Transcript The Civil War Ends: Reconstruction Begins

The Civil War Ends:
Reconstruction Begins
April 9, 1865
 Lee and Grant meet at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
Lee surrenders.
 The surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia allowed the
Federal Government to bring increased pressure in other parts
of the south. Resulted in the surrender of the remaining armies
of the Confederacy over the next few months.
 The Terms
 Grant wrote the terms for the surrender of the Confederate States
Army of Northern Virginia in the form of a letter from himself to
General Lee.
 The terms of the letter were generous and would allow the former
Confederates to return home feeling that they had been treated
with respect and dignity.
Appomattox Court House
Lee Surrenders
Robert E. Lee
 He was a born winner, this Robert E. Lee. Except for
once. In the greatest contest of his life, in the war
between the South and the North, Robert E. Lee lost.
 Now there were men who came with smoldering eyes
up to Lee and said: “Let’s not accept this result as final.
Let’s keep our anger alive. Let’s be grim and
unconvinced, and wear our bitterness like a medal.You
can be our leader in this.”
 But Lee shook his head at those men. “Abandon your
animosities,” he said “and make your sons Americans.”
 What does this quote say about the man Robert E. Lee?
 How could Lee’s message be seen as a form of nationalism?
 If people throughout the nation (Southerners especially)
listen to Lee’s message, how would it impact the post-war
period?
Consequences of the Civil War
 Political
 Federal government assumed
supreme national authority.
 Power of the federal government
had increased over the war.
 Taxed people, conscription.
Consequences of the Civil War
 Economic
 $2.7 billion in debt for the Union.
 $1.8 billion in debt for the Confederacy.
 North
 Economy boomed during the war.
 Entrepreneurs had grown rich selling war supplies to the
government.
 Result: Had money to start new business after the war.
 South
 Economy devastated.
 Livestock wiped out, destroyed farm equipment and railroads,
land left infertile.
Consequences of the Civil War
 Social
 360,000 Union deaths.
 260,000 Confederate deaths.
 Total: Nearly as many in all other U.S.
wars combined.
 10% of the population had fought.
 Disrupted education, careers, and families.
What is Reconstruction?
 The period after the American Civil War
when the southern states were
reorganized and reintegrated into the
Union; 1865-1877 (aspects of
Reconstruction began before the war
actually ended though).
 Involved a complex and rapidly changing
series of federal and state policies.
After The War
 Northern victory in the Civil War decided the fate of
the Union, but posed numerous questions leading to
disagreements among the nation’s people.
 How should the Southern states be reintegrated into
the Union?
 What system of labor should replace slavery?
 What would be the status of the former slaves?
 What degree of federal control should be imposed
on the South?
Competing Proposals for
Reconstruction
 Proclamation of Amnesty and
Reconstruction
 Wade-Davis Bill
 Presidential Reconstruction
 Congressional Reconstruction
Two Proposals for Reconstruction
 Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (10
Percent Plan)
 Abraham Lincoln
 Wade-Davis Bill
 Senator Benjamin F. Wade and Representative Henry
Winter Davis (Radical Republicans)
 Were a minority in Congress but swayed moderate
Republicans in their direction and came to dominate
Congress.
1. Does Lincoln propose a lenient or strict policy in terms of
allowing the South to reenter the Union?
 Lenient


Pardon people and restore all rights of property (excluding slaves).
Believed that the South had never legally seceded from the Union so he
based his plan on forgiveness.

Remember what Lincoln said he his Second Inaugural Address:
o With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in
the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish
the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for
him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his
orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting
peace among ourselves and with all nations.
1. What type of attitude do Wade and Davis have toward the South?
 Negative attitude


Believed that Lincoln’s plan was not harsh enough.
South needs to be punished for starting the war.
2. Who does Lincoln believe has the constitutional right to
oversee a Reconstruction policy? Explain your answer.
 President
 WHEREAS, in and by the Constitution of the United States, it is
provided that the President “shall have power to grant reprieves and
pardons for offences against the United States.”
2. Who do Wade and Davis believe has the constitutional right to
oversee a Reconstruction policy? Explain your answer.
 Congress

President needs the advice and the consent of Congress.
3. In Lincoln’s plan, how many people must take an oath of
loyalty in order for the state to propose a new
constitution and gain re-admittance to the Union?
 10% of voters must take an oath of allegiance to the
Union.
 10 Percent Plan
3. In the Wade-Davis Bill, how many people must take an
oath of loyalty in order for the state to propose a new
constitution and gain re-admittance to the Union?
 50% of voters have to swear an “ironclad oath” of
allegiance to the Union.
4. In this plan (Lincoln), what will happen to slavery in
the states that wish to re-enter the Union?
 Had to obey all federal laws pertaining to slavery.
4. In this plan (Wade-Davis), what will happen to slavery
in the states that wish to re-enter the Union?
 Each state’s constitution had to include the abolition
of slavery.
 Slaves are “hereby emancipated” and “forever free.”
5. This plan (Lincoln) states that there are some people who are
not allowed to take the oath of allegiance. What people does
this documents exclude ?
 All people except high ranking Confederate army officials
and government officials would be granted pardons (and
these people were only temporarily excluded).
5. This plan (Wade-Davis) states that there are some people who
are not allowed to take the oath of allegiance. What people
does this documents exclude?
 Excludes all Confederate officials.
6. In this document, Lincoln refers to the “so-called” Confederate
government. Is this important? Why or why not?
 Yes
 Confederates formed a government, but gained no recognition from the Union.
In Lincoln’s eyes they had not formed a legitimate government because they had
never legally seceded from the Union.
 The people that Lincoln excludes from the provisions of this document are those
who held high positions in the “so-called” government.
6. According to this document (Wade-Davis), what did secession do
to the status of Southern state governments and their relationship
to the Union?
 Made the Southern state governments illegitimate.
 Disobeyed the Constitution and laws of the U.S.
 Appoints provisional (temporary) governors in these states who are in charge
until each state meets certain conditions.
Additional Information
 The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction
 Political maneuver (just as his Emancipation Proclamation had
been).
 Goal: End the war quickly.
 Feared that the North and South would never be reunited if fighting
continued much longer.
 Entice the South to surrender.
 Wade-Davis Bill was passed near the end of a session of
Congress.
 Lincoln pocket-vetoed the bill.
 Refused to sign it before Congress went into recess which stopped the bill
from continuing any further.