Transcript A Failed Reconstruction

A Failed Reconstruction
Southern Society largely unchanged.
 Reconstruction of the South was intended
bring the states back into the Union to
resolve the old conflicts. But the federal
Reconstruction plan did not break up white
dominance of power in the South. So while
slavery was over, Southern society on the
whole was largely unchanged.
Goal of Reconstruction
 The goal of the Civil War was
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to get the Southern states to
rejoin the nation.
 The goal of Reconstruction was
for the federal govt. to change
Southern society to fit into
American society as a whole.
 Any Southerner except high
ranking officials could receive
a pardon.
 A state could be readmitted
when 10% of its population
declared loyalty.
 Intended to be easy for states
to rejoin the country “Lincoln governments.”
Lincoln’s Plan
Radical Republicans and the
Wade Davis Bill
 Many Republicans were very
upset at the South, and wanted
to impose harsh restrictions viewed the South as a
conquered foreign nation.
 Wanted an “iron-clad” loyalty
oath, and a majority of citizens
to be loyal and participate in
the new govt.
So would Reconstruction
change the South?
 13th Amendment ratified in January 1865
- declared slavery abolished, and
Southern states needed to accept it.
 Freedmen’s Bureau created in 1865 as a
type of social welfare agency - supplied
food, medicine, schooling, and legal help
to freedmen.
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After freedom, land was the
key to independence
 Sherman issued Field Order
15 - set aside captured land
to distribute to freed slaves.
 40 acres and a mule
 Was never effectively
completed, the land was
returned to former white
owners by Pres. Johnson.
 Many freed slaves could not
Sharecropping
find or afford land, so entered
into sharecropping
agreements - like tenant
farming.
 Problem was that tenants got
selves in a cycle of debt. Kept
wealthy landowners with
economic power, and freed
slaves with none.
Johnson and Reconstruction
 Was a senator from TN, but had
not supported secession. Served
as military governor of TN
during Civil War.
 Initially seemed unwilling to
pardon ranking Southerners,
but eventually changed his
mind.
 Many of the same Confederate
politicians were voted back into
office - and tried to come back
to Congress.
Black Codes
Congress and Johnson
 Congress would not accept
Johnson’s soft plans - and
tried to push compromise.
 Johnson vetoed
Congressional plans like
Civil Rights Law and
Freedman’s Bureau, he even
spoke out against 14th
amendment.
 Congress overrode him and
left him powerless - even
impeached.
US Grant
 Elected in 1868
 An administrator of
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Reconstruction, but
never put full effort
of federal govt.
toward it.
14th and 15th amendments
 14th: all people born in the US are citizens, and
states cannot deny rights - they must provide
equal protection.
 15th: all men can vote regardless of race or
whether or not they were slaves.
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Jim Crow segregation
 Amendments were passed to
ensure the equality of black men.
 However the interpretation of
those amendments allowed for
loopholes:
 Segregation could be allowed if it
was equal.
 Men could not be denied the vote
based on race - what about wealth?
literacy? Etc.
White resistance and KKK
 In spite of federal efforts for
equality, many Southern
whites resisted racial equality
politically, economically, and
socially.
 KKK a particularly violent
group intended to keep blacks
oppressed through violence.
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Myth of “Negro Rule”
 Southern white propaganda claimed that blacks
were taking over the South - and thus needed to
be stopped.
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End of reconstruction - 1876
 By the 1870s many
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Northern Republicans
tired of Reconstruction.
 1876 election is
essentially traded to
Republicans (Hayes) in
exchange for the end to
Reconstruction.