Transcript Slide 1
Pursuing Equality for African-Americans During Radical Reconstruction Freedmen in the South Carolina Sea Islands The End of the Civil War When the Union won the Civil War the big questions were: What should Southern states have to do to be readmitted to the Union? What should happen to southerners who participated in the war effort? Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy What should happen to the newly emancipated slaves? Views of Reconstruction Republican leaders agreed that slavery had to be permanently destroyed and all forms of Confederate nationalism had to be suppressed Moderates thought this could be accomplished as soon as Confederate armies surrendered and the southern states repealed secession and ratified the 13th Amendment All of this happened by the end of September 1865 General Lee surrendering to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse Johnson Alienates Radical Republicans President Andrew Johnson President Johnson supported votes for Black army veterans in 1864 and 1865 By 1866, however, Johnson broke with the moderate Republicans and aligned himself with the Democrats who opposed equality and opposed the Fourteenth Amendment Radicals attacked Johnson’s policies, especially his 10% Plan and his veto of the Civil Rights Bill for the Freedmen Plans for Reconstruction Led by Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens, the Radical Republicans wanted the Southern states to be punished for their treasonous behavior They called for harsh punishment of Confederate officers and soldiers and equal rights for Freedmen Radical Republicans Gain Control of Congress The election of 1866 dramatically changed the balance of power in congress, giving the Radical Republicans enough votes to overcome Johnson's vetoes Though he avoided (by one vote) the Radical Republican attempt to impeach him Johnson remained almost powerless regarding Reconstruction policy “Time Works Wonders” by Thomas Nast Black Codes African American men who were arrested for vagrancy due to unemployment White Southerners sought ways to control newly freed African Americans They wrote Black Codes to regulate civil and legal rights, from marriage to the right to hold and sell property In many ways the codes guaranteed African Americans would continue working as farm laborers Radical Reconstruction Radical Republicans implemented a federal reconstruction plan They used the Army to combat the effect of black codes and enforce new laws that guaranteed rights to African Americans in Southern states Federal reconstruction took the vote away from 10,000 to 15,000 white men who had been Confederate officials or soldiers Radical Republican Leaders The Civil Rights Act of 1866 The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave rights to freed slaves including the rights to make contracts, sue, witness in court, and own private property President Johnson vetoed the bill saying it would "operate in favor of the colored and against the white race“ Congress overrode the presidential veto in April of 1866 The act declared that all persons born in the U.S. were now citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition of servitude, excluding Indians Former Slaves and Wounded Union Veterans Celebrating the Passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 The 14th Amendment In order to ensure permanent change the 14th amendment granted citizenship to African Americans The amendment also guaranteed the right to due process under the law to African Americans The 15th Amendment Granted African American men suffrage in 1870 This did not guarantee African American men would be allowed access to their local polls Violence against African Americans at polling places was common Literacy tests, poll taxes and other voter qualification laws became The First Black Voters African Americans Vote Hiram Revels, the first African American elected to the U.S. Senate Slowly Southern states held elections in which Freedmen voted These elections usually produced Republican state governments For the first time African Americans were elected to local, state and federal offices The End of Radical Reconstruction Federal Reconstruction ended in 1876 with the election of Rutherford B. Hayes to the presidency A few weeks after taking office Hayes issued an order for the removal of all federal soldiers stationed in the South The end of Reconstruction led to a drastic reduction of rights for African Americans President Rutherford Hayes