Transcript Presidents of the United States during the Reconstruction, 1865

PRESIDENTS OF THE
UNITED STATES DURING
THE RECONSTRUCTION,
1865 - 1877
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Lincoln
Johnson
Grant
Hayes
PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
 He was assassinated by John
Wilkes Booth on April 15, 1865 –
just six days after Lee’s surrender to
Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox
Court House, Virginia.
Lincoln’s “Ten Percent Plan” was
the most lenient of all
Reconstruction Plans – he would
have allowed Southerners to create
their own state governments if 10%
of the population swore loyalty and
the state approved the 13 th
Amendment.
Lincoln’s death further embittered
Northerners eager to punish the
CSA.
PRESIDENT ANDREW JOHNSON
 Andrew Johnson was both a
Southerner and a Democrat, and is
considered the “poster boy” for
accidental Presidents.
Johnson’s “Restoration” plan would
have banned slavery, but not given
African-Americans full citizenship or
suffrage.
Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Act
of 1866 and the Freedman’s Bureau
Extension Act – but both were passed
into law by Congressional override.
Johnson was impeached by Congress
because they hated him so. He came
within one vote of being removed
from office, but he was not removed!
PRESIDENT ULYSSES S. GRANT
 Grant is often remembered as a poor
President for his inability to control
corruption in his government –
especially with regards to the railroad
companies.
He was, however, a true believer in the
cause of civil rights for African Americans – and thought that the Civil
War would have been in vain if voting
rights were not upheld.
Grant passed laws controlling Ku Klux
Klan activity and hate groups,
maintaining the Freedman’s Bureau, and
continuing efforts to end black codes.
Grant was President when the 15 th
Amendment was added to the
Constitution.
PRESIDENT RUTHERFORD B. HAYES
Samuel Tilden won more votes than
he did in the Election of 1876.
He became President of the United
States as a result of the Compromise
of 1877.
He promised to end the
Reconstruction of the American
South by removing soldiers from
southern states and ending the
Freedman’s Bureau.
While he was President, southern
states passed laws (literacy tests, poll
taxes, and grandfather clauses) which
made it very difficult for AfricanAmericans to vote.