Transcript the ordeal of reconstruction

THE ORDEAL OF
RECONSTRUCTION
1865-1877
Chapter 22
A. The Problems of Peace
Four questions faced the country:
1. How would the South be rebuilt?
(post-war economic, physical, and
social destruction; collapsed
civilization)
A. The Problems of Peace
2. How would newly freed
blacks fare?
A. The Problems of Peace
3. How would southern
states be reintegrated into
the Union?
A. The Problems of Peace
4. Who would direct
Reconstruction?
(Congress, President, or
South)
A political cartoon of Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln, 1865, entitled
"The Rail Splitter At Work Repairing the Union." The caption reads (Johnson):
Take it quietly Uncle Abe and I will draw it closer than ever. (Lincoln): A few
more stitches Andy and the good old Union will be mended.
A. The Problems of Peace
• questions also over how to deal with
Confederate leaders (pardoned by
Johnson in 1868)
• aristocrats impoverished; many resisted
emancipation
B. Freedmen Define Freedom
• emancipation uneven; some “reenslaved”
• some resisted liberation, some sought
revenge and violence
• all masters were eventually forced to
recognize freedom
• many freed blacks celebrated; sought
protection in black communities; some
move west
B. Freedmen Define Freedom
• church becomes the focus of black
community life
• new opportunities for education; push to
build schools, recruit teachers, both black
and white women
• many sought relief and help from the
federal government
B. Freedmen Define Freedom
• church becomes the focus of black
community life
• new opportunities for education; push to
build schools, recruit teachers, both black
and white women
• many sought relief and help from the
federal government
C. The Freedmen’s Bureau
• created in March 1865 by Congress;
welfare agency
• goal to provide food, clothing, medical
care, and education to freedmen AND
white refugees
• successful in education and literacy
• although authorized to redistribute
Confederate lands to freed blacks, very
little land was given
C. The Freedmen’s Bureau
• many freedmen were forced out of
communities and convinced to sign “labor
contracts”, virtually slavery for a time
period
• the agency expired in 1872; President
Johnson and southerners viewed it as a
threat to racial dominance
D. Johnson: The Tailor President
• humble, born in NC, self-taught; misfit
• TN politician, Congressman who refused
to secede with state
• chosen as Lincoln’s running mate in 1864;
“ideal” because he appealed to proSoutherners and War Democrats
• “wrong man in the wrong place at the
wrong time” doomed him to fail
E. Presidential Reconstruction
• 1. Lincoln’s Plan (1863)- to easily
restore the states to the Union once each
had 10% of its citizens take an oath and
pledge AND set up a new state
government
* Republican Congress disliked; feared
reenslavement and restoration of planter
aristocracy
E. Presidential Reconstruction
• 1864 Wade-Davis Bill- passed by
Congress, but pocket vetoed by Lincolnproposed 50% oath and stronger
safeguards for emancipation- revealed
deep differences between President and
Congress
E. Presidential Reconstruction
• Factions emerged among Republicans in
Congress:
* Moderates- majority, supported Lincoln’s
plan for quick and easy readmission
* RADICAL REPUBLICANS- minority,
believed the South must atone for its sins;
wanted to uproot the aristocratic social
structure, punish planters, and protect the
free blacks
E. Presidential Reconstruction
2. Johnson’s Plan (1865)- disenfranchise
some Confederate leaders
• call for special state conventions to settle
debts, repeal secession, and ratify the
13th amendment for readmission
• allowed for President to pardon
Confederate leaders
F. Baleful Black Codes
• laws designed to “regulate” blacks, varied
from state to state (MI harshest, GA most
lenient)
• common aim to ensure a stable labor force
and keep blacks subservient (cotton)
• harsh penalties for jumping labor contracts
(usually yearly, low wages)
F. Baleful Black Codes
• goal to maintain race relations- blacks
couldn’t serve on juries, own or lease land
in some areas, could be punished for
“idleness”, couldn’t vote
• thousands became sharecropperspeons, slaves to creditors- paid for rented
land with a portion of their crop
• Northerners resented black codes; felt war
had been fought in vain
22:2 Quiz
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Civil Rights Bill
14th & 15th Amendments
KKK
Scalawags
Carpetbaggers
Reconstruction Act of 1867
Johnson’s impeachment
Force Acts
1866 Elections