Transcript The Reconstruction Era

The Reconstruction Era
1865-1877
Plans for Reconstruction
• During the time of
Reconstruction the fed.
gov’t struggled with how
to return the eleven
southern states to the
Union.
• How to rebuild the
South’s ruined economy?
• How to promote the
rights of former slaves?
Southern Plans
• The Civil War devastated the South’s
economy lowering the nation’s total wealth.
• Most of the infrastructure had to be rebuilt
and farmland would have to cultivated again.
• Under the 10% plan Lincoln proposed a
system where if 10% of a states voters took a
loyalty oath to the Union, the state could set
up a new gov’t.
• Opponents of the “Ten Percent Plan” were
known as “Radical Republicans” and they
thought the South should have harsher
penalties.
• The Freedmen’s Bureau was created to
provide basic needs to both black and white
refugees in the south.
Freedmens School
Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan
• Andrew Johnson
became Pres.
Following the death of
Lincoln.
• Offered a pardon to
any Confederate who
swore allegiance to the
Union.
• Demanded each state
ratify the 13th
Amendment.
• Believed in states’
rights. (Black codes
limited rights of former
slaves.)
• Fought Radical Rep. in
Congress
Radical Reconstruction
• Congress passed the Military
Reconstruction Act of 1867.
• Divided the 10 southern states that had not
been readmitted into the Union into 5
military districts governed by former Union
Generals.
• Forced new state constitutions which
granted suffrage to African American men.
Congressional Reconstruction
• Passed the 14th Amendment which
guaranteed equality under the law for all
citizens.
• To limit the President’s power, Congress
passed the Tenure of Office Act.
• The House of Rep voted to impeach Johnson
when he tried to fire the Sec. of War.
Johnson stayed in office by one vote.
• Passed the 15th Amendment which
guaranteed suffrage regardless of race,
color, or previous condition or servitude.
Reconstruction in the South
• Scalawags were white
southerners who joined
the mostly Union
Republican Party
following the Civil War.
• Carpetbaggers were
northerners who came
south seeking economic
or political opportunities.
• Mandated schools were
est. but at a high cost due
to the choice of the South
to be a segregated
society.
Remaking the Southern Economy
• Sharecropping – a landowner dictated the
crop and provided the sharecropper with a
place to live, as well as seeds and tools.
• In return taking a “share” of the harvested
crop. (High cost placed on the shoulders of
the owner, but passed on to sharecropper )
• Share-tenancy – Tenant chose the crop, then
shared the crop with owner (more freedom)
• Tenant Farming – The tenant paid cash rent
to a landowner and then was free to choose
and manage his own crop and free to choose
where he would live.
Violence Undermines Reform
• The Ku Klux
Klan,(from Greek
word meaning
circle) formed in
Tenn. in 1866 by 6
Confederate
veterans. It was
created to terrorize
African Americans.
• Congress passed
the Enforcement
Acts, which made it
illegal to interfere
with a citizen’s right
to vote.
Election of 1876
• Rutherford B. Hayes wins the controversial election
of 1876 by just one electoral vote.
• After a recount in the south, wins 51.1% of electoral
vote but loses the popular vote by almost 300,000
votes.
The End of Reconstruction
• South didn’t agree with
recount and results
• The Compromise of 1877
Settled by Congress &
Supreme Court, Hayes
becomes President
• Federal troops were
withdrawn from the South
& southerners were given
cabinet positions.
• Southern states were
guaranteed federal
subsidies to build
railroads and improve
ports.
Andersonville
Confederate Prison in Georgia
Andersonville
Andersonville
Prisoners
• Henry Wirz (stockade commander at
Andersonville) was one of only two
people executed for war crimes after
the Civil War
Video
Video
Execution of Henry Wirz