equal protection

3. Limited the rights of former Confederate officers and government officials

O 15th Amendment – declared states could not keep citizens from voting based on “race, color, or previous conditions of servitude

President Grant

OGrant was a good military leader but not a good political leader

OScandals and corruption damaged his presidency

OBusiness owner’s in the booming postwar economy bribed politicians to do favors for them

Scandals Under GrantO Credit Mobilier Scandal – Railroad

officials impoverished the railroad, and then bribed Congress to block any investigation

O Salary Grab – Congress voted itself a 50% pay raise and added two years of “back pay”. Public outcry forced a repeal of this act

O Whiskey Ring – Whiskey distillers bribed tax collectors so they did not have to pay the liquor tax

The End of Reconstruction

O The corruption during Grant’s presidency weakened the Republican party

O By the early 1870’s all but a handful of former Confederates could vote again

O Most of these Southern white males voted Democratic in response to Reconstruction

O For most of the next century the Democratic party would dominate voting in the South, giving rise to the term solid South

The Election of 1876O Democratic candidate for

president – Samuel Tilden, the governor of New York

O Republican candidate for president – Rutherford B. Hayes, the governor of Ohio

O Tilden won the popular vote, but the electoral college was contested.

O 4 states sent disputed election returns

O Which votes were counted would determine the election

The Election of 1876O A special commission was named to count

the votes.O Republicans had a majority on the

commission and gave all the electoral votes in question to Hayes

O Compromise of 1877 – Democrats agreed to go along with the commission’s decision in return for three promises from Hayes1. Withdraw the remaining federal troops from

the South, thus ending Reconstruction2. Name a Southerner to his Cabinet3. Support federal spending on internal

improvements in the South

White Control in the SouthO The withdrawal of federal troops enabled

white Southerners to eliminate the advances African Americans had made

O The Black Codes – Laws aimed at keeping African Americans in conditions close to slavery

O Secret Societies – groups like the KKK were formed to frighten African Americans

O Poll Taxes – Tax imposed in order to voteO Literacy Tests – required people could

read and write in order to vote

White Control in the SouthO Grandfather Clause – Poll taxes

and literacy tests would have kept poor whites from voting. To prevent this these clauses allowed the son or grandson of a man eligible to vote in 1866 or 1867 to vote without paying the tax or passing the literacy test

O Jim Crow Law – Social segregation laws, which were declared legal in the Supreme Court Case Plessy v Ferguson

A primary reason for the passage of the 14th amendment in 1868 was to

(1) prohibit the secession of states(2) uphold the legality of the Black

Codes(3) continue the presidential plan for

Reconstruction(4) guarantee citizenship rights to the

newly freed slaves

The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) affected African Americans by

(1) granting voting rights(2) expanding civil rights(3) upholding racial segregation(4) guaranteeing equal wages

Starting in the 1870s, Jim Crow laws were enacted in Southern states as a means to

(1) provide an education for formerly enslaved persons

(2) protect the voting rights of formerly enslaved persons

(3) enforce racial segregation(4) ensure equal protection under the

law

Jim Crow laws passed in the South during the late 1800s were designed to

(1) support civil rights for African Americans

(2) create a system of legal segregation(3) give free land to formerly enslaved

persons(4) compensate landowners for damage

done during the Civil War

What was a result of the disputed presidential election of 1876?

(1) Reconstruction ended as federal troops were removed from the South.

(2) Slavery was reestablished in the South by state legislatures.

(3) New state laws were passed in the South to guarantee equal rights for African Americans.

(4) A constitutional amendment was adopted to correct problems with the electoral college system.

What was a major result of the Civil War?

(1) The judiciary became the dominant branch of the federal government.

(2) Congress passed an amendment to provide for the direct election of senators.

(3) The power of the central government was strengthened.

(4) States were given the right to secede from the Union.

Which argument was used by President Abraham Lincoln to explain his policy of leniency toward the South after the Civil War?

(1) Most Southerners have remained loyal to the Union during the war.

(2) Most Southerners are willing to grant equality to formerly enslaved persons.

(3) The federal government has no authority to punish states for secession.

(4) Healing the nation’s wounds quickly is essential.

In the Compromise of 1877 that ended Reconstruction, Republicans agreed to

(1) withdraw federal troops from the South

(2) support the Black Codes(3) award the presidency to Democrat

Samuel Tilden(4) accept the Supreme Court decision

in Dred Scott v. Sanford

After the Civil War, Southern state legislatures attempted to restrict the rights of formerly enslaved persons by

(1) passing Black Codes(2) ratifying the 15th amendment(3) supporting the goals of the Radical

Republicans(4) enacting legislation to strengthen

the Freedmen’s Bureau

Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses were adopted in Southern States primarily to

(1) enforce the terms of the 15th amendment

(2) keep African Americans from exercising their right to vote

(3) stop criminals and immigrants from voting

(4) eliminate bribery and corruption at polling places

Before the former Confederate states could be readmitted to the Union, the congressional plan for Reconstruction required them to

(1) ratify the 14th amendment(2) imprison all former Confederate

soldiers(3) provide 40 acres of land to all

freedmen(4) help rebuild Northern industries

In the late 1800s, southern state governments used literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses to

(1) ensure that only educated individuals voted

(2) require African Americans to attend school

(3) prevent African Americans from voting

(4) integrate public facilities